"Go back to your country!" : a study on African migrants’ experiences of verbally-expressed xenophobia in Malta

Abstract

This study explored African migrants’ experiences of verbally-expressed xenophobia towards themselves and others in Malta and their coping strategies in dealing with these experiences. The research objectives were to gain knowledge about the daily struggle of African migrants living in Malta, give them a voice and raise awareness as well as elicit insights for counsellors in order to develop a deeper understanding when working with this client population. Through the support of gatekeeping organizations and snowball sampling using the social network Facebook, four participants were found. Based on the research questions a qualitative research approach was chosen using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Unstructured interviews following a single question were conducted from which seven different main themes emerged. Furthermore, five categories of coping strategies were identified. Each participant made different experiences of verbally-expressed xenophobia in Malta and developed an individual coping style combining various coping strategies. Based on the findings of this study, recommendations for future research emerged. Furthermore, recommendations for counsellors working with African migrants as clients emerged – one of them being to keep in mind that addressing mental health issues is considered a taboo in African cultures.