Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1181922
16 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 3 NOVEMBER 2019 INTERVIEW Migration is most commonly depicted in terms of numbers. People often complain (not without good reason) that the number of arrivals is just too high to cope with. Yet others also argue that the real issue is not about numbers at all, but management: i.e., that Malta could cope with the volume, if the situation were somehow managed better. Where would you position yourself in that equation? There is absolutely no deny- ing that Malta has had a dif- ficult year in terms of arrivals. I'm sure that by the end of the year, we will once again be at the top, globally, in terms of the number of asylum seekers per capita. So I do see this as a numbers issue. At advocacy level, I, too, keep saying that… this can't go on. Malta definite- ly needs support, in many dif- ferent forms: including, but not limited to relocation. But it is about more than just numbers. There is clearly a lack of commitment, and also the absence of any real will to see things through. That is the sit- uation, and it cannot be denied. To take a more historical per- spective, however: asylum seek- ers started arriving in the late 1990s. By 2002, it had become a regular occurrence. There was a brief lull as a result of an agreement between Gaddafi and Berlusconi – that's how long ago we are talking about – and also for around three years after 2015, when the Italian government likewise had some form of informal agreement. So ironically, at the height of the refugee 'crisis' in Europe, Malta stopped receiving asylum seek- ers. This should have been the perfect opportunity to come up with a long-term plan… because you need to be liv- ing with the unicorns to think that this was not going to con- tinue. Sure enough, there was a change in government in Italy, and we were back to square one again… only with increased numbers, and a new reception policy that hadn't been tested up until that time. Not to men- tion fewer reception centres. Another issue is that the local context has in the meantime shifted. The cost of renting property has skyrocketed, so the possibilities of transition- ing into the community are al- so fewer. This is a challenging issue for everybody in Malta, not just asylum seekers and refugees; but when you inter- sect property prices with issues such as race, it becomes even more problematic. The recent incidents at Hal Far have certainly indicated the extent of the problem. Would you say incidents such as these are also the result of our previous failure to come up with a long-term integration strategy? Whilst obviously not condon- ing the violence [at Hal Far] – which must have been very frightening for the staff at that time; I've been in similar con- texts myself (though never as bad), and… it's horrible. It's horrible for the people who have to face it; and also, for the people who live there. Let's not forget that well over 1,000 people live in that centre, and they're not all responsible for what happened. But it was all avoidable. It could have been avoided, had we come up with a long-term strategy: a commitment to ad- equate reception; and more investment, not just in infra- structure, but also in terms of staff and capacity building. At the moment, what we have is a detention policy that was found to be illegal around three weeks ago. This is a serious situation that desperately needs to be addressed. We also feel there is space for more co-operation with NGOs. On an operational level, I must say that this is something we already have; but it needs to be strengthened. The infrastructural situation you describe sounds no different from the one we've been reading about – as you said earlier – for over 20 years. Why do you think it has proven so difficult for Malta to pull its socks up when it comes to managing this issue better? The problem is there are a number of bottlenecks. The Initial Reception Centres are overcrowded; people are being detained at the Safi barracks; and there are not enough open centres to cater for the increase in arrivals. This, in itself, is evi- dence of why a long-term plan was so sorely needed. The in- crease in arrivals was predict- able. But having a plan, in itself, is still not enough. Extra sup- port is needed. To begin with, there are some people who need ongoing care: in particu- lar, vulnerable groups such as unaccompanied minors, fami- lies with small children, and so on. But most asylum seekers are young, able-bodied men who are ready and willing to be employed. These, too, need ex- tra support to make that transi- tion into the community. The sooner and more effectively this is done, the better for all of us; not only because they will be able to start contributing to the economy, but also because they'd be able to afford better housing within the commu- nity, rather than live in ghet- toes. Hal Far has now become almost a small town in its own right; but it is a town with no facilities and zero investment. [Pause] I can carry on talking In wake of the recent riot at the Hal Far reception centre, MARIA PISANI - spokesperson of the Integra Foundation, and lecturer at the Faculty of Social Well-being – argues that Malta has yet to make the necessary changes to adapt to new social realities Desperately in need of a Raphael Vassallo Raphael Vassallo rvassallo@mediatoday.com.mt