Authentic, friendly, and flavourful are some of the words that come to mind after a visit to ‘One Love African Bar and Restaurant’.
Run by an Ethiopian couple – Muna Tefera and Samson Tariku and their Maltese partner, Walter, this vibrant reggae themed restaurant offers a truly unique intercultural experience.
Muna and Samson originate from Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa. They met in Sudan in 2007 after fleeing persecution in Ethiopia. In 2008, the couple made the dangerous, and life-changing decision to cross the Sahara desert and the Mediterranean Sea in search of a better future.
Since arriving in Malta, the couple, who are parents to two young boys, have worked hard to secure a comfortable life for their family. Before opening therestaurant, Samson worked in the tourism industry while Muna worked as a cleaner at Mater Dei Hospital and Mount Carmel Hospital.
In 2015, they opened ‘One Love African Bar and Restaurant’ alongside their Maltese friend Walter Mallo from Cospicua, who also believes that food has the ability to bridge cultural divides and bring people together.
“We want to show the local population our food, so that people can understand our culture and traditions,” says Muna.
The restaurant specialises in Ethiopian and Eritrean cuisine which characteristically consists of rich spicy vegetable and meat stews served on top of injera, a large sourdough flat bread.
“Maltese people love our food! Before we opened we would invite our Maltese friends and cook for them,” Sammy explains. “After a while we decided to open a restaurant”.
An instant distinct feature of this restaurant is that it serves a very diverse clientele. “Most of our customers are Maltese, we also have a following among migrant communities, particularly Ethiopians, Eritreans and Somali,” explains Muna. The staff working at the restaurant also originate from diverse countries.
“We currently have 5 people working here from 4 different countries including Malta, Ethiopia, Finland, and Romania” says Sammy.
When asked about common stereotypes targeted towards migrant and refugee communities, Muna responded by saying, “if you are a refugee in Malta you have the right to work’ meaning that you are working legally and paying tax, like myself. I have always worked with a permit, paid tax and social security”. Sammy adds that “many refugees and migrants are opening shops, hairdressing salons and other small businesses. Many are also filling up jobs that are not being taken by the local community, for example in hospitals, hotels and restaurants”.
A recent report made by the Central Bank supports the couple’s argument and has shown that foreign workers contribute significantly to the Maltese economy noting that “evidence seems to indicate that the rising demand for labour by Maltese industries is too strong to be serviced by the supply of Maltese workers.” It goes on to show that “dependence on migrant workers amounts to nearly 29% of the entire workforce in entertainment and recreation, 23% in professional services and administrative support and 21% in hotels & restaurants.”
“We need to realise that it is actually a good thing to have people with different nationalities coming and living in a country. We have to accept our differences, and notice our similarities” explains Sammy. “That is why we named our restaurant after Bob Marley’s hit song ‘One Love’, because we want to promote collaboration, sharing and respect, qualities that are far better than fear and hate”.
“All we want is to live happily, to work hard and bring our kids up well. This restaurant has made that possible. For that we say thank you to Malta. Flimkien ghal- Malta Inklussiva.”
“Flimkien ghal Malta Inclussiva/Together for an Inclusive Malta” is a UNHCR Malta campaign on 89.7 Bay Radio, which runs from the 31 august to the 15th September.
The campaign challenges some of the common myths held by the local population about refugees – ‘they do not work’, ‘are a burden on the economy’, and ‘steal local jobs’
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