Maltese Australian Ghana Performance and Debates of Home.

Escaping unemployment the majority of first-generation Maltese Australians arrived post Second World War as economic migrants. Government policies of assimilation in place during this period and continuing social inequities have resulted in a lack of a ‘lived’ connection or sense of belonging for contemporary Maltese Australians. This paper uses Anne Marie Fortier's (2000) concept of re-membering, which draws out the importance of nostalgic remembrance to migrant community spaces and bonds, together with Kelly Oliver's (2001) framework of subjectivity as witnessing. These concepts highlight how the Maltese Australian community re-constitutes itself through actively negotiated cultural performances of Maltese folk music known as ghana. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]