Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1510125
THE story of a 17-year-old Ivo- rian migrant who spent 225 days in detention in Malta, including a spell of confinement inside a one-windowed container, and who was awarded €25,000 in damages by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) was in the news this past week. The minor, born in September 2004, arrived in Malta with an all-male group of boat persons in November 2021 after spending 10 days at sea. The group was res- cued and taken to Hal Far Initial Reception Centre, where he was detained in quarantine until giv- en clearance by Maltese medical authorities. The French-speaking teenager claimed he was given no explana- tion, in a language he could un- derstand, as to why he was being detained. Lawyers from the Aditus Foun- dation and JRS Malta filed a breach of rights case before the European Court claiming that detention conditions in various immigration centres amounted to inhuman or degrading treat- ment. They claimed that the two- month-long restriction of move- ment order also amounted to unlawful and arbitrary detention and the constitutional proceed- ings before the Maltese courts did not amount to an effective remedy. When delivering judgment, the ECHR declared that the practice of detaining migrants 'for health reasons' under order by the Su- perintendent for Public Health was illegal. The court awarded the applicant €25,000 in non-pe- cuniary damages together with an additional €3000 to cover costs and taxes. To my mind, the experience of this migrant who reached his 18th birthday in Malta shows two things: the shabby way that migrants - such as this man - are treated and the unprofessional way that the case at the ECHR was tackled by the Maltese legal authorities. The Attorney General's office might have many cases to defend in its remit but putting such a case at the back of its pecking order and risking Malta being shamed by the ECHR is unacceptable. I am not saying that the young man should not have won his case. But I feel that the defence of the Mal- tese government's actions was in- adequate, if not pitiful. The story also shows that all those who come into contact with such migrants - in what- ever rung of the power ladder - should be taught how to handle them without breaking the law and flaunting the rights to which every human is fully entitled. I seriously doubt whether those coming into contact with mi- grants receive any training and education on human rights. I find it flabbergasting that the people running the detention centres apparently did not realise that the migrant spoke French and hence, did not produce a French speaking person to communicate better with him. If they knew he spoke French, and could not care less, then their actions are even more damning. The current government's stance about migration by people on boats is to avoid bringing any of them to Malta with the con- sequence that they would have to be 'welcomed' by the Maltese authorities. At first glance, this seems somewhat acceptable, but the idea is being stretched and taken to its extreme with Mal- ta manifestly appearing to be a heartless nation endangering people at sea on shoddy boats. Perhaps many Maltese are heartless where such migrants are concerned. But the Govern- ment of the day should show mercy and magnanimity. The Mediterranean will nev- er be 'free' of people crossing it as part of their quest to a better life. Malta will always remain an island in the middle of the Med- iterranean and its destiny result- ing from its geographical location cannot be ignored, whatever any- body says. Treating migrants shoddily will neither honour Malta nor help to avoid - let alone solve -the prob- lems created by the migration phenomenon across the Medi- terranean. Recycling of old buildings According to a report in last week's The Sunday Times, Sean Buhagiar, the artistic director of Teatru Malta is convinced that the building of Mount Carmel - the old but still running psychiat- ric hospital - is the perfect place that can be transformed into a National Theatre. He thinks the space offers 'a unique philosoph- ical opportunity to embody the connection between art and psy- chology'. He reckons that a refurbished version of the current run-down building would accommodate not just a stage, but also 'several spaces for professional perform- ers to rehearse, intimate theatres for local gigs and a large theatre complete with expansive back- stage spaces and wings.' I do not know whether this idea makes sense as I have never visit- ed this hospital, but I am sure that it is opportune to discuss what the existing building will be used for when the psychiatric hospital is replaced by the one that is go- ing to be built near Mater Dei. Unfortunately, very often in Malta, new facilities are built without anyone giving any im- portance to the use of the origi- nal building housing the facilities that are to be moved to a new building. This is tragic. This tragedy, in fact, happened in St Luke's Hospital with the Gonzi administration rightly boasting about Mater Dei but not knowing what to do with the va- cated St Luke's Hospital. It was then run down and it is even worse today. Over the years, this hospital has been vandalised with some areas being stripped of piping and wiring. I do not know whether this vandalism occurred when the government was 'run- ning' the empty hospital or when Vitals and subsequently Stewards took over this responsibility. Per- haps it just happened over the years. Abandoning any building naturally leads to a run-down derelict site, unless a new use is given to it as quickly as possible. The truth is that St Luke's today is in a much worse situation than it was when it was vacated and Mater Dei was inaugurated as a general hospital. Knowing what the Mount Car- mel complex is going to be used for when its current use is trans- ferred somewhere else makes a lot of sense. Mount Carmel is today a very shabby place. I am told that it is in very bad shape, much worse than St Luke's was when Malta's main hospital facilities moved to Mater Dei. I could name several other buildings that have not been given a new lease of life through a new use and instead lie aban- doned and vandalised. This has to be avoided in the case of Mount Carmel. 7 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 22 OCTOBER 2023 OPINION Mistreating migrants Michael Falzon micfal45@gmail.com The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg