On my arrival in Malta, I heard that a refugee boat arrived from Libya. It was described to m as a 'half boat'. I have heard several accounts of the arrival and each one of them slightly different from the other, but the basic story is that sometime during the voyage from Libya to Malta, another boat sailed up to her and claimed that they were on their way to Italy. If people want to, they can join them in this vessel and go straight to Italy. People started to climb over into the vessel that was going to Italy. Halfway through the clambering over into the boat, the refugees discovered that it was actually a Libyan boat with coast guards. They shouted warnings to the people in the process of climbing over. Chaos ensued with people trying to get back in the original refugee boat. The refugee boat took off. The people in the Libyan boat were taken back to Tripoli, and the rest of the refugees sailed on to Malta. Apart from the trauma of the experience, the result of this was that families were also separated with some back in Tripoli and some here in Malta.
I met a woman that was on this vessel. Her baby boy was born two days after stepping on land in Valletta. She named him: Ibrahim Malta. Her husband is back in Libya and have to try again to get to them. I have posted a photo of him as a symbol of the life stories that will be heard over the years; as story telling is a strategy for transforming the private into public meanings which in turn helps us to understand who and what we are and who and what we become, starting with our birth.

I have been very fortunate these last few weeks. This was also the case in Malta. I hanged out at the African bar, visited the Open Centers where the refugees are; was shown the accommodation and places of worship. And had many conversations with people that has been here many years and people who arrived not so long ago. As I am winding down the work and contact with refugees I plan to step back a bit and do some sightseeing around Malta and maybe even manage to have a swim in the sea.

A life changing opportunity, was one of the expression used to describe this to me before I left: I agree.

Thank you to everybody. The list will be too long in the thanking of people so I am not going to try and do it, but the most important is that it will start and finish with the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust. I am grateful.