Maltese Americans

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MALTESE AMERICANS

by Diane Andreassi

Overview

A European country often called "the mouse that roars," Malta is also referred to as "the island of sunshine and history." Malta covers 122 square miles in the center of the Mediterranean Sea and is comprised of three inhabited islands: Malta, Gozo, and Comino. Malta, 17 miles long and about nine miles across, is the largest of the three islands. Gozo, the northern island, is 35 square miles and is known for its grottoes, copper beaches, and the third-largest church dome in the world. Comino, at one square mile, has a small population and is located between Malta and Gozo. The uninhabited islands in the archipelago are Filfla and St. Paul's. The topography of Malta lacks mountains and rivers, but the island is characterized by a series of low hills with terraced fields.

The weather, more than any other feature, has made Malta a key tourist resort in the center of the Mediterranean. It never snows in Malta, and the total average rainfall is 20 inches annually. The summers are warm and breezy and the winters are mild, with an average winter temperature of 54 degrees. About 606,000 tourists from all over the world, including the United States and Europe, arrive annually. Tourists boost the economy significantly by spending approximately $3.6 million each year on the island. The Maltese weather and lifestyle also call for afternoon breaks, when shop owners close and the island people rest. Everything resumes again later in the day, when the sun is not as tiring. The climate, sea, and terrain also provide perfect backdrops for movies; for instance, the movie "Popeye" was filmed on the island in the 1980s.

Malta is located 58 miles south of Sicily and 180 miles north of North Africa. The total population is 350,000, which places it among the most densely populated countries in the world. Ninetysix percent of the population is of Maltese descent, two percent are British, and the remaining people are of various other heritages. The chief languages are Maltese, English, and Italian. Ninety-seven percent of the population is Roman Catholic. A high priority is placed on education, bringing the literacy rate to 96 percent. Education is mandatory for Maltese children from age 5 to 16, and by age four there is already almost 100 percent enrollment. Instruction is available in state as well as private schools, with the private sector catering to about 27 percent of the total population.

HISTORY

The first Maltese were late Stone Age farmers who immigrated to Malta from Sicily before 4000 b.c. Structures believed to be temples were the biggest reward of these early people, and their remains can be seen in the megalithic buildings. At least one underground temple catacomb has been associated with the cult of a Mother Goddess. By the year 2000 b.c. these early arrivers were replaced by bronze-using warrior-farmers of the Alpine race who likely arrived from southern Italy.

Phoenicians were to follow during the Iron Age period around 800 b.c., and they were succeeded by Carthaginians. Due to the Punic Wars, Malta became part of the Roman Empire, and inhabitants were well treated by the conquerors. During this time, the Maltese enjoyed peace and prosperity based on a well-developed agricultural economy. Aghlabite Arabs, by way of Sicily, invaded Malta in 870. Then came Count Roger, a Norman who conquered the Arabs in Sicily and brought Malta back into the Christian and European orbit. For four- and-a-half centuries, beginning in 1090, Malta's history was nearly identical to that of Sicily.

In 1530 Malta was granted as a fief to the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, who as the Knights of Malta defended Christianity against Islam and fortified the island. The Knights of Malta were responsible for building grand churches and palaces, especially in the city of Valletta, Malta's capital. The decline of the order hastened when Napoleon landed with his Republican Army in 1798; however, the insurrection of the Maltese that same year brought the end of the French rule. Malta was granted to Britain in 1814. The British built a first-class dockyard and concentrated her fleet on Malta's magnificent harbors.

Malta's strategic position in the Mediterranean Sea made the islands an important ally during World War II. This key location also made Malta a target for overwhelming bombing by Germany and Italy during the war. Surviving the unrelenting attacks, the Maltese people were awarded the George Cross by English prime minister Winston Churchill for their fortitude and dogged determination. Evidence of the bombings, including buildings reduced to rubble and torn up streets, was still apparent decades after the war. The island became independent after a 164-year British occupancy. In 1974 Malta became a Republic.

MODERN ERA

Malta has limited natural resources, and the land is not suited to agriculture. The small size of the country and its isolation dissuades industrialization. Economic growth was spurred until the eighteenth century by a low rate of population growth, income gained from trade of cotton, and the European estates of the Knights of St. John. This began to unravel, however, following the era of the Napoleonic Wars, when an economic downswing was coupled with a surge in population. Early in the nineteenth century the government tried to obtain an ideal population—220,000 inhabitants by the twentieth century. As part of this plan, the government encouraged immigration to other British colonies in the Mediterranean and to the West Indies. The Maltese preferred northern Africa, and by 1885, 36,0000 Maltese immigrants moved to Algeria, Egypt, Tunis, and Tripoli. The rise in cheap native labor in northern Africa later pushed the Maltese people to find other locations in which to settle.

THE FIRST MALTESE IN AMERICA

The earliest Maltese settlers in the United States came in the mid-eighteenth century, mostly to New Orleans. These settlers were often regarded as Italians, and in fact tombstones sometimes mistakenly noted the deceased as "natives of Malta, Italy." The burial grounds were inscribed with such common Maltese names as Ferruggia (Farrugia), Pace, and Grima. By 1855 there were 116 Maltese living in the United States. In the 1860s, it was estimated that between five and ten Maltese came to the United States every year. The majority of the migrants were agricultural workers, and in New Orleans the majority worked as market gardeners and vegetable dealers.

The greatest number of Maltese people came to the United States during the first decades of the twentieth century. Their move coincided with the discharge of skilled workers from the Royal British Dockyard in 1919 following the end of the World War I. More than 1,300 Maltese immigrated to the United States in the first quarter of 1920, and most found work in automobile manufacturing. The Detroit Free Press reported in October 1920 that Detroit had the largest Maltese population in the United States, at 5,000 residents. In 1922, the Detroit Free Press reported that the only Maltese colony in the United States was in Detroit. Over the next few years, it is believed that more than 15,000 Maltese people settled in the United States and became citizens. They apparently intended to stay for a short time and return home. However, opportunities in America seemed more plentiful and stable than the uncertainties at home, and many Maltese people remained in the United States. By 1928 New York had an estimated 9,000 Maltese immigrants. San Francisco also had a large Maltese population.

After World War II, the Maltese government launched a program to pay passage costs to Maltese willing to emigrate and remain abroad for at least two years. As a result, a surge of Maltese left their homeland. In 1954, a reported 11,447 Maltese left the islands. This program enticed approximately 8,000 Maltese to come to the United States between 1947 and 1977. For more than a century Malta's government encouraged emigration because of the tiny size of the overpopulated island nation.

SETTLEMENT

Settlement in the United States was concentrated in Detroit, New York City, San Francisco, and Chicago. It has been estimated that more than 70,000 Maltese immigrants and their descendants were living in the United States by the mid-1990s. The largest estimated communities are the more than 44,000 Maltese in the Detroit area and the 20,000 Maltese in New York City, most of them in Astoria, Queens.

Acculturation and Assimilation

Possibly due to the small size of their nation and the large numbers of countries that once occupied the islands, the Maltese are often ignored or confused with other nationalities when studies are done. However, signs of Malta can be seen in fire stations in most cities, small and large, throughout the United States. Firefighters are identified by a badge that designates their company. The majority of badges worn by firefighters take the shape of the Maltese Cross, which is an eight-sided emblem of protection and badge of honor. The history of the cross goes back to the Knights of St. John, who courageously fought for possession of the Holy Land.

Malta's involvement with the United Nations is substantial. The island country became a full member in December 1964 after gaining independence from Great Britain. Issues Malta has been involved in, or spearheaded, include the Law of the Sea Convention in 1981; the United Nations Conference on the Aged; and an initiative to raise questions about the effects of climate change.

Although the people of the Maltese islands are not particularly well known, there are a number of Maltese influences in United States culture. For instance, many people are familiar with the Maltese, a tiny fluffy white dog. The movie The Maltese Falcon, a drama about a detective trying to find a priceless statue, is a classic part of American cinema, although another movie, The Maltese Bippy, is less known. Oftentimes people with the surname Maltese are Italian by heritage, not Maltese.

TRADITIONS, CUSTOMS, AND BELIEFS

Maltese have traditions and folklore dating back centuries. They are wide and varied—and mostly forgotten today. One popular belief was that if someone gave you "the evil eye," you would have bad luck. To rid their houses of those bad spirits, some Maltese would undergo an elaborate ritual involving old dried olive branches, which were blessed on Palm Sunday in place of the palm branches commonly used in the United States on the Sunday before Easter. The Maltese would burn the olive branches in a pan and spread the incense through every room of their houses, saying a special prayer and hoping the evil spirit would be chased away.

In other folklore tradition, some Maltese believed women who were menstruating could taint new wine, so they were banned from the cellar while wine was made. The same thinking was applied to making bread.

Others thought bad luck would follow if you dropped a knife. Another sign of bad luck was the sighting of a black moth. Good luck was sure to come when a white moth was seen, however. Some believed, also, that you should never kill a moth.

The tradition of matchmaking involved an elaborate sequence of events. For instance, if a young woman were ready for marriage, her parents would place a flower pot on the front porch. A matchmaker would take note and alert the single men about her availability. Interested suitors would then tell the matchmaker they wanted to marry. Next the matchmaker would approach the father of the prospective bride and obtain his blessing.

In the United States a matchmaker was not involved. However, during the first half of the twentieth century, men interested in marrying a Maltese girl still spoke to the girl's father, and in some cases brothers and other members of her family, for permission to marry. This tradition has faded with time.

Most of these customs and beliefs were gradually forgotten as the Maltese people were assimilated into American society. However, some lingered even if they were only jokingly remembered.

CUISINE

Maltese cuisine involves a tasty mixture with many influences. Garlic is a mainstay. The most popular Maltese dish is pastitsi, made of a flaky dough similar to the filo dough used by Greeks. A meat or ricotta cheese mixture is wrapped inside the dough enclave, which is usually about the size of a hand. The ricotta mixture includes ricotta cheese, egg, grated cheese, salt, and pepper. The meat mixture has ground beef, onion, tomato paste, peas, salt, pepper, and curry powder. This cheese or meat mixture also can be cooked in a pie form and served as a meal. Baked macaroni, imquarrun fil forn, is another popular dish. The macaroni is cooked in salt water. The sauce includes ground beef, tomato paste, garlic powder, eggs, grated cheese, and a dash of curry powder. This dish can be served without baking, in which case it is called mostoccoli.

Rabbit cooked in various ways, including stew, is a Maltese mainstay on the island and in the United States. Pastas with ricotta and tomato sauce are common meals, too. Fish is extremely popular, likely because of the abundance available from the Mediterranean Sea. Fried cod, octopus stew, and tuna are typically on the menu. Stuffed artichoke and eggplant are regular meals as well.

For dessert or treats, date slices, or imqaret, are found in most Maltese homes in Malta and the United States. This deliciously deep fried pastry has dates, orange and lemon extract, anisette, chopped nuts, orange rind, and lemon rind. Cream-filled or ricotta-filled cannoli shells are common, too. These Maltese sweets are often served at functions like showers, weddings, and baptisms.

TRADITIONAL COSTUMES

Up until the 1950s some of the women in Maltese villages wore a ghonella, or faldetta, a black dress with a black cape with a hard board black veil. In the modern era many of the fashions are dictated by Italian styles. In the United States, Maltese Americans wear typically the same fashions as other Americans.

DANCES AND SONGS

The traditional Maltese dance is an interpretive routine called miltija, which describes the victory of the Maltese over the Turks in 1565. Old-time singing was called ghana. This involves bantering, oftentimes between two people who good-heartedly tease each other. They use rhyme and jokes in a relay of comments about each other. Maltese folk singer Namru Station was best known for this form of singing.

HOLIDAYS

The Maltese love festivals, and between May and October almost every town and village in Malta and Gozo celebrates the feast day of its patron saint. The festa is the most important day in each village, where the church is the focal point of the event. The churches are elaborately decorated with flowers. Gold, silver, and crystal chandeliers are placed on display as a backdrop for the statue of the patron saint. After three days of preparation, the statue is carried shoulder-high along the streets of the city or village in a parade like procession, including bands and church bells. Since the Maltese specialize in making elaborate fireworks, colorful displays are part of the party. Cities and villages compete with one another to put on the best show. Maltese in the United States privately commemorate and remember the patron saint of their town, but gone are the big festivals and fireworks.

Since the country is officially Roman Catholic, the Catholic traditions and celebrations dominate in the Maltese culture. Holy days include Christmas, Easter, and an annual observance of February 10, which is the day St. Paul, Malta's patron saint, shipwrecked on the island. Legend has it that when he was shipwrecked with his crew, the people made a bonfire to make them warm. Later, a viper snake came out of the wood and went toward St. Paul. The people were awed that this man had escaped the ravages of the seas, and they were curious to see what would happen with the snake. When he was not bitten, the people thought for sure this man was God. He told them, "I am not a God, but I came to talk to you about God."

Other public holidays in Malta include January 1, New Year's Day; March 19, St. Joseph's feast day; March 29, Good Friday; March 31, Freedom Day; May 1, May Day; June 7, Sette Giugno; June 29, St. Peter and St. Paul feast day; August 15, the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary; September 8, Our Lady of Victories or Victory Day; September 21, Independence Day; December 8, the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary; December 13, Republic Day; and December 25, Christmas Day.

On patriotic days, the Maltese flag is flown. It has two vertical stripes, white in the hoist and red in the fly. A sign, of the George Cross awarded to Malta by His Majesty King George the Sixth on the April 15, 1942, is carried, edged with red in the canton of the white stripe. According to tradition the national colors were given to the Maltese by Count Roger in 1090. Roger the Norman had landed in Malta to oust the Arabs from the island. Out of regard for their hospitality, Roger gave the Maltese part of the pennant of the Hautevilles to serve as their colors.

PROVERBS

Unless the baby cries, he or she will not be put to the mother's breast; Build your reputation and go to sleep; Who I see you with is who I see you as; Little by little the jar will fill; Essence comes in small bottles; Cut the tail of a donkey and it's still a donkey; If you want it to be it never will be; I'll be there if I'm not dead; A friend in the market is better than your money in the hope chest; God does not pay every Saturday; He who waits will sooner or later be happy; Only God knows when death and rain will happen; Always hold onto the words of the elderly to show respect and to gain from their wisdom.

HEALTH ISSUES

Many Maltese people have been stricken with thalassemia. It is also called Mediterranean anemia, because it usually strikes people from that region. In the United States most cases occur in Americans of Maltese, Italian, Greek, Portuguese, or Levantine background. Thalassemia refers to a group of hereditary disorders of the control of globin synthesis, causing too much or too little synthesis of either the alpha or the beta globin chains. In some cases a wrong kind of chain is produced. In beta-thalassemia deficient amounts of beta chains are produced, and in hemoglobin-Lepore thalassemia the beta chain grows longer than the normal 146 amino acids. When the gene is taken from only one parent, a mild anemia usually results; however, when the gene is from both parents the results are devastating. This blood disease is usually discovered during infancy.

Language

Like its people and history, the Maltese language is varied. It is Semitic, chiefly Arabic, written in the Roman alphabet, with words and phrases taken from the Italian, Spanish, English, Greek, and some French. The official languages in Malta are Maltese and English. Many people also speak Italian. When English is spoken it is often heard with a British accent, likely a remnant of the 164-year British occupancy of the country.

GREETINGS AND OTHER POPULAR EXPRESSIONS

Typical Maltese greetings and other expressions include: bongu ("bon-ju")—good morning; bonswa ("bon-swar")—good night; grazzi ("grats-ee")— thank you; taf titkellem bl-Ingliz? ("tarf tit-kell-lem bilin-gleez")—do you speak English?; kemm? ("kem")—how much? The word sahha ("sa-ha") can be used as a greeting, as good-bye, or as a toast—it is the Maltese equivalent of "good health."

Family and Community Dynamics

There were many changes in the family structure when the first Maltese immigrants came to the United States. Typically, the patriarchs came to the United States without their families. Sometimes they would bring sons, but the wives and children were often left on the homeland. The plan was that they would bring their entire family after they established themselves in their new country and were more financially stable. Oftentimes years lapsed before the entire family was reunited. In other cases, single men came to the United States and lived with relatives or close family friends who had come to the country earlier. They lived in communities that were heavily populated by other Maltese and often married Maltese women who came to America with their families. These Maltese couples then raised a generation of full-blooded Maltese children who had never lived in the mother country. In downtown Detroit and neighboring Highland Park, the largest Maltese community in the United States, there was a heavily populated Maltese area. However, by the 1970s many, but certainly not all, the Maltese in this area began moving to Detroit suburbs.

Maltese family members were usually very close, and aunts, uncles, and cousins were often regarded as immediate family. Before 1980 most Maltese families were large, with four or more children as the norm. In later years, however, the Maltese, like most other ethnic groups in the United States, were beginning to have smaller families, with two or three children commonly found in each household.

There were a number of gathering places, like clubs, where immigrants and first-generation Maltese could find camaraderie. New immigrants also turned to the Maltese clubs and organizations for information and direction on life in their new country. They were a good place to meet other Maltese, who spoke the language and could help in the assimilation process.

WEDDINGS

A Maltese bridal shower is usually very elaborate, with a multi-course meal and a sweet table. The party often is held in a hall or banquet room to accommodate the large number of family and friends who are invited. In Malta the typical wedding is based on the Roman Catholic mass. The bride would be accompanied by several bridesmaids and the groom had one male, the best man, at his side. In the United States, however, the Maltese wedding is usually dictated by typical traditions followed in the United States.

BAPTISMS

Again the Roman Catholic religion dictates much of what happens at baptisms. A parrina, or godmother, and a parrinu, or godfather, are chosen. Usually, these people are close family members, like brothers or sisters of the baby's parents. In Malta a party celebration with tables of cookies, ice creams, and drinks will follow the religious ceremony. However, as the customs changed in their new country, the Maltese Americans adopted new traditions, like having a full meal at the party after the baptism.

FUNERALS

The Maltese in the United States have adopted the wake tradition. In Malta when a person died they were usually buried within 24 hours, and very few people were embalmed. In the villages during the early part of the twentieth century, a local person would visit the home, clean the body, and dress the deceased. This person usually was on the lowest rung of the social ladder. Superstition prevailed, and some people were afraid of the undertaker to the point that when village people saw him walking down the street they would walk on the other side of the road. As time passed, however, these traditions faded in Malta and most certainly were not followed in the United States.

Religion

Malta's strong Roman Catholic history has been imprinted on those who came to the United States. The religion dates back to a cadre of important visitors to the island, including the Apostle Paul, who was shipwrecked on the island in 60 a.d. The hospitality shown to him by the locals was well documented in the Acts of the Apostles, Chapters 27 and 28, in the New Testament of the Bible. "The natives showed us extraordinary kindness by lighting a fire and gathering us all around it, for it had begun to rain and was growing cold," a passage reads.

Malta's historical and religious background was also greatly influenced by the Knights of the Order of St. John during the eleventh century. In the Holy Land, the Order's original duties were to care for the sick and wounded Christians. The Knights became soldiers of Christ and maintained huge estates in the Holy Land. With the loss of Acre—their head-quarters—to the Moslems in 1291, however, the Knights withdrew to Rhodes. They were shields against the Turks until 1522, when Suleiman the Magnificent ousted the Knights from Rhodes. In 1530 they moved to Malta. They quickly improved trade and commerce on the islands by building new hospitals and erecting strong fortifications. Although heavily outnumbered, the Knights fought off an attack by Suleiman during the Great Siege of 1565. They were assisted by Maltese and Sicilian reinforcements. The Turks retreated and the Knights of St. John protected southern Europe and Christendom. A blossoming era in culture, architecture, and the arts followed, when the fortress city, Valletta, was built. The fall of the Ottoman Empire marked the end of the military life of the Order. To this day, 97 percent of the Maltese are Roman Catholic.

In the United States the Maltese maintain their strong devotion to the Catholic church by attending mass weekly and becoming active in their local parishes. Since attendance among Maltese Americans is high, church is another common place where they meet one another. For instance, in San Francisco, St. Paul of the Shipwreck Church at 1122 Jamestown Avenue is heavily populated by Maltese. And in Detroit, the Maltese have attended St. Paul's Maltese Church since the 1920s.

Employment and Economic Traditions

Many of the Maltese who came to the Detroit area worked on the assembly line at one of the three automakers, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, and Chrysler Corporation. Other Maltese immigrants worked at various jobs on ships, in restaurants and hotels, selling real estate, and in religious orders as priests and nuns.

Politics and Government

The Maltese government is a Republic with a president and prime minister. The major political parties are the Malta Labor Party and the Nationalist Party. In Malta, the first American consul was nominated in 1796, which made Malta among the first countries to have a consular office of the United States.

MILITARY

Maltese involvement in supporting the United States during war dates back to at least the American Revolution. Maltese seamen enlisted in the French navy, which was supporting the colonists against Great Britain. About 1,800 Maltese sailors went to Toulon to join the French in this effort.

RELATIONS WITH MALTA

During the first decade of the nineteenth century American ships brought a variety of goods to Malta, including flour, rice, pepper, salted meat, rum, tobacco, and mahogany wood from Boston and Baltimore, as well as dried fruits, cotton, wax, pearls, goat hides, coffee, potatoes, drugs, and sponges from Smyrne and the Greek archipelago. During 1808, 33 American vessels entered Valletta, Malta's capital city. Trade would rise and fall cyclically. Malta's biggest boon of American shipping was during the Crimean War, between 1854 and 1856, when Great Britain and France were fighting Russia. Malta also emerged as a stepping stone in the wool trade between Barbary and the United States because it received wool from different ports in North Africa for shipment to America. Later, American tobacco was shipped to Barbary and Sicily through Malta. About 1,500 Maltese were employed in making cigars, which were exported to Italy, Barbary, Turkey, and the Greek Islands. Malta also imported petroleum, rum, pepper, flour, logwood, pitch, resin, turpentine, coffee, sugar, cloves, codfish, wheat, cheese, butter, and lard. Meanwhile, the island nation exported to America items such as olive oil, lemons, sulphur, ivory, salt, rags, goat skins, stoneware, soap, squills, sponges, and donkeys of the largest and most valuable race in the Mediterranean.

Individual and Group Contributions

ACADEMIA

Professor Paul Vassallo, formerly of Marsa, Malta, headed a consortium of eight universities in the Washington, D.C. area. The Washington Research Library Consortium is a national model of the U.S. government that demonstrates how university libraries can keep up with the volume of new material. Vassallo, born in 1932, immigrated to the United States when he was 15 years old. His mother and siblings lived in the Detroit area.

FILM, TELEVISION, AND THEATER

Joseph Calleia, a Maltese native and actor, appeared in a number of Hollywood movies, including Wild Is the Wind in 1957.

MILITARY

Joseph Borg went to the United States at the time of the American Revolution. He was described as having been a sea captain who fought in many battles for American independence.

Brigadier General Patrick P. Caruana commanded the 50 B-52 bombers flying out of Saudi Arabia, England, Spain, and the Indian Ocean during the Persian Gulf War of 1991. The fleet pounded the Iraqis incessantly and helped break their morale. Caruana, a St. Louis resident, was also a KC-135 tanker pilot in Vietnam and commanded the 17th Air Division and its fleet of bombers refueling tankers and spy planes.

MUSIC

Oreste Kirkop, an opera singer, appeared in Student Prince. Legend had it that he was encouraged to change his name to increase his fame, but he refused to take the suggestion and instead returned to Malta.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

John Schembri, a Pacific Bell employee, has two patents to his name and a third pending. He holds degrees in electronics, engineering, mathematics, and industrial relations and is a recognized expert in the design and application of optical fiber transmissions systems.

VISUAL ARTS

The Liberty Bell was made in England in 1751 for the Assembly of the Province of Pennsylvania, to be used in the State House of the City of Philadelphia. However, when it was being tested the bell cracked. It was recast in Philadelphia by John Pass, a Maltese immigrant, and John Stow, who added a small amount of copper to make it less brittle. Pass appears in the painting "The Bell's First Note," which hangs in the U.S. National Museum of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. Although Pass is not a Maltese surname, there is no doubt about his heritage: the speaker of the Pennsylvania Assembly referred to him as hailing from Malta. It is likely that his name in Malta was Pace, and he either changed it, or it was misspelled in documents.

Media

Malta Messenger. Contact: Charles Hogan, Editor and Publisher.

Address: 72 West High Street, Ballston Spa, New York 12020-1927.

Telephone: (518) 885-4341.

Fax: (518) 885-4344.

Maltese Center Update.

Formerly Malta Gazetta.

Address: 27-20 Hoyt Avenue South, Astoria, New York 11102.

Organizations and Associations

American Association, Sovereign Military Order of Malta.

Address: 1011 First Avenue, Room 1500, New York, New York 10022.

Committee for Maltese Unity, Inc.

Address: P.O. Box 456, Mount Vernon, New York 10551.

Friends of Malta Society, Inc.

Address: 3009 Schoenherr Road, Warren, Michigan 48093.

Institute of Maltese American Affairs.

Address: Malta Overseas Press News Service, Allied Newspapers Limited, Malta House, 36 Cooper Avenue, Dumont, New Jersey 07628.

Malta Club of Macomb.

Address: 31024 Jefferson Avenue, St. Clair Shores, Michigan 48082.

Maltese American Association of L.I., Inc.

Address: 1486 Lydia Avenue, Elmont, New York 11003.

Maltese American Benevolent Society.

Serves social and patriotic needs of Detroit's Maltese population, estimated to be 66,000 and believed to be the largest in the U.S. Supports children's services. Offers activities for members and their families.

Contact: John Caruana, President.

Address: 1832 Michigan Avenue, Detroit, Michigan 48216.

Telephone: (313) 961-8393.

Fax: (313) 961-2050.

Maltese American Club.

Address: 5221 Oakman Boulevard, Dearborn, Michigan 48216.

Telephone: (313) 846-7077.

Maltese American Community Club.

Address: 17929 Eton Avenue, Dearborn Heights, Michigan 48215.

Maltese American Foundation.

Address: 2074 Ridgewood Road, Medina, Ohio 44256.

Maltese American Friendship Society, Inc.