Asylum seekers on hunger strike over detention

Twenty-one asylum seekers who have been in Malta for several months have gone on hunger strike in protest over being detained while their application for refugee status is being processed.

The asylum seekers have also written to Justice Minister Tonio Borg asking him to intervene in the case. Ten Liberians, six Chadians, four Somalis and another from Sierra Leone said they had applied for refugee status but were still waiting for an interview with the Refugee Commissioner.

"We are well aware that the staff at the Office of the Refugee Commissioner are working hard, interviewing asylum seekers in different camps and we know that there are a lot of us, and that this is a problem in a small country like Malta," the asylum seekers said.

However, they complained they spent their days eating, sleeping and staring, with nothing else to do.

"We have no television set and no books to distract us and help us pass the time. This is very hard for us, who, like you, led active lives before coming to Malta.

"All our lives we have been law abiding and we travelled illegally only because we had no alternative. All of us fled situations that made our lives intolerable. You have no reason to believe we would do otherwise if we are allowed to have our freedom."

When contacted, Dr Borg, who was in Brussels attending a meeting of justice and home affairs ministers of the EU, said he was not aware of the letter but would deal with it immediately on his return.

"The Immigration Act makes it illegal for asylum seeks to be set free. The problem has been exacerbated because we had a sudden influx of 1,680 within a very short time last year. But I will see how we can speed up the process.

"However, the government policy will remain: those who are not granted temporary protection or refugee status will be sent back," Dr Borg said.

He said the meeting of EU home affairs and justice ministers had discussed the issue of asylum seekers and Malta was practically compliant with the EU directive that is being drawn up.

"We also discussed re-admission agreements the EU is negotiating with countries such as Syria and Iran. Malta will benefit from these agreements which we would have otherwise had to try to negotiate on our own," he said.

Refugee Commissioner Charles Buttigieg said the office was doing its utmost to speed up procedures "while doing it with the professionalism it requires".

He said the office was manned by just five members. Since January, they had dealt with 146 applications involving 224 people.

"During the same period, 125 cases were concluded, which means that the office is dealing with a case every day. Of these, 18 were given refugee status, 30 were rejected and 77 were given humanitarian protection. The latter would be given special leave to remain in Malta until they can return to their country of origin or resettle safely in another country," he said.

"With the resources available, we cannot do more than that," he said.

The Jesuit Service Director Pierre Grech Marguerat said the Refugee Commissioner's office needed more staff to be able to deal with cases more speedily.

He said there was a growing frustration in the camps where asylum seekers were being held. NGO representatives who visit the centres have reported a sharp deterioration in the psychological well-being as many of the asylum seekers were becoming desperate.