Why SASM?

As president of Stars And Stripes Malta (SASM) I am honoured to welcome you to SASM’s first blog entry. SASM enters the Maltese social and political arena at a time when Malta forms part of the EU block. This gives Maltese citizens the freedom of movement and opportunities that an area of almost 4.5 million square kilometres and half a billion people can generate. Today Malta acknowledges that the name of the game lies in being on the forefront of the hospitality, financial and technological industries rather than being a rock of strategic and military importance. The US is the only superpower in the world that has the capacity to project dominating power and influence anywhere in the world, and sometimes, in more than one region of the globe at a time.

At the micro level, within homes, many people have stronger ties to the US than what may be interpreted from the macro state of events. Malta was, for many years, a country that exported manpower and the United States of America was one of the countries many people hoped to make their fortune in. Some of the emigrants returned back while others have established roots too deep to return. For those who eventually returned back to Malta, the fact that they lived in the US for any length of time gives them a sense of US belonging. And this is even reflected in their children and their grandchildren. On the other hand those who remained in the US are now fully blown Americans who, together with their children and their grandchildren keep alive the Maltese roots. Together the people maintain the Malta-US link. Technology helps each side to establish and retain this link. Malta is home to about two thousand US citizens. A large percentage of these are US nationals who were born and raised in the US and who have no ancestral relationship to Malta. They reside here for reasons of love, work or both and their duration on this island can vary from a short few months to the foreseeable future. These people try to balance the US way of life with the Maltese one.

SASM aims to be a dynamic organization that will inform and be active on those matters that affect its members. Dual taxation, citizenship of children of people who have recovered their US citizenship, entry visas, work permits, investment opportunities are just a few of the topics that come to mind. Each one needs lots of work in its own right and that is why SASM came into being. SASM is a non-profit organization and it is driven by its members. To be successful we need your help. Hop over to http://www.starsandstripesmalta.com/ and become a member (free); contact us if you would like to pitch in.

Alan C. Bonnici