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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