Lovin Malta spoke with the writer of “L-Eżodu taċ-Ċikonji” (The Exodus of the Storks), which clinched Malta’s National Book Prize in 2013 and later secured the European Prize for Literature in 2017,

Nabhan told the newsroom that he will be making his way to Jordan “in about a week or so,” where he will live with his sister.

He described how following a series of traumatic events, including his house catching fire, the termination of his contract with the Book Council was the straw which broke the camel’s back.

He described how after he ended up unemployed, he was struggling to keep up with Malta’s rising costs, barely being able to feed himself.

Nabhan expressed his “disappointment” in the Book Council, who “under the new management” terminated the contract which allowed him to translate literature to Arabic. 

“When I first came to Malta, there wasn’t a single writing translated to Arabic. But, the Council decided to burn the bridge I was trying to construct,” Nabhan wrote, calling this “a shame”.

“I was trying to tell the Arab world that the Maltese nation is creative, has thoughtful writers, and some of the finest thinkers and poets,” he continued.

While not completely disheartened by the succession of events, and pledging that he will still keep on writing due to his undying love for the Maltese language, Nabhan feels that a “break” from the country is long overdue.

“For now I am just going to Jordan to live with my sister for a month,” he told the newsroom, adding that if he feels like he “fits in”, he will most probably remain there.

“I am at a cross roads – Malta is my home. I lived here for 35 years – more than I stayed in Jordan, where I spent all my childhood. I am no longer the man I used to be when I lived in Jordan. I don’t think I fit in with the Jordanian lifestyle anymore,” Nabhan said.

“I was very happy in Malta. I love everything about the country – the culture, the climate, the sea, the nature, the people, the feasts, its size… I love everything about the country,” he continued.

“I won’t see eye to eye with the friends I had prior to coming to Malta,” he said, referring to the fact that he doesn’t share the same ideas as the majority of Jordanians.

“People there are very conservative. I don’t follow Ramadan, for instance. If that’s the case in Jordan, you are looked down on.”

According to Times of Malta, the Book Council stated that Nabhan’s part-time contract expired in March 2020, yet he continued working until September 2021.

“Upon the transition to new leadership, it was identified that Mr Nabhan had been working without a regularised contract, as per public procurement regulations,” the Council reportedly said.

Former Book Council chairman Mark Camilleri did not mince words on the Book Council’s response, saying that their claims are “false and untrue”.

“I am not going to explain to my successor (an incompetent imbecile, appointed as a cruel joke by the OPM) how his job should be done, because that is not my business but clearly, he is lying and doesn’t have the minimum idea of how to do his job,” he wrote.

What are your thoughts on this situation?