The Ethiopian community is “in shock” and “living in fear” as dozens of people, who have been living and working legally in Malta for up to 19 years, are being arrested at their place of work, sent to detention and told they will be sent back to Ethiopia. 

“I was 16 when I came to Malta by boat in 2005. I was an unaccompanied minor. I don’t know Ethiopia. Malta is my home. We have worked, paid our taxes and not caused trouble. Now we are being treated like criminals. Like animals,” said a member of the Ethiopian community, who is fearing a knock at his door by the police.

He is scared because five of his friends were arrested while at work and taken into detention. 

They were told that their application for refugee status has been rejected. 

Until now, they had temporary protection status and had a yellow book that allowed them to work legally. Some even had their own businesses.

Another man who came to Malta in 2005, and now has a family in Malta, explained that about 100 Ethiopians were being told they had to leave.

“We are all confused. Some have been here for 15, 16, 17 and even 19 years. We have children. Malta is our home. We are integrated. Our children go to school here. We are shocked. We are very peaceful people,” he said. 

Lawyer Gianluca Cappitta, as well as other lawyers who work with migrants, said that, whenever people of a particular nationality are rounded up, it typically meant that a delegation from that country is on the way to Malta. 

The delegation would typically include government officials who would facilitate deportation by providing travel documents after verifying the origin of the people in detention.

“What I disagree with is that, weeks before the delegation arrives, these people are rounded up and put in detention. And, sometimes, the delegation comes later than planned or does not come at all. This, I believe, is in breach of their fundamental human rights. 

“We are talking about law-abiding people who were always compliant. They should not be treated like this,” he said, adding that this case echoed a 2017 case involving nine Malian people. 

The Malians were kept in detention for three months pending the arrival of official documents so that they could be returned to Mali but the documents have not been delivered yet.

The nine were originally in a group of 33 arrested in November 2016 for deportation to Mali, reportedly as part of an EU initiative.

The sudden arrest, a few weeks before the Christmas festivities, had shocked the migrant community.

Cappitta had filed a constitutional case challenging the validity of the arrest and detention and any eventual deportation. The court had upheld all challenges but the appeal court reversed the decision on the deportation.

Replying to questions sent by Times of Malta the home affairs ministry said persons arriving in Malta irregularly who do not qualify for international protection are offered a voluntary return package.

“If they refuse the voluntary return scheme, are then subject to forced return, depending on the level of cooperation by the country of origin.

“The Ethiopian nationals you are referring to have been detained in order to safeguard their return to Ethiopia, following positive signals from the Ethiopian authorities related to cooperation on the safe readmission of their own nationals,” the ministry said. 

It added that this course of action follows a decision at EU level to step up readmission efforts with Ethiopia following an assessment carried out by the European Commission.