Tendy has been living in Malta for 11 years. He still remembers the casual racism he had to contend with when he first moved here.

"I was 17 and used to walk up a hill to go to school. People on buses used to throw food at me," he recalled.

Tendy was one of hundreds of people to attend a Black Lives Matter protest in Valletta on Monday night, and he acknowledged that things have changed a great deal since he first moved here.

But racial tensions still bubble in Maltese society.

Just a few metres away from BLM activists, a group of white men loudly sought to disrupt the activity with one of their own. Many held Maltese flags or held anti-immigration placards. Some made monkey gestures. 

In this #TimesTalk podcast episode, we speak to some of the people who attended Monday's demonstration to find out if they think Malta has a problem with racism. 

In part two of the episode, we speak to swimmer Neil Agius, who is planning a marathon swim from Sicily to Malta to raise money for an environmental movement he helped create. 

Subscribe to #TimesTalk on Spotify, Google Podcasts, Apple iTunes, Castbox or your favourite podcast app. New episodes are published every Thursday. 

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