Valetta and Marsa

Yesterday we spent most of the day in Valetta, the capital city of Malta. It was once a fortress surrounded by a giant wall and a moat. The city was absolutely beautiful. After meeting with the Malta Emigrant Commission we spent most of the morning and early afternoon walking around the city.

In the afternoon we met with the Arab Maltese Community. It was a very interesting experience, and after thinking about it we are all pretty sure we were meeting with the mafia... Regardless, they were very nice, hospitable people and it gave us a chance to talk to migrants who are not part of the refugee crisis in Malta, but still facing struggles as non-Maltese citizens. In the evening we had a lecture and then dinner.

Today we spent all day at Marsa, one of the open centers for men. The center was very big, but not great living conditions. It was also in a rough neighborhood in Malta. We met with two of the employees and were given a tour. We also got to speak with two refugees living in the center. Our conversations with them were very painful to hear, but also very interesting. It is such an amazing experience to be able to meet with the refugees and hear their stories, even though it is so hard to put myself in their situation. Both men I talked to were very intelligent, young men who had already faced so many horrifying difficulties in their lives. It is hard to imagine that there are thousands of other people who are dealing with the same issues.

Tonight we are having dinner, and then going to the local town to shop and sight-see. Tomorrow is already our last day in Malta. We are going to another open center, which I was told has some of the worst living conditions in the country. It will be really difficult to see, but interesting to see how a church run center compares to a government run center.