locating the ‘arab spring’ lived experiences of contemporary politics among arabs in malta
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Locating the ‘Arab Spring’ Lived Experiences of Contemporary Politics among Arabs in Malta. Nathalie Grima M.A. in Sociology Faculty of Arts University of Malta. Aims of the research. Arab migrants in Malta living the ‘Arab Spring’ revolutionary wave ‘far away from home’ - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Locating the ‘Arab Spring’ Lived Experiences of Contemporary Politics
among Arabs in Malta
Nathalie GrimaM.A. in Sociology
Faculty of ArtsUniversity of Malta
02 December 2013 2
Aims of the research
• Arab migrants in Malta living the ‘Arab Spring’ revolutionary wave ‘far away from home’
• If and how they felt part of a collective Arab political and social movement for change
• Their involvement in social networks and locally organised solidarity movements in bringing the Arab diaspora ‘closer to home’
02 December 2013 3
Sociological aspects
• Political transnationalism of migrants‘political participation not only in the country of
emigration but also of immigration’ (Faist 2010: 11)
• Relevance of national borders and loyalties‘social life takes place across borders, even as the
political and cultural salience of nation-state boundaries remains strong’
(Levitt and Jaworsky 2007: 129)
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Visible changes
• Their strong motivation to act was in sharp contrast to having lived through decades of fear to express themselves freely on political matters.
• Rather than being a one-off event, the Arab revolution triggered a political process on a long-term basis among the informants.
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Research methods
• Interviews:– April 2012 till
January 2013• Participant
Observation:– April 2012 till
March 2013• Facebook
02 December 2013 6
New organisations• Libyan Association in
Malta
• Syrian Maltese Solidarity Movement
• Arab Maltese Community
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Embassies as visible sites of activism
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Politicised space
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Transnational simultaneous protests
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Humanitarian aid
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Women affirm their placePicture taken by Jason Borg and published on The Times of Malta online
02 December 2013 12
Establishment of the Arab Maltese Community with the support of the General Workers’ Union
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Political involvement during the Maltese general election campaign
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Intense patriotism Picture taken by Chris Sant Fournier and published on The Times of Malta onine
02 December 2013 15
Ongoing political activism Picture published on maltatoday online on 22 November 2013
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Local concerns
