*Version Française en bas de page*

How the idea came about

Hi!

We are Elise Billiard and Virginia Monteforte, two migrants having made Malta our home.

We probably met because we are both anthropologists deeply concerned with issues pertaining to migration. Living in Malta, in the centre of the Mediterranean, at the border of "fortress" Europe, we have had a privileged vantage point from which to view the changing social and political dynamics that have came about due to the  arrivals of boat people in Malta since 2001.

We faced the distress of asylum seekers landing in Malta after a gruelling journey, and we faced the reactions of fear and anger in casual conversations, in newspaper articles, and in the online comments sections of these same articles.

As migrants ourselves, we thought we could do something to balance out this ever-growing tension.

So, we wanted to show that as migrants, whether expatriates, refugees, third country nationals, undocumented asylum seekers or EU citizens we all have something in common. We wanted to dismantle the stereotypes that reduce the word 'migrant' to what is labelled as “illegal immigration”.

We are all newcomers, looking for a home. And in today's world, most of us are, or will be, migrants, even if it's just for a short period of our lives.

And so this was how RIMA was born...from the desire to hear all, and not just some, of our stories.

The RIMA Project in brief

RIMA is an anthropological and artistic project aiming at deconstructing the notion of mobility and immobility.

What does RIMA mean?

Rima* (n.f.)
plur. rimi

– Swell, wake made by a vessel in motion

– Rhyme

Rima is a Maltese word meaning the wake left behind by a boat on the surface of the sea. It evokes, then, something which happened in the past but whose effects we can still perceive in traces; a wire on the water which we can trace back to its origin. It also means, simply, ‘rhyme’ – the return of similar sounds though by different words.That’s why our project has this name. It aims to collect different narratives which however still originate from the same feeling of departure, detachment, settlement’s desire.

* thanks go to poet Adrian Grima for suggesting the title.

The actions

The RIMA project has three actions: a film festival, a theatrical adaptation of the stories collected by us and the publication of a book of these same stories.

1- The film festival was a great success last November (and we hope to organise more in the years to come!). You can read more about this first strand of the Rima project, by clicking here: https://rimaprojectblog.wordpress.com/filmfesti...

2- The theatrical adaptation of the stories collected will be held on the 26th and 27th of February 2016. A team of professional actors has been working with non-professional and foreign actors, under the supervision and following the inspiration of theatre director Marcelle Teuma.

3- We need your help to complete the last part of our project: the writing and publication of our book which will retrace the inspiring journeys of the 20 people we interviewed last year. We intend to launch the book at the end of May 2016 and deliver it to you at the beginning of June 2016.

What we need and what you get

We need 1,365€ to be able to design and print the 200 copies of our the RIMA book. In addition we need 135€ to cover the extra fees that Indiegogo and PayPal require. This is why we are asking for 1,500€.

The project as a whole has been endorsed and partially funded by The Malta Art Funds; Malta arts Council and the Valletta 2018 Foundation. The film festival also enabled  the general public to come and support our efforts by paying for a festival ticket. But now  we find ourselves in need of extra help to complete the book. The book will be an original publication of the stories we collected, with an unconventional design and unique binding. We are working on it at this very moment.

In the coming weeks, we will be posting our progress and you will be able to see the book grow!

The Impact

Sharing the stories that we, migrants, carry with us is a first step to enable discussion. Today in Malta there are quite a few journalists speaking about the migrant issue, but still very little has been done with migrants. Most photographs, most literature is done on migrants. But what we are doing (Virginia and Elise) is something with migrants. There is no "us" and "them".

We believe that through this simple project we can help people in Malta and outside of Malta, convince themselves that migration is a common situation, which is extensively demanding and increasingly widespread.

What does it mean to be a migrant? Are we always moving when we are reduced to the identity of "migrant"? When do we cease do be migrants and become a locals? Is it just a matter of legal recognition or is it implying also, and above all, a deeper, affective, long-term awareness about this new place that we can call home? What is home for you?

“The ideal place for me is one in which it feels most natural to live as a stranger”, the Italian author Calvino stresses in Hermit in Paris, reminding us how “home” is never a concept at rest, and its walls and grounds are far wider and multifaceted than we may believe.

Supporting this project means supporting the idea that everyone has the right to be heard, locals or foreigners.

Supporting RIMA is considering that once a migrant finds his/her home, he is not a migrant anymore. So what is he/she then?
A settler?
 
Supporting RIMA is also accepting the idea to be surprised by what you will be discovering in this book. Because each story is unique.

                       

Risks and challenges

Speaking about migration today is not an easy thing. However our background in anthropology, sociology and literature, as much as our deep comprehension of the Maltese society, has enable us to carefully choose our words and to listen with attention to the multitude of stories that have been generously given to us.

This is a political project because discussing urgent and hotly debated issues is always political. But the RIMA project is not affiliated to any political party, and neither are we. (Elise Billiard and Virginia Monteforte as project managers).

Other ways to support Rima

We would be grateful if you could spread the word around...our project needs all the exposure it can get.

You can use Indiegogo's tools to make it easier to spread the word!

Perks

- The original RIMA Book, of course! 18€

-Get a personalized version!
The RIMA book with a handwritten special dedication by the 2 authors. 30€

-Be part of the book!
The RIMA book with your name printed in the thankyou page. 40€

-Looking for migrant postcards?

An original idea to send a postcard from Malta.

Sending a migrant postcard is not only a poetic gesture, it is also sending a clear message about migration all around the world.

The postcard will be illustrated with photographs taken during the project.  (such as photographs of personal objects owned by migrants, photographs of the theatrical performance, film stills from migrant films...). 20€

- A nice memory to put on the wall?

A nice memory to put on the wall? You can choose one of the 2 Rima posters:

-poster of the Rima Migrant film festival (November 2015)

-poster of the Rima Theatrical adaptation (February 2016)

10€ (each poster, including shipping). Careful - there is a limited number! These posters might become a collector's item! 

- The Prestige edition
Keep in touch for updates on this edition! soon coming.
This is the hand bound edition with fine grain paper and hours of meticulous work at out workshop under our little fingers!
A beautiful "book-object", not just a book. 60€


-This is the unique original mock-up book.
A pure product of craft and care. With fine paper, hard bound and hand bound and boxed.
Keep in touch for updates on this edition! soon coming. 300€
    

                

- And last but not least:
All the above items, including shipping: 80€
(the RIMA book with your name written in the thankyou page, AND the special handwritten dedication from the authors, the 5 postcards, and the 2 posters)


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Version Française (abrégée):

Bonjour !

Nous sommes Elise Billiard et Virginia Monteforte, deux migrantes ayant fait de Malte notre foyer.

Nous nous sommes probablement rencontrées parce que nous sommes deux anthropologues profondément concernées par les questions se rapportant à la migration. Vivant à Malte, dans le centre de la Méditerranée, à la frontière de "la forteresse" de l'Europe, nous sommes à un poste d'observation privilégié pour voir la dynamique sociale et politique changeante en raison des arrivées de boat people à Malte depuis 2001.

Nous avons fait face à la détresse de demandeurs d'asile atterrissant à Malte après un voyage exténuant et nous avons fait face aux réactions de crainte et la colère dans des conversations occasionnelles, dans des articles de presse et dans les sections de commentaires en ligne de ces mêmes articles.

En tant que migrantes, nous avons pensé que nous pourrions faire quelque chose pour compenser cette tension toujours croissante.

Ainsi, nous avons voulu montrer que comme les migrants, les expatriés, les réfugiés, les ressortissants de pays tiers (hors EU), les demandeurs d'asile "sans papiers" ou les citoyens de l'Union européenne, tous ont quelque chose en commun. Nous avons voulu déconstruire les stéréotypes qui réduisent le mot 'le migrant' à ce qui est étiqueté comme "immigration illégale".

Nous sommes tous des nouveaux venus, cherchant une maison. Et dans le monde d'aujourd'hui, la plupart d'entre nous sont, ou seront, des migrants, même si c'est juste pendant une période courte de nos vies.

Voilà comment est né RIMA... de nos histoires, et du désir d'entendre TOUS et non juste certains.

Ce dont nous avons besoin et ce que vous recevrez.

Nous avons besoin de 1 365€ pour l'édition et l'impression de 200 copies du livre RIMA. Les 135€ restant serviront à payer les frais de service requis par Indiegogo et Paypal. Voilà pourquoi nous demandons 1500€

Le projet RIMA, avec son festival de films de migrants, sa pièce de théatre et la collecte de témoignages a été en grande partie soutenu par le Malta Art Funds et par la fondation Valletta2018. Le public qui est venu nombreux au festival et à la représentation théatrale a également apporté un soutien financié.

Mais a présent, nous avons besoin d'une dernière aide pour publier un livre qui rendra compte avec subtilité des témoignages qui nous ont été confiés.

Le livre sera une publication originale, avec une mise en page artistique. En plus des 200 copies, nous publierons également une vingtaine de livres reliés à la main.

Nous travaillons dès à présent à la confection du livre, dont la première étape et la sélection des extraits de témoignages et la décision de la structure générale du livre.

Restez en contact pour en savoir plus ! Nous mettrons à jour cette page indiegogo (ainsi que le blog et la page facebook).

En espérant que vous soutiendrez notre projet.

Et n'oubliez pas, partager c'est déjà aider !