Maltese American Associations

When the largest number of the Maltese emigrated to the US, the phone was a device the majority of people spoke about rather than owned.  Yet today many of the organizations that aim to group together Maltese people living in different US states are still in the technological Stone Age.  A few days ago I googled the phrase “Maltese American”. The first 4 links were the following:

1.    A Definition of what a Maltese American is in Wikipedia.
2.    A website called americanmaltese.org about the Maltese dog.
3.    An article titled “Maltese Americans” by Dianne Andreassi.
4.    Another website about the Maltese dog.
 

After that were links to pages with links to either dog clubs or to Maltese American Clubs. I started clicking the links that made reference to “Maltese American Club”, “Maltese American Association”, “Maltese American Society” and other phrases that indicate an organization in which people of Maltese descent meet and mingle.
 

I regret to report that many of the links opened up into pages that belonged to business finding web sites.  These would carry the name of the organization, an address and sometimes a phone number. Many had a map indicating the address. Even though many of these pages allowed people to add comments and advertise events, all the links I clicked upon were void of such content. I get the impression that the owners of these information sites had gotten hold of an organization’s details not because someone from the organization actually filled in a form in order to be listed but because the organization’s details appear in some official list.
 

In today’s day and age, an organization that aspires to establish new contacts and retain existing ones should have an online presence. This is especially more true with organizations with one part of their heritage on the other side of the Atlantic. While those from Malta might not be able to attend the functions organized by their brethren living in New York, Michigan and San Francisco,  I am pretty sure that they would be interested in knowing what is happening and maybe occasionally even exchange an email or chat online. An online connection is even more important now that the first and second generation Americans have taken over the reins of these clubs. For many of these American Maltese people, the only knowledge of Malta is through the lives of their parents and grandparents and maybe a holiday spent in Malta.

Stars And Stripes Malta (SASM) would like to offer all Maltese American organizations a free web page and email address. This will allow them to announce their events and to stay in touch with the rest of the world both at home as well as in Malta. For more information contact us on info@StarsAndStripesMalta.com.