Malta: The Refugee Island | European Journal

The revolutions in northern Africa have had an unexpected effect on Malta: thousands of refugees fleeing the unrest have arrived on the island, and they now call it home.Since the uprisings in the Arab world began earlier this year, the small island of Malta has accepted a third of the refugees who fled their homes in search of European shores. Malta has remained largely unaffected by the discussions of immigration and asylum on the rest of the continent. Many of the refugees are high-skilled workers and have already found work. Still, the sheer number of newly-arrived people is overwhelming.