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Detainees

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JRS Malta - www.jrsmalta.org
 

Political Developments Among the thousands of people crossing the Mediterranean Sea to seek refuge in the EU in 2008, almost 2,800 arrived in Malta. Not only was this the largest number to arrive in Malta in one single year; it was also the longest ‘season’ so far, with immigrants continuing to make the sea crossing even in treacherous weather conditions in winter. The number of new arrivals, up 60% over last year’s figures, meant that detention centres became more crowded and conditions deteriorated. Similar overcrowding occurred in the Open Reception Centres. For boatload upon boatload of African immigrants who reached the island, this was simply the added trauma. With immigration being the number one issue on the national agenda, and public opinion strongly marked by a strong anti-immigrant feeling, the Maltese authorities continued to maintain a policy of detention upon arrival for irregular immigrants. Asylum seekers were not spared, and faced several months in detention centres while their case was being determined. The traditional Maltese value of hospitality has been severely put to the test and crumbled somewhat during 2008. The general election held in March 2008 returned the incumbent Nationalist Party to office. There was no major changes in immigration policy and media coverage remained largely dominated by Malta’s efforts to secure at least “voluntary burden-sharing” (by the resettlement of third country nationals) in the European Pact on Immigration and Asylum adopted by the European Council in October. By the end of the year, only France had come forward with an offer to take 80 people.

JRS Activities
The JRS team shares, albeit in a very limited way, in this trauma of disrupted lives. The stories, the despair and the faces of asylum seekers and immigrants in detention etch themselves in our conversations, in our office meetings and in our consciousness. Throughout 2008, JRS Malta maintained its clear focus on reaching out to people in detention, while struggling with diminishing resources. Our very committed team kept up a regular presence in the detention centres, offering legal, social work and pastoral services. A number of volunteers, including Jesuit priests and scholastics in the latter, contributed to sustaining the important dimension of the pastoral accompaniment of detainees.

Projects
JRS Malta handled three main projects in 2008. Strengthening Protection of Asylum Seekers, was implemented by JRS Malta, UNHCR and Red Cross and co-financed by the ERF and FAI. The aim of the project was to enhance the protection asylum seekers receive through direct provision of information and legal assistance; training lawyers and law students in refugee law; facilitation of networking and information sharing among lawyers working in the field; and provision of training and support to Detention Service and NGO personnel working with asylum seekers. The project included the Detention Service Training Seminar, which ran from January to November as well as a three-day seminar on EU Directives Regulating the Treatment of Asylum Seekers.

In a second project, entitled Refugee Empowerment as an Integration Tool, which aimed to empower vulnerable asylum seekers, JRS organised group sessions in detention and open centres focused on empowerment through skills and knowledge, information sessions in the detention centres and literacy, language and computer classes, organised in conjunction with the Jesuit-run Paulo Freire Institute.

Schools Outreach Project
The Schools Outreach Project was carried over from one academic year into the next with great determination from the awareness-raising team and much collaboration from the authorities concerned. Our team visited some forty-five state and non-state schools, where sessions were held to explain the background of forced migration as well as to enable students to come in touch with the rich cultures and traditions of Africa.

SGBV
During the year, JRS also concluded a UNHCR-financed project on Sexual and Gender-Based Violence, with a publication entitled Try to Understand.

Legal Work
The JRS Legal Team maintained its high standards and efforts in favour of asylum seekers, both through direct legal aid and information as well as by contributing to the ongoing public debate and through formal courses and training sessions held at the University of Malta and elsewhere. We are pleased to point out that as the year came to a close, Katrine Camilleri, head of JRS Malta’s legal team, was appointed Member of the Order of Merit Gien ir-Repubblika, one of the highest recognitions of the State.

Personnel Changes
The last quarter featured a number of staff changes in the composition of the team. Among them, JRS Director Fr Paul Pace was appointed Provincial of the Jesuits in Malta and was replaced by Fr Joseph Cassar, who returned to JRS after an absence of twelve years. Fr Pierre Grech Marguerat, Director 1996-2005 and for over a decade the face of JRS in Malta, has been entrusted with another mission.
 

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