Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1241994
5 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 29 APRIL 2020 NEWS JAMES DEBONO CLOSE collaboration between the Parliamentary Ombudsman in Malta and the Spanish El Defen- sor del Pueblo have speeded up the reunification of an 11-year-old unaccompanied minor from Cameroon, with his mother, in a case which casts a light on the torture and abuse of migrants held in detention in Libya. The case surfaced after the Spanish Ombudsman was informed by NGOs working with migrants that a boy rescued and transferred to Malta was claiming to be the son of a woman seeking asylum in Spain, who together with her other two daugh- ters, had been rescued at sea. The minor had expressed the wish to be reunited with his mother and two sisters who were current- ly residing in a Spanish reception centre. The Spanish ombudsman sought the assistance of the Maltese ombudsman to facilitate and speed up the reunion. The Maltese ombudsman's case notes for 2019 describes this particular case as "a tale of pain, suffering and torture." Information compiled by NGOs and their law- yers revealed that upon their arrival in Libya, the family was apprehended by an armed group that took them to a prison-like facility, where they were held against their will for months, suffering torture and extortion. The family had been 'sold' upon their arrival and kept in an overcrowded house without any win- dows. The boy witnessed torture on a daily basis and saw men and women being bought for work like "cattle". While the son had managed to escape after jump- ing over a fence in an escape attempt, his mother and sisters were apprehended by the guards, who took them back to prison and tortured them for attempting to escape. But eventually both the son and the mother had managed to flee Libya and reach Europe separately. The minor eventually embarked to Europe and was rescued at sea and transferred to Malta, while the mother and sisters were rescued and trans- ferred to Spain. The UNHCR had met up with the mother, who had repeatedly expressed her will to be reunited with her son upon her arrival at the Centre. DNA samples were essential to reunite the family because the mother had lost her son's birth certifi- cate when they crossed Cameroon's border. Given the difficulties to have the document re- issued, she had expressed her willingness to run DNA tests in order to prove her biological mater- nity. After the boy was contacted, the Agency for the Welfare of Asylum Seekers launched a reunifica- tion request as laid down in the Dublin Regula- tion, while the Spanish authorities initiated one on behalf of the mother. However, this reunification process is usually lengthy as it involves DNA test- ing to eliminate the possibility of human traffick- ing. Upon receipt of the request from the Spanish ombudsman, the Maltese ombudsman contacted officials of UNHCR Malta to obtain further infor- mation and try to facilitate the procedures to fi- nalise the DNA tests on the minor to ensure the biological connection. It was established that the DNA sample had been taken but was still in Malta awaiting authorisa- tion from the appropriate authorities to be sent to Spain. The Ombudsman took the matter up with the Permanent Secretary for the Ministry for Home Affairs and the Chief Executive Office of AWAS. The authorities confirmed that the process had been initiated and that they were cooperating to facilitate reunification pending the DNA result. Thanks to the ombudsman's intervention the case was speeded in view of the minor's vulnerability. The minor's DNA was found to be compatible and by mid-July 2019 he was accompanied by an AWAS social worker to Spain where he was finally reunited with the mother and his sisters. Both the boy and his mother had applied for asy- lum and were being offered psycho-social support in connection to offset the trauma they suffered while in Libya. Boy tortured in Libya camp, reunited with mother after Ombudsman's intervention THE police have fined 33 people €100 each in the past 24 hours for meeting in public in groups of more than three. Under rules in place to curb the spread of COVID-19, congregat- ing in groups of four or more is not allowed unless all persons concerned are family members living in the same household. No one was found breaching obligatory quarantine in the past day, with 472 inspections having been carried out. The authorities renewed their appeal for all to be responsible and to continue cooperating with the coronavirus directives. Malta's new COVID-19 cas- es numbered eight on Tuesday, with 17 additional recoveries al- so having been registered. The total number of cases has reached 458, but 303 people have recovered from the virus, double the number of those who are actively infected (151) Since the pandemic started, over 30,000 swab tests have been carried out. 33 fined for congregating in groups of four or more The police carried out 472 COVID-19 inspections between Monday and Tuesday Migrants in a Libya camp (Photo: Euractiv)