Stories of intimidating behaviour and integration efforts were aired recently as Marsa residents told a delegation from cities in Bulgaria and Hungary about the migration issues and challenges facing their own town.
The encounter was part of the EU-funded ‘Snapshots from the Borders’ project. It gave a voice to stakeholders from every sector of the Marsa community, including migrant and resident groups.
The aim of the three-year project is to take the experiences of people living in towns that experience migration and convey them to decision-makers on national and European levels.
The delegation from Burgas, Bulgaria and Siklósnagyfalu, Hungary met representatives of the Marsa local council to share migration and development practices. The visit was coordinated by local NGO Kopin, which is a partner in the project along with the Marsa council.
“Politicians and policymakers often dive straight into writing documents. However, it is important to listen to what people are saying before trying to influence policy,” Marsa mayor Josef Azzopardi told Times of Malta.
“When you hear what these residents are saying you’ll see that there is great need for people to communicate and understand each other,” he said.
One of the concerns raised by residents was about a particular group of migrants who have taken to drinking in the streets on most evenings.
When you hear what these residents are saying you’ll see that there is great need for people to communicate and understand each other
“Marsa becomes the migrants’ Paceville,” Mr Azzopardi said. The local council passed a bye-law prohibiting the consumption of alcohol in the street but this appears to be routinely ignored. As a result, said Mr Azzopardi, many residents, particularly children and the elderly, found the congregations gathered on the streets intimidating.
There is, however, a lot of integration work happening in the community, he pointed out. The council had worked with migrant leaders to prevent stigma and together solve problems in the maintenance of good order.
“I can’t wait for things to get better so I am taking those first steps myself,” Mr Azzopardi said.
Vesna Baltina, of the Bulgarian delegation, said the city of Burgas had experienced a heavy inflow of migrants from former Soviet republic due to similarities in culture but integration was proving difficult due to the closed and insular nature of these communities.
Due to the large number of young Bulgarians emigrating, integration was pivotal in keeping the community afloat, while also introducing measures to entice emigrants back to the city, she added.
“Integration is in the perspective of our future, it is very important for the development of the city. Sharing experiences is useful and will be very fruitful for all the partners.”
The delegation from Siklósnagyfalu, which is a southern Hungarian town near the Croatian border, spoke about hosting a number of Roma people in the locality.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has met migration in Hungary with far-right policies, which included building a fence along the length of the country’s southern border and opposing all EU plans for refugee redistribution quotas.