By Karen Cini
When I receive the odd letter from a friend abroad in the letter box, it brings back to mind my grandmother’s stories from the 50s when my grandfather took off to explore the world. He regularly sent letters and postcards back home, desperately trying to convince his wife to emigrate to a more exotic place, but my grandma’s family roots were too strong . With many young Maltese professionals packing their bags to start a new life abroad, those days when people emigrated as a matter of course are with us once more.
However, not everyone is brave enough to take such a big step, especially with our tight family relations and customs. Does love still play an important role or are there more factors influencing this decision? I asked some of these youngsters scattered around Europe to give us an outlook of their “new” lives abroad and their personal thought process involved in taking this step.
Maria in England
Maria has been away from Malta for four and a half years. She spent two and a half years in Sorrento, Italy and she is currently based in a little village called Woodnewton, in Cambridgeshire. Unsurprisingly, she claims she’s the only Maltese person in the village.
“I was always interested in working abroad ever since I was a young girl. The opportunity arose when I met my English boyfriend Scott in Malta through the company we worked for. Scott was then living in Italy, so I decided to move over there and continue working for the same company.”
Maria believes that being away from home makes you appreciate your family more and therefore, makes you want to spend as much time with them as possible. Thanks to the availability of low-cost airlines from the UK, Maria is able to visit home at least five to six times a year. “When I was in Sorrento, though it was much closer to Malta, the unavailability of direct flights and the only choice being Air Malta from Rome made it very difficult to go home often, so I only used to go twice a year.”
In addition to missing family and friends, Maria also finds the outdoor lifestyle she had in Malta quite irreplaceable, especially the fact that she could just walk to Mosta square and bump into people she knows. She also admits missing going for coffees late in the evening and also going to the beach. Living in a rainy British village, the beach is only a far away dream for Maria these days!
Besides missing the frequent get togethers, Maria also finds it hard to adapt to the tedious distance you need to travel for certain outings. For example, she says: “If you want to go to the best Chinese restaurant in Malta, you just drive to wherever it is. In England, you have to go to the only Chinese restaurant available in your village or closest town.”
In spite of the better job opportunities and better wages abroad, when asked whether she’d live away from Malta forever, Maria’s reply was loud and clear: “I hope not! My plan is to return to Malta eventually, however, I’m not sure when… perhaps when I start a family one day.”
Matthew in Germany
Matthew has been living in Frankfurt for almost four years now. “I had long been planning to leave Malta as I feel the country is too small and conservative for me. I’m a city person and like the freedom, variety and anonymity Frankfurt has to offer. I also left when I did because I got a good job offer in Frankfurt and had fallen in love with a guy here.”
Though quite a challenging task, he rigorously taught himself German during his free time in Malta before settling down in Germany. Since he already had years of experience teaching English in Malta, finding a job in Frankfurt was a piece of cake for young and successful Matthew. Now he is proudly teaching English and maths at an international primary school in Frankfurt.
Although he doesn’t get particularly homesick, Matt still visits his family in Malta about three times a year. “If it weren’t for my family there I would visit a lot less often. When I do miss things from Malta, it’s generally something very specific, like a moment when I crave the smell of the sea, or I think of hobz biz-zejt and would love to have a piece. I wouldn’t say in general that I miss these things, it’s more a particular sensation or moment that I think of nostalgically.”
To really appreciate what you’ve got, sometimes it needs to be taken away from you to make you really see its value and importance. “I appreciate Malta’s uniqueness. There really is no other country quite like it, and this makes me proud, especially when talking about it here.”
Something that used to trouble Matt is the fact that some people in Malta are a little bit close-minded. “I think the people need to move forward and learn how to live and let live. I find the developing xenophobia in Malta very worrying and hope that this will soon be dealt with and people will become more open to multiculturalism. I also wish there could be more separation between state and Church.”
Though many people seem to contentedly spend a few months or years abroad and then come back to settle down in Malta, this does not seem to be the case for Matt. “I am also planning on applying for German citizenship in a few years’ time.”
Colette in The Netherlands
As soon as Colette had the opportunity to go to Amsterdam nearly five years ago, she didn’t think twice about it. “Since I was young I have always wanted to spend some time abroad, mainly because Malta is just a dot on the map. I wanted to discover different cultures and see what the world has to offer. When the international company I used to work for in Malta offered me the opportunity to go to a client site abroad for a few months, I accepted.”
Colette had the option of returning back to her own job in Malta if she wanted to. However, since she wasn’t ready to come back home so soon, she simply looked for another job in The Netherlands to be able to prolong her stay.
Even though most people in The Netherlands speak English fluently, the Dutch language did cause a few difficulties for Colette throughout the years. “In the initial months it was harder than it is now. What I miss is the ability to speak about my past and knowing that the people I talk to can relate to what I’m talking about,” says Colette.
The climate in Holland is also quite different to what Colette is used to in Malta. “What’s ‘normal’ to me is only experienced on holidays by the Dutch. Right now I miss the lovely Maltese weather and clear blue sea more than anything else.”
Colette’s family have visited her numerous times and she also visits them in Malta a couple of times a year. “Sometimes I feel I have better communication with my family now that I am away… we all appreciate each other more now that we cannot see each other all the time,” she admits.
According to Colette, the fact that Maltese people take politics and religion so seriously can sometimes hide the real causes of problems since everyone focuses on the wrong thing. “I’m not saying that politics or religion are not important, but I feel that most people in Malta take sides without really thinking about what is right or wrong.”
A recurrent comment from Maltese people working abroad puts the limelight on the limited range of jobs available in Malta and how low salaries are when compared to other European standards. “Obviously due to Malta’s size it’s hard to have such diversity of jobs. Young professionals might prefer to leave the island for somewhere else, to get the experience and at the same time make more money,” argues Colette. “I do appreciate Malta much more since I’ve been abroad… obviously it seems that the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. I think that if I take a tiny part from each of the countries I’ve lived in, I could build a nearly perfect place. I think that at some point I wish to return to Malta but most probably it won’t be in the near future. However, I do believe Malta is a great country to retire in.”
Even though many Maltese people seem to happily leave the country to follow their heart or job, sometimes things happen the other way around too. Irishman Donal regularly has to spend days abroad on business, but he has willingly stayed on in Malta with his girlfriend Mariella. Unlike those complaining about the limited options in Malta, Donal always finds things to do in his free time, especially because he loves the sea and swims in winter as well. “The lifestyle here is easier than in most other countries,” he says. Donal admits he does not mind giving up the grey skies and green environment for our Maltese blue sunny skies. “I love the weather in Malta. Ireland is only green because there is so much rain!”
So whether the wind blows you to a far away land, or else brings you back to Malta just like my grandfather came back to spend the rest of his life happily with his beloved wife, always cherish where you came from and never forget what you have learnt along the way.