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Migrants should not be sacrificed for the nation’s well-being

Joint NGO Press Release on Malta’s decision to close its ports and on the on-going detention of hundreds of migrants

We are shocked at Malta’s announcement that our ports are closed to persons rescued at sea. This will result in either people stranded out at sea for days, possibly weeks, or in their return to Libya, where they will probably face atrocious human rights violations. It is unacceptable for Malta to exploit the COVID-19 pandemic to shelve its human rights obligations and endanger the lives of men, women and children.

We fully appreciate the enormous challenges Malta is currently facing in securing public health. We also understand that, in order to protect the nation from this serious threat, Malta must adopt general measures that would otherwise be deemed unlawful due to their limitation of our fundamental human rights. Under these circumstances, it is also our collective duty to comply with these measures and cooperate with the authorities despite limitations imposed on, for example our rights to privacy and free movement.

How are coronavirus measures affecting refugees?

Various European Member States have introduced emergency asylum measures in response to the Covid-19 situation. Many of these affect services offered to asylum-seekers and at times raise concerns as to their compatibility with legal obligations in relation to asylum-seekers’ rights to information, legal aid and effective remedy.

Most of the information presented here was shared within the European Legal Network on Asylum (ELENA), a network coordinated by the European Council on Refugees and Exiles. Our Director is the Malta ELENA Coordinator. Information is relevant as at time of writing (30 March 2020).

Interviews about the repercussions of Covid-19 on refugees & migrants

#KeepingUpWithTheInterns

Last week I was going through the news and reading about the current COVID-19 pandemic. I came across a Times Of Malta article ‘Migrants ‘more vulnerable’ to COVID-19 impact’. In this article the Director of Integra, Maria Pisani,

Imagine losing everything on your way to Europe and suddenly facing a new crisis in your new home: you’ve just lost your job, have no internet to stay updated about the novel corona-virus and no friends or family to support you with food or medicine. This is the situation in which some migrants have suddenly found themselves.
Dr. Maria Pisani, Integra Foundation

After reading this article I decided to sit down with our Legal Officer, Claire Delom, a French human rights lawyer with expertise in refugee law. I also spoke with Sarah Giusti, Social Worker at The Jesuit Refugee Service: “JRS in Malta seeks to accompany, serve and defend the rights of asylum seekers and forcibly displaced persons who arrive in Malta”.

I interviewed them regarding the current situation affecting local migrants and refugees.

An immediate food and shelter initiative is urgently needed! – Joint NGO Press Statement

We are extremely concerned at the increased number of alerts we are receiving from persons who do not have sufficient food for themselves and their families and who are about to be evicted because they are unable to pay rent. Many were at risk of poverty before the COVID-19 outbreak, but now the number of people requiring urgent and immediate assistance is increasing exponentially.

As people lose their jobs or have their wages cut, their ability to meet the most basic needs and those of their family members is being jeopardised. For some, these risks will be mitigated by Government’s support packages or by relying on support provided by social services, the community, family, friends, NGOs or the Church. Yet there are thousands of people who will not be able to receive this life-saving aid. They might not be aware of it or they could not be eligible for it. More worrying, it is becoming increasingly clear that there simply is not enough available aid to support Malta’s most vulnerable persons. We also note last week’s statement by 20 Church entities, expressing similar concerns.

COVID Notices in different languages

These translations were supported by the Support Services for Newly-Arrived Asylum-Seekers, partially funded by the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF).