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maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 21 MAY 2014 7 News JURGEN BALZAN ONE out of every four asylum seek- ers who reached Malta in 2013 are minors. This emerged from a con- ference organised by the University of Malta's International Relations and Youth and Community Studies Departments. The conference, which focused on unaccompanied child migrants, was addressed by the President of Malta Marie Louise Coleiro Preca who, in an impassioned plea, called for the end of detention of minors. Insisting that the country "should never lose focus on humanity" Co- leiro Preca said that Malta and Eu- rope should look beyond the mere survival of child migrants who should be given the space to live out their childhoods and the opportu- nity to shape their lives. "Child migrants are often the 'dream weavers' among us, and in- stead of shattering their dreams, we should help them become a reality." This, she said, could be achieved by firstly ending detention of unac- companied child migrants and "al- lowing them to be children". The president added that the serv- ices provided should be more sensi- tive to children's traumas, individual needs and differences. The former social policy minister said that "diversity enriches life" and argued that the more child migrants are isolated the more at risk of being exposed to abuse they are. Calling for the creation of a safety network for unaccompanied mi- grants across Europe, the President said that child migrants should be allowed to "put their desired desti- nation on the table". Academic and human rights activ- ist Maria Pisani said that while the vast majority of unaccompanied mi- nors who reach Malta receive pro- tection, some do not – the reason being that they do not fall into any of the determined categories estab- lished by international law. She insisted that Malta's deten- tion policy, where minors are still detained, is "in breach of human rights". "All children have the same rights so it's a matter of whether they have access to these rights or not," she said. Earlier, MaltaToday blogger Farah Abdi recounted his experience in reaching Malta by boat after fleeing Somalia and Kenya, where he feared persecution due to his sexual orien- tation and religious beliefs. He went on to describe the ordeal he went through during his journey to Malta, travelling through Ugan- da, Sudan and Libya, where he was imprisoned five times for being an undocumented migrant. However, the ever-optimistic Abdi said, "the lack of documents do not make me an inferior human" add- ing that although he went "through hell" in reaching Europe he did not consider himself to be a victim, but a survivor. Crediting his mother and grand- mother for his strong character, Abdi said that he would always be grateful to Malta for allowing him to pursue his dreams of furthering his studies pursuing a future in the fashion and music industries. Currently, Malta detains all age- disputed cases pending an age de- termination process, and as a result children below the age of 18 may be detained for weeks or months, de- spite alternative available facilities. During detention, children are de- tained with adults, without any ac- commodation for their young age, and with no access to school. Under international and European standards, unaccompanied children should never be detained for rea- sons related to irregular entry, and pending age determination the per- son claiming to be a child should be treated as such until the determina- tion is complete. The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child said in 2013 that states should "expeditiously and complete- ly cease the detention of children on the basis of their immigration sta- tus". The three main political parties were also invited to participate in a round table debate on humanitarian policy and human rights law, how- ever the Nationalist Party failed to send a representative. Recently installed Social Policy Minister Michael Farrugia empha- sised the importance of addressing the criminal rings behind human trafficking. While reassuring that Malta would respect legal obligations in terms of child migrants, he said the crux of the problem lies in certifying mi- grants' claims. "Many problems surface dur- ing the process in which migrants' claims are certified. However, we are committed to end the detention of child migrants and ensure that the screening programme is as short as possible." Farrugia noted that a number of child migrants who are transferred to open centres disappear, hinting that these minors are fleeing the country to reach mainland Europe by sea. But the minister reassured that the government is in the process of identifying places and involving civil society to take child migrants in care. Alternattiva Demokratika repre- sentative Robert Callus called for an immediate end to the detention regime. "Mandatory detention should only be the last resort, not only for child migrants but for all migrants. In our view it is unnecessary, at most in ex- treme case migrants should not be detained for more than six months." While expressing disappointment at the political discourse which is only aimed at satisfying the big par- ties' political expedience, Callus said that society should move away from viewing migrants as a burden and look at the opportunities migra- tion offers. "Migrants have a lot to give and un- less we adopt this mentality things will only get worse. Talk of burden only fuels fear and breeds extrem- ism, which could end up with the rise of the far right," the Green Party representative added. JAMES DEBONO EDUCATIONAL authorities are monitoring works next to the St Ju- lian's primary school to ensure that no damage is done to the school. Over the past few weeks parents have expressed concern on the close proximity of the works to the school, arguing that it would have made more sense to commence works as the sum- mer recess gets underway. But a spokesperson for the Ministry for Education told MaltaToday that the architects of the project are in li- aison with the architects of the Foun- dation for Tomorrow Schools and the technical staff of the Directorate for Educational Services to ensure that during the construction phase no damage is done to the school build- ing. "All health and safety precautions are being taken," the ministry spokes- person said. As a result of the works, the school's parking area has been closed. But students are also enjoying a new refurbished rubber floor ground play area, which was recently constructed by government. The ministry spokesperson con- firmed that the developers won't be compensating the local school with any planning gains. Last year, the Malta Environment and Planning Authority had approved a car park, a supermarket and 25 resi- dential units in the previously affor- ested area between the church and the government school. Works, which include the removal of trees, are presently underway both in this area and the area immediately be- low the school. Residents claimed that during the public consultation phase, they were under the impression that the works were limited to the area be- tween the church and the school. 26% of asylum seekers are minors St Julian's: works near school being monitored PHOTOGRAPHY BY GILBERT CALLEJA Parents have expressed concern about the proximity of the works to the school over the past few weeks

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