In the 1960s, three brothers from Malta were separated at a young age. They ended up in Tardun, Western Australia, as migrants forming part of a child migration scheme. 

Their story forms the basis of Who Would You Tell?, a documentary by Dery Sultana that will be screened in Gozo on June 21 and 23, with a Q&A screening taking place on June 21. 

Co-produced by Fish Isle Films and Strada Reali, the documentary tells the brothers' story as the trio - Raphael, Peter and Manny - reflect on their stolen childhood and how the sexual, emotional and physical abuse they experienced shaped their entire life. 

What was supposed to be a second chance turned into a lifetime of regret, pain and missed opportunities that deeply affected their journey to adulthood, says the director.

“We often hear many success stories of migrants who found their fortune in Australia, yet there have also been many other less fortunate migrants to Australia, not least of all the Tardun brothers,” says the director.

“These young boys were shipped to Australia by the Catholic Church to help them escape the ravages of Malta – which was the most bombed nation in World War II. What was meant to be a paradise with a bright future turned out to be a living hell filled with exploitation and constant abuse.

“What happened to them as children devastated their lives.”

Child abuse should never be swept under the carpet

Sultana noted that shining a light on the brothers’ suffering did not make their memories any less traumatic, but through their testimony there is hope that one can prevent these abuses from happening again.

Driven by his own experience of clerical abuse suffered as a boy, combined with the fact that he is himself a Maltese migrant, Sultana has documented this dark chapter in Maltese-Australian migration history.

“At long last these three scarred individuals have the opportunity to share their childhood ordeals with the world,” says the director.

Child abuse is one of those issues that’s very difficult to talk about, enshrouded in guilt and shame. While child abuse may be committed behind closed doors, Sultana believes they should never be swept under the carpet.

Through interviews and archive materials, Sultana navigates back through their memories of abuse, homesickness and severed family ties.

Their story unravels the historic failure of a scheme backed by two governments and the broken promises of the Catholic Organisation that received them.

The documentary features historian Henry Frendo, former prime minister Lawrence Gonzi, and the late monsignor Philip Calleja.

Who Would You Tell? is showing at Citadel Cinema in Victoria, Gozo, between June 21 and 23, with a Q&A screening taking place on June 21 at 7pm. Tickets are available at citadelcinema.com.