Christa Campbell Nadim Carr Charlotte Forrester Álvaro Mingo Martín

Irregular Immigration in Malta and

the Impacts thereof on the Maltese

Community

June 2007

2

CONTENTS Page

1. INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................................ 1

2. BACKGROUND .......................................................................................................................... 2

3. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ......................................................................................................... 3

3.1 Aims .......................................................................................................................................... 3

3.2 Objectives .................................................................................................................................. 3

4. METHODOLOGY....................................................................................................................... 4

5. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION .................................................................................................. 4

5.1 Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs ....................................................................................... 4

5.2 Herman Grech – Journalist ........................................................................................................ 5

5.3 Simon Busuttil – MEP............................................................................................................... 6

5.4 Marsa Open Centre.................................................................................................................... 7

6. CONCLUSION............................................................................................................................. 9

ANNEXURE 1: MINISTRY OF JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS: QUESTIONS AND

ANSWERS ................................................................................................................................................ 11

ANNEXURE 2: TUNA BOAT INCIDENT............................................................................................ 18

ANNEXURE 3: LOCATIONS OF MIGRANT INCIDENTS.............................................................. 20

ANNEXURE 4: THE MARSA OPEN CENTRE .................................................................................. 22

REFERENCES ......................................................................................................................................... 25

1

IRREGULAR IMMIGRATION IN MALTA AND THE IMPACTS THEREOF

ON THE MALTESE COMMUNITY

1. INTRODUCTION

In recent years, substantial numbers of people have migrated – or sought to migrate – to

more prosperous and stable parts of the world. By the year 2002, the United Nations

estimated that about 180 million persons – or roughly 3 per cent of the world’s

population – were living in a country where they were not born. In developed

countries, every tenth person is a migrant, while in developing countries, one in seventy

persons has this status (International Migration, 2002; The Economist, 2002a as cited

by Borjas, 2005). Such population flows, involving increasingly dangerous long-

distance journeys, have been prompted by factors such as a growing disparity in the

level of human security to be found in different parts of the world, improved

transportation, communications and information technology systems, the increased

flows of knowledge and the expansion of transnational social networks. In addition,

poverty, environmental degradation, political instability and human rights abuses

clearly fuel the “push factors” for migration from some regions of the world (Borjas,

2005).

International migration is not a problem in itself. Mobility of labour may in some

circumstances be beneficial for the economies of both the source and destination

countries. In different countries, the impact of migration will vary depending on the

proportion of the total population. For instance, even if asylum seekers accounted for a

significant share of international migrants in the UK, they are unlikely to have

significant demographic, labour market or other generalised impact on the society as a

whole. Yet migration may become a problem where there is a mismatch between the

push factors in source countries and the policies of destination countries. This seems to

be increasingly the case in our times. Population movements have been a cause for

growing concern in the industrialised states. Such states are ready to acknowledge the

positive value of international migration when it meets the needs of their labour market,

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and when it takes place in a controlled and predictable manner. But when it involves

the irregular arrival of people from other parts of the world, and when those migrants

appear to bring little financial or social capital with them, the countries react with alarm

(Borjas, 2005).

2. BACKGROUND

Malta is the southernmost border of the European Union and is on the route of boat

people leaving North Africa to reach mainland Europe (Texeire, 2006). Under the

Dublin II Convention, individuals are forced to claim asylum in the first EU country

they reach. Since becoming an EU member on 1 May 2004, Malta has reported an

increasing problem with immigration from North Africa (BBC, 2007). Since 2002,

Malta has had 8,000 irregular immigrants reach their shores. Relative to their

population size, this figure equates to almost 1.2 million people arriving in the United

Kingdom or, put differently, the arrival of one illegal immigrant in Malta is pro rata

equivalent to the arrival of 150 immigrants in the United Kingdom (The Ministry for the

Family and Social Solidarity, 2005).

In Malta immigrants are referred to as “irregular” immigrants and not “illegal”

immigrants because the act of illegal immigration has been decriminalised (Texeire,

2006). Malta basically encounters three types of irregular immigrants. There are those

who enter the country legally but remain beyond their authorised stay, there are others

who arrive in Malta without proper documentation and others who arrive in an irregular

manner either voluntarily or after finding themselves in distress at sea and are saved by

the Maltese coast guard authorities (The Ministry for the Family and Social Solidarity,

2005). As soon as irregular immigrants reach the coast, they are taken to one of the

four detention centres that were established in Malta on 4 March 2002 (Texeire, 2006).

Most of these irregular immigrants, with the exception of those who are still minors,

pregnant women and those who have some form of disability or condition are kept in

these detention in terms of the Immigration Act until such time as their request for

refugee status is determined (The Ministry for the Family and Social Solidarity, 2005).

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In its report for 2007, Amnesty International blasted Malta’s ongoing automatic

detention policy labelling it as a “clear violation of international human rights laws and

standards” (The Malta Independent Online, 2006). Once irregular immigrants are

released from detention centres, open centres become their ordinary residence until such

time as these immigrants find alternative accommodation, proceed to a third country or

return to their country of origin (The Ministry for the Family and Social Solidarity,

2005).

Most of the irregular immigrants tend to see Malta only as a transit country. Yet they

are unable to move on due to the regulations for asylum seekers laid down in the Dublin

convention. Only a few are granted refugee status, despite the huge numbers falling

under humanitarian status.

3. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

3.1 Aims

Our aims were to explore issues of irregular immigration and the attitude of and impact

on parties involved i.e. the immigrants themselves, Maltese citizens and the

government.

3.2 Objectives

• Investigate the policies of the Maltese government.

• Determine the assistance being offered by the EU.

• Determine the attitude of Maltese citizens towards the irregular immigrants.

• Investigate how immigrants have adapted to life in Malta.

• Describe an Open Centre.

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4. METHODOLOGY

4.1 While migrants are in detention, they fall under the authority of the Minister of

Justice and Home Affairs. We arranged an interview with them on Friday,

8 June and spoke to Ilaria Flores Martin, the Projects Officer – EU Affairs

Directorate and her colleague Martha Delicata.

4.2 The way in which the media reports on irregular immigration has wide-ranging

effects. We arranged a meeting with a journalist from The Times, Herman

Grech, on Friday, 8 June who was also able to provide us with the details of a

contact person at the Marsa Open Centre.

4.3 We attended a meeting on Friday, 8 June with Simon Busuttil, a member of the

European Parliament’s Justice and Home Affairs Committee who is an advocate

of burden sharing.

4.4 We visited the Marsa Open Centre on Saturday, 9 June. The visit was divided

into two parts (i) speaking to Warsane Ali Garare, the co-ordinator of the Marsa

Open Centre who is originally from Somalia and (ii) observing the day-to-day

activities in the open centre, the conditions in which they live and interviewing

several of the individuals who live there.

5. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

5.1 Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs

Our first meeting was with the Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs. They would not

allow us to use a tape recorder. They started off the meeting by asking us if our paper

was going to be published and once they established that it was not, they seemed to lose

interest. We covered several issues including the role of the EU, the profile of the

irregular immigrants (e.g. age, skills, education), the economic impact of the

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immigrants on Malta and the Dublin Convention. Annexure 1 on page 11 sets out all

the questions we put to them and how they responded. Their replies were very broad

and several of the questions they refused to answer. For instance, when asked about

burden sharing, they told us that certain of their EU partners had agreed to take on some

of the irregular immigrants but they did not want to disclose who the countries were.

Several times during the interview when we asked something they construed as

sensitive they conferred in Maltese as to how they should respond. This was not a very

successful interview as they did not impart much useful information and we left there

feeling a bit discouraged.

5.2 Herman Grech – Journalist

Our second interview was with Herman Grech, a journalist with The Times. He was

very helpful and we covered various issues with him. He informed us that migrant

season was between April and October because of the better weather and that many of

the irregular immigrants were so desperate they did not think about the risks involved.

When asked about professional smugglers he said there was very little information on

that. He advised that the irregular immigrants were from Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea and

Somalia despite many of them stating they were from Libya. He said many of them

were educated people who caused very little trouble when they were out. He said that

the Maltese government did not do anything to promote tolerance although he had

positive things to say about Malta’s prime minister. He also believes that Malta has an

“island mentality" and that there was a big problem with racism and xenophobia on the

island. He said not even the church was saying enough about this issue. He informed

us that a new political party against irregular immigration was being started and that it

would be announced the following day. We mentioned that we had seen the Ministry of

Justice and Home Affairs that morning who had told us that we could not go to the open

centre in Marsa. He stated that this was incorrect and gave us the contact details of

someone who worked at the open centre. When asked about burden sharing he said that

different countries had taken a small number of immigrants including Germany,

Lithuania, Czech Republic and the Netherlands. He also believes the EU is not doing

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enough to assist Malta with this problem and that a burden sharing concept should be

created. Italy used to offer their assistance but now only offer air assistance. When

asked about the Dublin Convention he said the government wanted to change it. He

mentioned that journalists were not allowed access to the detention centres and the

government’s justification for this was that the residents would rebel. He said

politically the same xenophobic stories were being printed each year as nothing is

changing. We asked him what the solution is he said “there is no solution”.

5.3 Simon Busuttil – MEP

Our third meeting was with Simon Busuttil who believes that burden-sharing on

immigration requires more solidarity on the part of EU Member States to help carry the

disproportionate burden that is currently being shouldered by southern countries such as

Malta. He said that the problem does not belong to just Malta and that it should be

shared among the European states as it is a common problem and therefore there should

be a common solution. He is concerned at the reluctance on the part of other members

to shoulder responsibility who he thinks have only been playing lip service to burden

sharing. He spoke about the three incidents which had taken place outside of Malta’s

waters recently and which had sparked a wave of bad publicity for Malta, particularly

the tuna boat incident that left 27 immigrants hanging on a tuna net platform for three

days (see Annexure 2 on page 13). He believed that Malta had been unfairly

represented in the press because in all three cases these boats had been outside the

massive 250,000 square metre area that falls under Malta’s responsibility (see

Annexure 3 on page 14). Mr Busuttil commented on the hypocrisy of the Italian MP

who had said something along the lines that Malta needed a lesson in human rights,

comments Mr Busuttil viewed as “shameful”. According to Mr Busuttil, if they think

this is a human problem they should be doing something to help. He said that until

countries recognise that this is their problem they are not going to help. He said the

only good thing that had come from all of this was that awareness had shot up since it

happened. He believes the Dublin Convention should be changed but did acknowledge

that Malta had joined the EU after the Dublin Convention had been adopted. He

7

mentioned that a review of the Dublin Convention was being launched this week

pushing for dual proportionality. He also mentioned that Malta’s lack of hinterland was

a problem. Other issues mentioned was the Schengen agreement, in Malta’s case set to

implement on 31 December 2007, when the burden should be less on Malta as

immigrants will be able to move more freely in Europe. He also spoke about

FRONTEX, an independent body, who is responsible for coordinating the operational

cooperation between member states in the field of border security. Despite being a

supporter, he was critical about them because patrols in the Mediterranean have still not

started. He believed that if FRONTEX had been operating the recent incidents would

probably not have happened.

5.4 Marsa Open Centre

We visited the Marsa Open Centre on Saturday, 9 June. The majority of immigrants are

from war-torn countries i.e. Somalia, Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Congo and Ivory Coast.

According to Mr Garare, the immigrants do not know the risks they are taking when

they decide to leave Africa and most of them end up regretting it. He said that strong

bonds are formed between the immigrants and they become like family, forming a

support system for each other. Most of them travel alone but make friends with others

on the boats. When asked how many people lived in the open centre Mr Garare replied

that officially there were 550 people but in fact the figure was closer to 600. Of those,

only four individuals are refugees. The centre was only for men over 18. According to

Mr Garare, most of them are highly skilled and educated as they have doctors, lawyers,

economists and engineers in the open centre. He said the open centre was like a town

for the immigrants and that daily life was a struggle for them. When asked if the

immigrants were employed Mr Garare replied that they did get work but none of it was

on a permanent basis. They sit outside the centre in the morning to wait for people to

come by and pick them up to do either construction or cleaning work. The work was

not paid very well.

8

Each resident received money from the government for food and the amount received is

dependent on their status. There are three categories:

• residents who qualify for humanitarian aid receive Lm2.00 per day;

• residents whose applications for humanitarian status have been rejected receive

Lm1.50 per day; and

• residents who get caught trying to get into another European country and are

deported back to the open centre receive Lm1.25 per day.

Residents may move out of the open centre should they wish to do so but most do not

leave as they struggle to find work. If they do move out, they are not entitled to return

to the open centre. When asked about their health and health care, Mr Garare said that

officially people are entitled to health care but that treatment has been refused in the

past and the open centre had to make a complaint. They are trying to set up a temporary

clinic in the centre. Mr Garare spoke about the psychological damage suffered by the

immigrants in the detention centres who are forced to stay there for up to 18 months.

The official reason for detaining them for so long is to protect the public. When asked

how they treated the individuals with psychological problems he advised that traditional

methods are used to deal with this. The strong bonds between them means they are

very supportive of each other.

When asked if local people ever visit the open centre or if any are interested in finding

out about the immigrants, he replied that although the open centre tries to encourage

this they are finding it very difficult to change the mindset of the Maltese people. He

said that immigrants have been portrayed as dangerous and disease-ridden and stories in

the press showing policemen in masks have created a false image of the immigrants.

There were arson attacks at the centre in 2006 but these are not happening anymore.

There are local people who do help out at the centre but it is always the same people.

When asked what he thought about burden sharing, Mr Garare said it was the “best

idea”.

9

We then proceeded to look around the open centre. We were invited to join residents

for a drink by Nor Ahmed Hassan from Somalia, the unofficial manager of the open

centre, who speaks seven languages and has a biology degree. We were then given a

guided tour around the premises by Mr Hassan and found that the residents have created

their own “village” consisting of restaurants (several with televisions), an internet café,

a chapel and a language school. He was very helpful as he encouraged people to speak

to us and tell us about their situation. Many people were very open and wanted to talk

to us. Each member of the group spoke to several residents as there were many people

there who could speak English although we were told the majority could not. We asked

the people what their profession was but did not meet any doctors, lawyers etc. and we

did wonder why that was. We went into two Eritrean restaurants and a Somalian

restaurant and each one we went to offered us food. Alvaro spoke to someone who

mentioned bad working conditions and how they are paid less than the Maltese.

Another resident told Nadim that some of the rooms were overcrowded with up to 40

people in a room with only one bathroom. Sometimes two people had to share a bed.

We did not look inside the dorms because Mr Garare had specifically asked us not to.

Mr Hassan offered to show us the dorms three times but we declined the offer and told

him we were not allowed to. One of the residents of the open centre though Charlotte

was from the government or an NGO and he told her many officials and representatives

said they were going to help them so wanted to know why he should trust her.

Charlotte tried to explain she was not from any organisation so she asked Nor to explain

to him that we were not there in any official capacity. Although all members of our

group agreed that conditions were not as bad as they had expected, life is still a struggle

for the people who live in the open centre as they do not want to be there.

6. CONCLUSION

Is there a solution to the problem of irregular immigration in Malta? Amending the

Dublin Convention which has been criticised for being unfair, inefficient, resource-

intensive and an obstacle to genuine sharing of responsibility between member states

could be part of the solution. The logical outcome of linking responsibility for an

10

asylum claim to border control is to create unequal burdens, and works as a disincentive

for states to give full access to fair asylum procedures (ECRE, 2006). Secondly,

collective action is needed. According to Mr Busuttil, resettlement is one of the tools

available to truly share the burden and that the European Commission should be doing

more to facilitate burden sharing by helping host countries deal with resettlement.

Thirdly, stereotyping of irregular immigrants is threatening any public support for the

asylum system. Portraying them as dangerous and disease-ridden not only stigmatises

the irregular immigrants but in practice also those refugees already in the country

(Borjas, 2005). The Maltese government should therefore be promoting a sense of

tolerance, understanding and respect among their citizens toward irregular immigrants.

Finally, Simon Busuttil summed it up by saying that until deeper issues in African

countries are sorted out, no amount of populist talk can wish irregular immigration

away (MaltaMedia, 2007).

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Annexure 1: Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs: questions and answers

1. Did you have a problem with irregular immigration before you joined the EU?

Put differently, approximately how many people applied for refugee status for

the 5-year period prior to Malta enacting the Refugees Act in 2000?

Yes, but it has become more of a problem since joining the EU.

2. How many people have been recognised as refugees after the enactment?

Since 2002, there have been 4780 asylum seekers and only 192 were given refugee

status.

3. Were irregular immigration problems anticipated once Malta decided to

become part of the EU?

It was not seen as an issue. They did not expect the arrival of so many irregular

immigrants.

4. Where do the migrants come from?

Egypt, Eritrea, Somalia, Morocco, Sudan.

5. Where are they trying to get to (i.e. was the intended destination Malta or are

they hoping to reach another European country)?

Europe in general.

6. What is the demographic profile of such migrants (including age distribution

and family structure of migrants)?

12

Mainly single men. Not many women and children. The vulnerable groups went to

detention centres for medical checks and were then sent to reception centres.

7. To what extent does asylum migration involve the departure of skilled and

educated people from countries of origin?

They had no data. “No statistics to tell skill levels”. [We think that perhaps they

tried to avoid this question as they were reluctant to answer it.]

8. What does this data tell us about the causes of and motivation for asylum

migration?

[Did not ask in light of the response above].

9. What has been the economic impact of migration on Malta?

There has been a limited impact. Reception costs are given by the EU. Since the

migrants are only employed in the lower skilled jobs, they do not really have a

major impact on the economy.

10. What has been the public policy response? For example, how has regional

bodies, international and non-governmental organisations responded to the

phenomenon of migration?

There has been a mixed response. NGO’s do not tend to agree with all the

Ministry’s policies.

11. To what extent is there a consensus among these actors with regard to policy

responses?

13

They agree on basic humanitarian issues.

12. The EU has tried to devise a common immigration policy and a possible

common asylum system because of lax immigration laws and small penalties

for illegal immigrants in certain EU countries (e.g. Spain and Italy). Do you

welcome a common immigration policy?

A common immigration policy is still being discussed but it would be good for

everyone in the EU.

13. We would like to ask a question in three parts.

a. What is the EU doing to help you? For example, obviously you need

human and financial resources as well as training to deal with this.

Did you receive funding from the EU for setting up procedures to

deal with irregular immigration and for the training of staff?

They assist with sea patrols and with funding.

b. Do you think the EU is doing enough to assist you?

More funding would be welcomed but realised that other EU countries

also need assistance. New funding programs are being offered.

c. What would you like the EU to do?

Provide more funding.

14

14. Have any of your EU partners agreed to take in any irregular immigrants that

have been granted asylum or protected status in Malta?

EU Partners have agreed to take on irregular immigrants but they did not want to

divulge who those countries were. They said this was done to show “solidarity

among member states”. [We then asked if their EU partners took them on because

they needed the labour.] The EU Partners took them on to show solidarity.

15. What part do you think the EU and Malta should play in addressing the causes

of irregular migration (i.e. poverty, human rights violations, armed conflict

and so on) and do you think they have addressed this with their foreign and aid

policies?

They welcomed any ideas from the EU on how to improve the poverty situation in

other countries.

16. At the African-EU summit African countries pressed for a specific migration

fund. Has the feasibility of this been considered by Malta or the EU?

Funding is always welcome but they have to consider the funding policies as there

are rules that come with them.

17. In 2003, Britain, France, Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain established two

joint naval patrols – one of which was in the Mediterranean. The task of the

patrols is to intercept vessels that are assumed to be carrying illegal

immigrants and take them to the nearest harbour. Do you think Malta has

benefited from this?

It acted as a deterrent but they had no data relating to this.

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18. Is a Mediterranean Coastal Patrol Network to police Europe’s frontline in the

area just outside Libya’s territorial waters going to be established?

This is still being discussed. It is too early to say.

19. What happens after an irregular immigrant has been deemed ineligible for

refugee status?

They try to repatriate them. It can take up to 18 months. The irregular immigrants

are taken from the detention centres to open centres. Individuals who have been in

the detention centre longer than 18 months are put in the open centres even if they

eventually not given refugee status.

20. Do the countries known to serve as points of origin or points of departure co-

operate when irregular immigrants are repatriated?

Malta does liaise with foreign offices. They have problematic relationships with

source countries. The countries of origin tend to view this as not their problem.

Malta considers this to be one of the greatest problems.

21. Illegal immigrants often need the assistance of professional smugglers to take

them into a country. To what extent does organised crime play a part in the

irregular immigration to Malta?

They do not have any control over these people. No systems are in place to try and

catch the smugglers.

22. Do you think the EU has used the legislation (i.e. the Dublin Convention) to

create a filter or a buffer zone between them and the countries where irregular

immigrants come from?

16

They said they could not answer this question.

23. According to a UN estimate, the EU countries alone need 1.6 million

immigrants annually if they want to maintain, by 2050, their labour force at

the current absolute level. Do you think the restrictive policies of the EU

discourage the immigrants from pursuing legal channels to gain entry into an

EU country?

They avoided the question.

24. Do you think the EU could reduce irregular immigration by setting up agencies

in the countries where irregular immigrants originate from and recruiting the

people they need from there or perhaps even educating them about the dangers

and pitfalls of choosing the illegal route?

In an ideal world as it is an idealistic notion but in theory it would not be easy to do.

It would be unrealistic as all countries would have to agree to do that.

25. Are irregular immigrants in Malta abusing the asylum process?

No. All irregular immigrants have the right to apply and most do apply. Irregular

immigrants are given legal aid and the right to appeal.

26. Malta’s referendum on EU accession yielded only 53.6% yes votes. Do you

think the outcome would have been different if Maltese citizens had known

about the problems that would arise relating to irregular immigration?

They could not comment on this.

27. How does the Maltese government promote a sense of tolerance, understanding

and respect among their citizens towards irregular immigrants?

17

They are against racism and xenophobia and are working on increasing awareness

through education. They put more effort in the actual reception of immigrants than

concentrating on this.

28. What do you say to those such as Mr Philip Beattie from the ANR who

harbours a growing concern for the future of Malta’s Christian, Maltese and

European heritage?

They would not answer this question. They did say that the Maltese government

does promote tolerance and understanding and went on to say that there is a lot of

tolerance and understanding.

29. May we visit an open centre and speak to the residents?

This falls under the authority of the Ministry for the Family and Social Solidarity

and we would have to ask them.

30. Do you have any other information for us?

No.

18

Annexure 2: Tuna boat incident

(Source: The Independent, 2007)

19

20

Annexure 3: Locations of migrant incidents

(Source: The Times, 2007)

21

22

Annexure 4: The Marsa Open Centre

Plate 1: View of the open centre from the road

Plate 2: Entrance to the open centre

23

Plate 3: Barber shop

Plate 4: Cafetaria

24

Plate 5: Language School

Plate 6: Internet café

25

References

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/country_profiles/1045691.stm [Accessed

11 April 2007]

Borjas, G.J. et al (2005) Poverty, International Migration and Asylum. Basingstoke,

Palgrave MacMillan

Camilleri, I. (2007) Map pinpoints locations of migrant incidents. The Times,

8 June 2007, 15

European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE) (2006). EU “Dublin rules on

asylum claims cause misery and put refugees at risk”. [Online]. Available at

http://www.ecre.org/files/ECRE%20press%20release%20Dublin%20II%20report%20-

%20final1.pdf [Accessed 12 June 2007]

Grech, H. (2007) Malta “too tough” on migrants, says human rights chief. The Times,

4 June 2007, 7

The Malta Independent Online (2006). Amnesty International blasts Malta’s detention

policy. [Online]. Available at

http://www.independent.com.mt/news.asp?newsitemid=51494 [Accessed June 2007]

MaltaMedia (2007). MEP calls for more solidarity in burden sharing. [Online].

Available at http://www.maltamedia.com/artman2/publish/eu/article_843.shtml

[Accessed 31 May 2007]

Ministry for the Family and Social Solidarity (2005) Irregular Immigrants, Refugees

and Integration Policy Document

26

http://www.mjha.gov.mt/downloads/documents/paper_immigrants.pdf (Accessed 26

April 2007)

Texeire, F. (2006) At the Gate of Fortress Europe: Irregular Immigration and Malta.

France, Institute for Political Studies of Rennes