On the Maltese coast, right in the heart of Msida, there's an entrepreneur among others, owner of Eureka, one of the East coast's African culinary reference point, bringing Ethiopian and Eritrean culture to the streets, appreciated by locals, by French, Germans, not forgetting Italians, Dutch, Filipinos, and in general all lovers of food.
Who is Josef, affectionately called Habib by the whole Msida community to whom he belongs_ Habib has been in Malta for almost 20 years now, 14 of them as an entrepreneur.
Born and raised in Ethiopia, Habib made a very bold decision at an early age to move to Malta in 2005 at the age of 18, with little more than a strong desire to live and a dream to seek better opportunities in Europe, through a difficult journey marked by loneliness and uncertainty.
But the reality of life in Malta for an immigrant is far from being easy for an asylum seeker. It’s even more complicated mentally for a teenager. He took it upon himself to set off for an adventure, ready to risk his life to get to Europe and do all he could to help his family and his loved ones, despite his young age.
With his goal in mind, he took every opportunity he could to achieve it, whether it was a succession of odd jobs, or making do with the bare minimum to live as an asylum seeker in Malta, which is a challenging situation, very complicated in the sense that one arrives alone, young and is confronted with the suspicious stares of an unwelcoming host country, not to mention, the challenges of language and culture.
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Armed with his passion for Ethiopian cuisine and his desire to share his culture with the world, he opened Eureka, a place of conviviality. But the challenges didn't stop there. As an immigrant with no legal status and few financial resources, Habib had to put all his savings and borrow money from his family to launch his business.
Today, Eureka has become a popular gathering place for the people of Msida and beyond, one of the places to go for African culture in Msida.
The road to integration and success is never easy, but with the support of the community and an unwavering commitment to its goals, nothing is impossible.