Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/936285
16 News HODON is a single-mother with refugee status who moved to Go- zo from Malta some months ago. When interviewed for the inau- gural edition of UNHCR Malta's magazine, she claims that the increasing cost of rent is what pushed her in this direction – a re- ality echoed by other migrants who spoke to the publication. Not that the move – a 'choice' in only the most nominal sense of the word – is something that she regrets. "I am happy in Gozo. The people here are good. We have not been facing major problems as we were before in Malta," she said. But while this may be encourag- ing on the face of it, Hodon also hints at more deep-seated prob- lems that refugees in general – and single-mother refugees in particu- lar – face in Gozo. "We want to work. We really need to work. And we want to get educated," she says, pointing to the systemic lack of integration mech- anisms on the island – of which the Head of Caritas Gozo, Michael Borg is fully aware. "Families are leaving Malta be- cause it is becoming increasingly expensive to live there. Even if people work, they find it more and more difficult to pay rent and support their families," Borg said, adding that charity needs to be married to more practical long- term solutions in order for benefi- cial effects to be felt in the long- term across the entirety of Gozo's social fabric. "While charity is beautiful, we also need services that empower people. If we do not empower them, exploitation and unem- ployment will continue to grow. This will lead to idleness, drinking and violence. These are all signs of poverty and frustration," Borg said. A fragmented approach In lieu of this, an outreach initia- tive by UNHCR Malta in collaboration with the Ministry for Gozo found that access to information and ad- equate training were among the most press- ing concerns for the growing refugee popu- lation – with Somalis in particular being singled out as most vulnerable to these infrastructural gaps. With the still-ongoing initiative having started in April 2016, the findings so far indicate that employ- ment and education are the most urgent factors to be tackled if the integration of Gozo-based refugees is to be successful. This early assess- ment of the findings further specifies that, "a consider- able number of refugees and migrants work casually and illegally in construction, agri- culture, garbage collection, or as kitchen helpers," and that they face further barriers through the lack of skill training and basic educational opportunities. Many refugees have expressed a desire to learn English and Maltese, but no language classes palatable to migrants have been provided on the island so far. Simi- larly, while part-time courses at the Gozo branch of MCAST are open to migrants, these are given against payment, and the fees tend to be prohibitive to most refugees, rendering these skill-based courses all but inaccessible. maltatoday SUNDAY 4 FEBRUARY 2018 No knowledge, no power: the With cost of living on the increase in Malta, more and more refugees are attempting to make a home in Gozo. But is the sister island's infrastructure capable of ensuring their integration, TEODOR RELJIC asks? term solutions in order for benefi- they face further barriers through A fragmented approach In lieu of this, an outreach initia- among the most press- ing concerns for the growing refugee popu- lation – with Somalis in particular being singled out as most vulnerable to these infrastructural With the still-ongoing initiative having started in April 2016, the findings so far indicate that employ- ment and education are the most urgent factors to be tackled if the integration of Gozo-based refugees is to be successful. This early assess- ment of the findings further specifies that, "a consider- able number of refugees and migrants work casually and illegally in construction, agri- culture, garbage collection, or as kitchen helpers," and that all but inaccessible.