National expert assessment of the gender perspective in the National Reform Programme for Employment 2010 : part B : short report on migrant women in Malta

Abstract

The Maltese are a homogeneous group with Phoenician, Arab, Italian and British roots, and who make up 96 per cent of total population (Reuters AlertNet – Malta). With an area of just over 300 square kilometers and a population of 0.4 million, Malta is one of the most densely populated countries in the world. Nevertheless, migration to Malta has a long history. For example, Malta has a small but established business community of Indian descent, most of who have been Maltese citizens for generations, and whose presence dates back to the late nineteenth century. In more recent times, an Arab-Muslim community developed in the late Seventies and Eighties, while Albanian refugees settled in Malta during the early Nineties, and again following the Kosovo crisis in 1999. Russians, Bulgarians, and people from ex-Yugoslavia came to Malta between the middle and late Nineties. However, in relatively recent times, Malta began to experience a different inflow of people, who are often irregular, undocumented, and rescued at sea, commonly referred to as ‘boat people’ who come to Malta through Libya largely from sub-Saharan Africa. Those in need of protection from persecution are either given Refugee status or Temporary Humanitarian Protection. Others with no specific need for protection have their claims for asylum in Malta rejected.