LIFT Formation Meeting 11/07/08
Irregular immigrants in Malta.. Are they making a plea for Freedom?
Once again, the "WoW" multi-purpose room at the Millennium Chapel hosted another activity that would generate greater awareness about events and circumstances that could influence us.
This activity was a follow-on to a previous seminar delivered by Dr, Damian Spiteri, a social worker with Caritas Malta, wherein he had explored different aspects of intercultural communication. Dr. Spiteri was also present for this activity and introduced Dr.Neil Falzon, a lawyer by profession, the Head of The United Nations High Commission for Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Malta. Dr. Falzon explored the issue of irregular migrants with all those present, including members of LIFT and Tesfa Michael, an Eritrean, who was respresenting the JRS (the Jesuit Refugee Service, that is another international organization with an office in Malta). As guests, there were three unaccompanied minor asylum seekers one of whom was from Togo and the other two were from Nigeria.
Dr. Falzon gave a historical tour of how and why migration took place over the centuries. The reasons why people leave their own homeland are highly diverse and extremely complex. A major happening in Europe was during and after the Second World War when people were either forcibly removed from their homelands or otherwise discriminated against during the war, or when, after the war, countries have different borders than they had previously. The 1951 Refugee Convention was made nascent as a response to this.
The 1951 convention was the first truly international agreement to give protection to refugees. It spelled out a set of basic human rights which, roughly, should be at least equivalent to freedoms enjoyed by foreign nationals living legally in a given country. It recognized the international scope of refugee crises and the need for international cooperation, including burden sharing among states, to tackle the problem.
How are we handling the situation.. Is it for their better?
Since 2002, Malta experienced an influx of Illegal immigrants coming to Malta from North Africa. So what do the Maltese say?
Some Maltese are concerned about the ever-growing numbers, others are concerned about Malta’s ‘future’ bearing in mind the population density, others are simply worried about losing the identity and others prefer to keep silent.. Stating this, the issue of migration in such numbers is a big problem for a small island like ours. Our strategic position, a footnote, between Sicily and North Africa, makes us inevitably the closest land to reach from certain points in North Africa.
A question that can be asked is, as Maltese, do we have all the needed resources to host (randomly) hundreds of irregular migrants that flock to our shores in search of a better future, most probably targeting mainland Europe?
Every person in the world has the right for asylum (protection). Each arrival's story bears witness to a traumatized past but also to a remarkable will to survive against all the odds.
Malta is an Old Catholic country having roots that dates back since 60AD (some 2000 years old circa) and there are still some people who debate whether morality comes into the picture.
A common method of transportation which is used in such cases is normally a medium sized boat. Some people die in the desert as they cross Africa overland or others die at sea when on the last phase of their journey. Other refugees come to Malta through the usual routes, namely by ship or by plane. Still all illegal immigrants (when caught) are detained for months. Judging by reports in the local press, Malta can be easily said to have the worst detention centers in the EU.
Is this tolerable for a developed country like Malta? Are illegal immigrants actual criminals?
Are we depriving these people of respect for their human rights? Are we helping these people to move on with their troubled lives?
Please comment on the issue and share your opinions.
LIFT TEAM
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5 comments:
The immigration debate is probably the hottest issue at the moment. And so far at least it has not been plagued by partisan politics. Still, the debate has divided us. The insularity of our island has not prepared us to such influx of such people with such a diverse culture from ours. We were not prepared for it, and in a way we have got caught wanting. Economic arguments are being set against the arrival of such people but deep down I am afraid that the biggest fear of the average Maltese regarding immigration is the thought of sharing our island with ‘these’ people.
We have a proud history of sending missionaries to third world countries. We have been known to be pretty charitable with missionary foundations, when their problems seemed so far away, but in a way, now that they are on our doorsteps we are finding it hard to accept their realities.
it was an interesting meeting as it gave some highlights upon certain issues that may have been unknown to us. However, I felt, that there was a certain attitude, as if, we are the ones who are doing the wrong things and them the good! In my opinion it's like a blade that cuts from both sides. It's true that once immigrants arrive in Malta we have to treat them well as it is one of their fundamental human rights, we have to keep in mind the situation they were in in their country, what trauma they are going through etc. That's why in my opinion the detention centres, as described by Dr.Falzon, must be arranged, to be up to standard where a person can live in comfort and in freedom. However, one should also keep in mind, that Malta is a small country and we cannot cater for more immigrants. We cannot send them away because of their human rights but we cannot keep them either because there is no sufficient space. This is like a vicious circle, but I think that something needs to be done from higher positions. What are the more powerful countries doing regarding this issue? Are they aware of the situations in countries such as Malta, or it's just another situation and they don't care because they aren't involved directly?
We have been hit hard and left reeling by this influx of desperate people escaping Africa. This is hardly a phenomenon of our time; throughout history many peoples have been forced to migrate, one notable example is the influx of Goths and Visigoths into the Roman Empire, who were fleeing westward from the invading Huns. Economically this had a profound impact upon the Romans who nevertheless turned this to their advantage as they recruited those immigrants able to fight as foedrati against the Huns.
History aside, this is a dire situation which must be addressed now. At best we are struggling, with no one doing anything from the EU to help us. I have no choice but to turn to history again so please bear with me or if not you can stop reading here. Africa had been leeched of (and still is) of its natural resources by the empires of old, namely Britain and France. If one had to examine the map of Africa carefully one would notice the way the nations are divided by straight lines. Bitter feuds erupted between tribal warlords as a result of the power vacuum left in the wake. Since then Africa has been plagued by endless civil wars. The end result is that Europe is experiencing a mass exodus of African migrants.
Focusing on Malta I think we are doing all we can to contain the situation but the hard truth is that we cannot do this alone considering our limited resources. The EU is practically dragging its feet and Libya is deaf and dumb. How come Euro News does not cover Malta in its newscasts, practically ignoring us? What is Frontex doing? An extra 30 million euros for what? Patrolling the southern Mediterranean and then what happens upon encountering a boatload of Africans? Brought to the nearest port of call which always, invariably, by some stroke of bad luck is always Malta. How come our Search And Rescue area (SAR) is so huge that it nearly reaches Greece? Who has agreed to that? I am not averse to helping illegal immigrants, they are humans like you and me after all, but we cannot ignore the economic repercussions this influx is having on our island, money that would have been spent on our infrastructure. I think it’s high time the EU, now with Nicolas Sarkozy at the helm would put its foot down and help us. After all Africa is the mess it is today because of what the Empires had done. Now it’s time to shoulder some responsibility and first of all shake Libya from its sleep and together crack down on the Mafia or whatever criminal organization is perpetuating this nightmare. We cannot play the noble Hospitallers anymore, that time has long since past.
Call me idealist... but I believe in a world without borders. Legally or not... the world belongs to everyone... politicians drew borders.
Legally or not... when Maltese flocked into Australia, Canada, UK and the US... nobody said, oh you're Maltese, incarcerate, or go back home.
Nevertheless... I do think it's a problem for us given our size. Pity that some of those guys in there have the brains and skills which are not utilized in any way.
The EU can do much more while it always promotes the idea of 'One Europe'. State aid to African countries in cash and nutritional supplements is not what Africa needs... Africa needs to educate its people, and the EU has to somehow help to educate those people. Some African leaders... or rather most... are indeed a problem... or maybe a challenge... depends from which side you look at it :)
The problem of the immigrants belongs to the whole of Europe. My idea is to have a block of countries being hit by the illegal Immigrants. Malta alone can do nothing.
Regards
Pierre.
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