Dr Lou Drofenik (photo), a Maltese-Australian novelist who left Malta in the 1960s under the Single Women Migrants Scheme, recently gave a talk at university entitled “A moment of rebellion: Writing Fiction from an Immigrant Perspective”.

According to Dr Drofenik, this moment of rebellion takes place when a migrant decides to leave his country of origin to pursue a destiny in a foreign land with a different culture and a different setting.

Dr Drofenik’s novels are replete with various themes especially the experience of immigrants hemmed in by traditions and religion who experience the novelty of divorce; the role of a nation of people who find it hard to live without the support of each other, and the Maltese notion and obsession of retaining their Maltese identity.

Her first novel entitled Birds of Passage deals with the theme of women who struggle while living a very repressive life in a culture that does not provide the right opportunities for them.

Her second novel In Search of Carmen Caruana is about strong, resilient women who after suffering misfortune, pick up the pieces and get on with their life. Her third novel Of Cloves and Bitter Almonds will be released this month in Australia.

During the talk, Dr Drofenik spoke about the toil and anguish suffered by the Maltese migrants in Australia, including the hardships encountered on their journey there. Once they reached a foreign land, they had to look for work, and learn how to adapt to a new setting and new culture without the support of their loved ones.

She also spoke about the women of Birkirkara and their influence on her decision to spread her wings in search of a new life, as she knew she could not fulfil her potential here in Malta.

She said that going to Australia at that time was like going to your death, as people hardly knew anything about this foreign land. She left the security and stability of her family because in Malta she was always defined by her parents’ background and her father’s job, and she wanted her credentials to stand on their own.

In her first year of settlement she met wonderful people who nourished her and looked after her. The urge to come back to Malta was strong as she missed her family. She was contracted to stay in Australia for two years according to the scheme and the people who took care of her told her to be patient and wait until she got used to life in the community.

Dr Drofenik also described the hardships endured by most women arriving in Australia, which she also describes in her novels. Some of these women suffered from deep psychological scars, as the husband went to work and the children to school and they were left alone at home. Some of them hardly knew three words of English and could not communicate with anyone. As a consequence they dared not venture out of their home on their own. Life in Australia for them was disconcerting and nerve-wracking also because of the harsh racism the Maltese were subjected to.

Dr Drofenik also said that immigration literature was truly a “literature standing on its own” and she hoped that the role of Maltese migrant women would be understood better after people have read her work.

She also said that even for the aboriginal people who endured exile after they were forced to leave their land, their country became more desirable, their landscape became clearer, as this exile stimulated their creative impulses rather than stifled it. The same happened to her when she found herself in a foreign land as her creative impulse was more stimulated and she could write about life in Malta with much more ease and thus fulfil her creative potential.

The Malta Independent on Sunday interviewed Dr Drofenik about the theme of women and the issue of immigration.

Do you believe that the reason why most Maltese and Gozitans left Malta for Australia was due to the culture and life of ‘exploiters’ and ‘exploitation’ influenced by the European colonialism that left such an impact on Malta?

Oh absolutely! The English were the masters and we were the slaves. They made us depend on them and as a consequence the Maltese grew up with that mentality. Acquiring Independence was truly a turning point for the culture of the people.

Do you think that the submissive Maltese woman of the past is still part of Maltese culture?

I think that education is the key. Women who are open to education and to literature are somehow more assertive. Girls who are not open to this literary education are still quite submissive. I think that women will never change unless we open ourselves to education.

In “Birds of Passage”, one of the main characters Katerina is constantly trying to escape. When you were in Malta, did you find that the small island mentality irritated and frustrated just yourself or was it a common feeling shared by your female peers?

Well, I can tell you that I was mostly influenced by my mother and neighbours, who always used to say, “If I had wings like a man, I would fly away.” As a child, I used to believe this literally. I used to think that men had wings on their back. I felt trapped in Malta like my mother. There were other girls who like me travelled under the Single Young Women Migrants Scheme, for countries like Australia, Canada, and England.