Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/792945
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 1 MARCH 2017 News 7 JAMES DEBONO A 100 metre long and 1.8 me- tre high wall has been approved around the derelict Delimara ho- tel which is now being proposed for re-development as the Kalan- ka hotel. The case officer had called on the Environment Planning Com- mission to refuse the application, arguing that the proposal "will significantly obstruct the pic- turesque and panoramic views of the area." The wall was proposed by Ken- neth Abela, a registered farmer and owner of a billboard com- pany, who wants to redevelop the hotel. As approved the wall exceeds the maximum height of 1.2 me- tres for rubble walls set by law but has been approved on the basis of the rural policy which states that a wall may be constructed up to the height of "adjacent legally- established rubble walls", even if such height exceeds 1.2 metres. The PA imposed a condition obliging the developer to plant an African Tamarisk – a saline resistant shrub which grows up to a height of six metres – every three metres of wall length, and to put an African Wolf bane tree in between each tamarisk. The Environment and Resourc- es Authority had objected to the proposed wall, insisting that its height should be limited to 1.2 metres and should be integrated in the application for the con- struction of the new hotel. The architect also presented an old survey sheet showing a previ- ously existing wall which will be replaced by the new one. The architect has argued that the proposed wall is of the same height as adjacent walls. But this claim was disputed by the PA officer assessing the case, who argues that the only walls higher than the proposed wall are those on the opposite side of the road which had been constructed for soil retention purposes. Last week the Environment Planning Commission approved another application by Kenneth Abela to reinstate land "for ag- ricultural use" and convert il- legally developed structures previously used by trappers into an agricultural store. The Envi- ronment and Resources Author- ity had earlier complained that garigue in the area had been cov- ered by soil. JF Services Ltd, 'Vinci Buildings', 81 B. Bontadini Street, Birkirkara, BKR 1732. www.jfgroup.com.mt I Tel: +356 2069 1053 UN report exposes refugee child abuse in Libya JURGEN BALZAN WHILE EU leaders have agreed to return asylum seekers to camps in Libya, the United Nations has warned that many children suffer from violence and sexual abuse at the hands of smugglers and traf- fickers in the North African coun- try. Refugee children and women making the dangerous journey to Europe to flee poverty and con- flicts in Africa are being beaten, raped and starved in "living hell- holes" in Libya, the United Na- tions children's agency, UNICEF, said. Children are being sexually abused, coerced into prostitution and work, and held to ransom for months in squalid, overcrowded detention centres, as they make their way along the Central Medi- terranean migration route, the agency warned in a report entitled "A Deadly Journey for Children". This comes after Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat shrugged off criticism over the contentious €200 million deal signed between Italy and Libya last month and the EU leaders' decision to sign a similar deal, insisting that the agreement addressed the people's concerns on migration. Defending the deal designed to stem the flow of asylum-seekers from the war-torn country, Mus- cat insisted it had addressed the concerns of ordinary citizens on migration and its impact. The UNICEF report called on Libya, the EU and the interna- tional community to establish safe and legal pathways for chil- dren fleeing war or poverty along the route. EU leaders have been warned against stranding thousands of refugees in "concentration camp- like" prisons controlled by mili- tias. These camps serve as lucrative businesses that allow militias to profit from trafficking, and are "no more than forced labour camps … and makeshift prisons," UNICEF said. "For the thousands of migrant women and children incarcer- ated, [the centres] were living hellholes where people were held for months." For the report, re- searchers for the International Organisation for Cooperation and Emergency Aid (IOCEA), a UNICEF partner, interviewed a total of 122 refugees – 82 women and 40 children – who tried to complete the perilous journey. Three-quarters of migrant chil- dren interviewed in Libya report- ed experiencing violence, harass- ment or aggression at the hands of adults during their journey to Italy. The "snapshot" survey also found a growing number of teen- age girls forced by smugglers to have Depo-Provera contraceptive jabs, so they could be raped with- out becoming pregnant. The UN children's agency said a total of 25,846 children – most of them unaccompanied – crossed from North Africa to Italy using the Mediterranean route in 2016. An estimated 4,579 people died crossing the Mediterranean be- tween Libya and Italy last year alone, of whom over 700 were children. More than 181,000 refugees and migrants in total crossed through Libya, and thousands of people died on the way. Sexual violence and abuse were widespread and systematic at crossings and check- points. A third of the women and children interviewed said their assailants wore uniforms or ap- peared to be associated with the military. Nearly half of the wom- en and children reported sexual abuse during migration, often multiple times and in multiple lo- cations, the report found. Men were reportedly often threatened or killed if they in- tervened to prevent sexual vio- lence, and women were often ex- pected to provide sexual services or cash in exchange for crossing the Libyan border. "The results of this rapid assessment demand action. We can't have a situation where children and women dis- appear into a hellhole. They are being sexually assaulted, abused, exploited and killed," Justin For- syth, deputy executive director of UNICEF, said. "The central Mediterranean from North Africa to Europe is among the world's deadliest and most dangerous migrant routes for children and women," UNICEF regional director and special coordinator for the refu- gee and response crises in Europe Afshan Khan said. "The route is mostly controlled by smugglers, traffickers and other people seeking to prey upon desperate children and women who are simply seeking refuge or a better life. We need safe and legal pathways and safeguards to pro- tect migrating children that keep them safe and keep predators at bay." PA orders planting of trees along Kalanka wall Refugees are often beaten, raped and starved in "living hellholes" in Libya