JEF Belgium

Tuesday
Valletta

The international evening left its traces as some people weren’t able to make it to breakfast in time. Fortunately,  by the start of the morning session, everybody was back in the world of the living.
We started off with the first guest-speakers of the day. A Maltese specialist gave us the Maltese view on migration and the migration policy. He was joined by a British lady who moved to Malta to give her side of the story about migration and diversity in Malta. After  a coffee break we, split up in smaller group for the simulation game. We were supposed to be a “National commission of migration” and had the right to grant asylum for two people (out of the 10 who applied). Of course every person had a specific role to play during this discussion. As we were playing god and deciding which lives to save, we still had to realize that this was a simulation to a real life process. This is how it really happens.

The Afternoon was entirely on location, as we moved our business to the capital of Malta, Valletta. In the Europe-house, we met with a German who really deals with the integration problem on a grassroots level, the second session we had two guest-speakers – a representative of the European commission in Malta and a lector of the University of Malta specialized in the international/European law concerning migration – who gave us a (very) limited overview of the E.U. migration policy.

Diner was spent in a local restaurant and afterwards, we had some free time on our hands to spent in Valletta – luckily for us it had stopped pouring rain by the time we were finished with our  diner. We decided to go for a small walk, before ending the evening at a bar, where else.  We were back at the hostel around midnight.

Cédric Fernandez

Arrival & Monday
Welcome to the castle
After a two and a half hour flight we landed ahead of schedule. Luqua Airport is a small airport (for a small island), and finding a cab wasn’t too difficult. So finally we arrived at the hostel where we’re going to spend the majority of our time during the next week. After all the formalities of checking in and introducing, it was time for bed….getting up after a long evening of traveling, always stings.
And this time was no different. Bright and early (7:45 am) it was time to get some breakfast to get the day started. Today’s goal mainly was to get everyone on the same page. What is migration exactly? What are the different types of migration? If you want to have a good discussion, it’s very important that everybody has the same definition of the different concepts.  But of course there can’t be a first day without an “ice-breaking game”. And in my personal opinion. Every ice-breaking game is one too many.  So, a brainstorming session, a lecture and a discussion set the record straight for the first day. You don’t need to worry, as we also teak a break on a regular basis.
The day ended with the traditional international evening. As always with a successful Belgian representation of alcohol (jenever and beer) and food (chocolate and speculoos). But now there was something extra… we were asked to present our country in a “original” way. Which meant acting, singing, dancing and drawing; something I did not like, but ok, as a group, we had fun. The talking and drinking went on until an early hour. On to tomorrow.

Post by Cédric Fernandez