Escape to Malta

I find myself once again taking you back to the tiny island of Malta! The amazing story of Tristan Haynes who was forced to flee Malta after a trumped up charge following a road rage incident led to his deportation from his home in England and a three year jail sentence back in Malta, has been the subject of two of my previous articles.

Now in a somewhat strange reversal there are ship loads of American expats and a number of aircraft heading for the tiny island following a different kind of violence, escaping from Libya as the country is plunged into a violent uprising. Sitting smack in the middle of the Mediterranean Malta is less than 800 miles from the Libyan coast.

Two Libyan air force Mirage jets landed last week at Luqa, Malta's international airport where I served with the British air force over 50 years ago. Flown by two Libyan Air Force Colonels, seeking political asylum, they were preceded by two French registered helicopters with 7 passengers, all of whom claimed to be French. My contact in Malta however tells me they must have left in a hurry as only one of them had identifying documents with them.

Libya is only slightly larger than Alaska and is home to the "Great Manmade River Project", the largest water development scheme in the world; it is being built to bring water from large aquifers under the Sahara to coastal cities. Water supply, as in most of Africa, is a major problem; over 90% of Libya is desert.

Libya is home to over 6 million people, compared to Malta's 400,000.

I just received an update from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who are urging the families of those who Maltese who are still in Libya to contact their relatives and ask them to make the journey back to Malta on one of the chartered catamarans that the government has made available.

Malta is collaborating with other countries to evacuate the Maltese who are not in Tripoli.

According to my report the Maltese government has so far provided logistical support to 53 countries wishing to evacuate their nationals from Libya, including the USA.

Over the years this 95 sq. mile island has seen its share of illegal immigrants arriving on every imaginable type of floating object, very similar to Florida's costal proximity and experience with Cuba. The Maltese enjoy a very peaceful and economically stable lifestyle compared to their North African brothers and as such provides a great escape to many North Africans.

It is hoped that the present uprising is quickly resolved as Malta has limited space and resources, though its tiny air force is now two Mirage jets better off.

Dr. Peter J. Shield PhD, ARP ( http://maltaheritage.com )