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C-BERSS EX-PRESS
March 2001
Issue 1, Vol 4
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All Newsletters : March 2001 : Malta Memories .. Preserved for Posterity
Malta Memories .. Preserved for Posterity
Ten Maltese ex-residents are taking part in a project which will provide a permanent record of their impressions and experiences both before they came to Australia as child migrants AND after they arrived.
The Maltese Oral History Project, which is being undertaken by C-BERS in partnership with the Oral History Unit of the State Library, aims to honour the personal stories of Maltese child migrants as a way of preserving their personal heritage and of contributing to a broader understanding of the social history of our times.
The ten men who volunteered to take part in the project have told their stories to professional interviewer John Bannister in a series of structured, personal interviews each lasting between two and three hours. John previously conducted interviews with Aboriginal people whose stories featured in the Stolen Generations Report a few years ago. (All participants in the oral history project have reported that they were very happy with the sensitive and understanding way in which the, often very personal, interviews were handled).
The second stage of the project involves transcribing the taped interviews which, collectively, add up to a total of around 25 hours. It is hoped that a written version of the interviews will be completed by Spring. Subject to the permission of the men who participated in the project, consideration will then be given to whether to edit the stories into a publication for wider distribution.
C-BERS Counsellor, Michael Anderson, who is coordinating the project, is passionate about the value of oral histories. "They are good for the people who share their stories, for their descendents, and for society as a whole". Further information on the Maltese Oral History Project is available from Michael.
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