aditus on Dutch TV: “More humanity is needed with refugees…”

deathatsea

aditus Director Neil Falzon contributed to the short documentary, released on 28 December 2014, Miljonairsechtpaar redt bootvluchtelingen (“Millionaire couple rescues boat people”), from reporter Renee van Hest of Dutch news channel Nieuwsuur.

The video doc profiles the Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS) founded by Regina and Christopher Catrambone and its efforts to compensate for the insufficiencies in search-and-rescue operations that are the result of European indifference to the plight of asylum seekers in the Mediterranean Sea.

Neil appears first at 8:55, speaking of the invasion mentality among Maltese that is the most palpable consequence of Malta’s relatively high refugee numbers. He goes on to speak of the deplorable material conditions in the centres wherein asylum seekers are inevitably detained upon their arrival in Malta — and especially how they have already been the subject of condemnation from the European Court of Human Rights, having been judged inhuman and degrading.

Neil affirms the historical and continuing reality of migration and proposes that the answer for Europe is to treat those seeking safety with more humanity and dignity, as well as to revisit reception and integration systems.