Articles écrits dans le Malta Independent à Malte

 

Voici deux articles en texte intégral publié pendant l'été 2006.

23 juillet 2006

Caritas’ alcohol and drug free Revival Party just ‘as much fun’

by LUC CAMILLERI

It’s half past seven in the evening and the sun is still high in the sky over Rabat. However, a small crowd is waiting to enter Tattingers Night Club, which surprisingly is already open at this hour. The reason is the Revive Party organised by Caritas two weeks ago and a big board indicates that this evening is special.

Caritas arranges a party on a regular basis (six times a year), exclusively reserved for teenagers aged 14 to 16. The rules of these parties are simple – no alcohol, no smoking, no drugs.

“We try to raise awareness among young people that it is possible to have good fun without resorting to drugs or alcohol,” says Marcette Busuttil of Caritas. “We want to give teenagers the opportunity of having a good time with people their age.” She insists that the quality of entertainment offered to these young people is very high. For example, DJ Andre is a professional DJ who voluntarily offers his service free of charge, the sound is good, the lights are the same as in discotheques everywhere else, the place is clean and the professional security staff keeps a watchful eye.

What’s more, 10 Caritas’ volunteers supervise the teenagers. More than 100 young people attended this particular Revive party, which was held at Tattingers for the first time. Owner Dominic Micallef offered the premises to Caritas for free. “It is a little strange and different because it’s a +18 club here,” he said.

Indeed, the cigarette vending machine is off. The bartender, another volunteer, has covered all the bottles of spirits behind him with a white sheet. He’s only selling soft drinks at 20c each. “The money is not for me of course,” he says with a smile, “it is for Caritas!”

Alcohol is a huge issue with Maltese youth. “It is a cultural problem,” says Ms Busuttil, “as they are exposed to alcohol all the time.” A study published in 2002 by the World Health Organisation revealed that half of the 15-year-olds drank alcohol at least once a week, which was twice the European average.

Two of the services offered by Caritas is helping people come off drugs and a Prevention Education Awareness programme specifically for teenagers to inform them of the negative effects of drug abuse. In fact most of the teenagers at the party had attended a weekend seminar dealing with drug abuse and alcohol problems.

“We send invitations to schools during the school year,” said Alex Attard, the head of the Prevention Unit. “Every year we organise 15 live-in weekends each with 36 students. We give them information about drugs to help them have a better perception of their effects.” However, Mr Attard admits that the majority of teenagers drink alcohol.

The dance floor is now crowded and girls and boys give it all they’ve got as the music booms out. Are they having fun? “They have as much fun here as anywhere else,” says Luciano, a volunteer in charge of the entrance tickets. Two friends with the same name, Wayne, who are both 14, take a little rest before going back to the dance floor. “It is the second time we have come to this party, because we knew we would have a good time,” they say.

“It is so much fun. Alcohol has nothing to do with it, we are here to dance,” says Sarah, 15. “Drinking alcohol can be fun as well but it depends on the people you are with,” she adds.

“We’ve never had incidents”, says Ms Busuttil. The ticket guy does not quite agree: “more or less without problems”. Another objective of these parties is to reassure parents. “Parents are happy, as the place is safe and they trust Caritas,” says Mr Attard.

At 11pm the party is over, a time when discotheques normally open their doors. The success of these Revive parties could send a signal to Maltese teenagers that alcohol parties are not necessarily better and one can have just as much fun at an alcohol free party.

 

 

30 juillet 2006 

 

Youngsters from four countries on ‘Heritage Trail’ around Malta

by Luc Camilleri

They all look like they’re very good friends, as if they have known each other all their lives but they had actually met only a week before. These young people from three different European countries – Estonia, Italy, Slovakia and Malta – were in Malta to take part in “Heritage Trail”, a European-funded exchange organised by the Labour Youth Forum of Dingli and the Dingli local council.

Nine participants from each country, apart from Italy which had three, aged between 16 and 25 took part in this “Heritage Trail” two weeks ago.

Like any trail, the young people travelled around Malta, discovering the country and its culture. However, the objective of such an exchange is not only tourism, it had a precise purpose. “We organised workshops on heritage, culture and architecture; then the participants had to put forward ideas to create a trail that could be used by tourists,” said Ian Borg, mayor of Dingli and president of the Labour Youth Forum.

For instance, the participants put up a signage board near Dingli cliffs to show tourists the places of interest. In addition, all groups prepared workshops on topic related to heritage; for example the Slovakians made a presentation of conservation methods.

“It has been pretty much a holiday,” says 20-year-old Gertel, a girl from Estonia. Indeed, apart from the visits, they had plenty of time to go to the beach. Every evening, each group made a comprehensive presentation of its country including the tasting of typical food, drinks and local dances. “It is much better than the usual holidays because it combines fun and educational things,” says Tauri, an Estonian boy.

This exchange was partly financed by the European commission. Participants just had to pay 30 per cent of travel costs, as everything else was financed by the European Union. It is part of the youth European programme, whose aim is to promote European awareness through youth exchanges. Organisations of all kinds can apply to create their own project with young people aged between 16 and 25; it should be specified that this not a holiday as such and they must establish contact with the local population through workshops. Every year, Malta’s national youth agency in the Ministry of Culture manages several projects like the “Heritage Trail”. Last year, 23 youth exchanges involving foreign countries took place in Malta. But despite all the advantages of this programme, it is unknown to most. (see article on Maltese youngsters’ thoughts below).

Knowing that the exchange was coming to an end with the trip to Gozo, all participants started feeling sad. “We got really close to the Maltese group,” says another Estonian girl. Close indeed, a Maltese guy dated one of the Estonian girls. The leader of the Slovakian group is enthusiastic too: “We really enjoyed our stay here, we appreciated all the visits, and especially the beautiful beaches.” Even the three guys from Italy had a great time, though they didn’t speak English. “We had the help of the Maltese group, as they translated everything so we felt very much at home here,” said Oreste, 18. They all promised to keep in touch and, why not, perhaps another next trip abroad.

 

 

Maltese participants bitter about Europe

 

Every European project for young people that takes place in Malta must involve a group of Maltese youth. The Dingli project included nine Maltese people from the local Labour youth association and this gave them the chance to talk about their perception of the European Union two years after accession. Some study, others already work, so their perception is bound to differ.

As part of the European commission funded project, one would have thought that they would have a more positive view of Europe. One positive opinion is that since joining the European Union they have more opportunities to travel. “With this exchange, we can meet foreign people here, get to know each other and then travel to meet them in their country,” says one. “We have more choices if we want to work abroad,” says another.

But that is where the positive part ends. What is negative for them? Almost everything. They are so enthusiastic talking about this they can hardly control themselves; they all talk at the same time in a loud voice. They almost all agree that they are disappointed and bitter mainly about the economic factors.

“We don’t feel integrated,” says one as the others nod their head in agreement. To explain this assessment the youngsters say they regret the increase of imports to Malta. “The farmers cannot compete with foreign produce,” says the son of a farmer. They have noticed that many shops and factories have closed, “especially in textiles”. The cost of living has gone up since entering the EU. “Wages remain the same while prices, like electricity, are higher and with the euro it will be even worse,” they added.

“So many promises have been made, but none have been kept so far,” says one tough guy from Dingli.

In fact, they would like the government to give more information about Europe. “There is no organisation to explain how it works. Almost no youngsters are aware that possibilities such as this exchange exist,” says one.

The disappointment went even deeper when irregular immigration was discussed. “Europe does absolutely nothing for us; money and support are needed,” they say. On this issue, they don’t all agree with the policy to deal with irregular immigration. “We should shoot them,” says one. Another doesn’t share his opinion. “We have to welcome them as they face difficulties.” But they all agree on one thing. “Yes, irregular immigrants take our jobs, they want to impose their culture and we don’t feel safe.”

One of the aims of European youth exchange is to “help combat negative prejudices and stereotypes” as written in the Commission brochure – a goal that is sometimes hard to achieve.