Several migrants facing eviction from Malta’s biggest open centres say they are unemployed due to their pending asylum application and will be out on the streets in two weeks.
Around 30 migrants rescued last year by humanitarian boat Lifeline were sent a letter by the authorities two weeks ago telling them they would have to leave Ħal Far tent village.
A spokesperson for the Home Affairs Ministry confirmed this was standard procedure, as the open centres were offered to those migrants in need of accommodation for nine to 12 months.
But migrants facing eviction said it was almost impossible to find alternative accommodation.
“The majority of those at the camp have looked for a place to live but it’s too expensive. Without proper documents and papers, most of us cannot get enough work and money… so we will have nowhere to go after we leave this place,” said Edrissa Manneh, an 18-year old from Gambia, who is one of those facing eviction.
When irregular migrants first come to Malta they file an application for refugee status, which can take years to process.
While they are waiting for the outcome, they have the right to work, but they need to find an employer willing to reapply for a work permit on their behalf every three months, Lauren Borg, durable solutions associate within UNHCR said.
It is difficult to find stable employment without papers
Once applicants receives refugee status, they will have their own work permit which will make things easier, said Ms Borg.
Employers put off by legal status
Jobs Plus offers a service in Marsa called Job Brokerage Office to help asylum seekers find work by matching their skills to job vacancies.
However, the group of migrants facing eviction told The Sunday Times of Malta that employers are put off by the fact that they have to reapply for a permit for them every three months. Out of the 12 that were interviewed, only one had found full-time employment.
Kone Amara, an Ivorian asylum seeker, who also received the eviction notice, said he has only been able to find work on the black market.
“It is difficult to find stable employment without papers. So you go to Marsa and try find work and then if the police catch you they tell you go to Jobs Plus. But they don’t provide jobs for you,” he said.
According to Dr Katrine Camilleri, director of the Jesuit Refugee Service, uncertain legal status, difficulties securing stable full-time employment, low wages, high rent and the language barrier place many migrants in a very tenuous situation.
Furthermore, due to lack of resources and an overburdened system, migrants receive very little support to transition from the open centres to the rental market, she added.
Emerging housing crisis
An emerging housing crisis faced by refugees and asylum seekers has come into the spotlight numerous times in the recent months, with many resorting to substandard accommodation as the only alternative to becoming homeless.
In July, dozens of migrants were found living in stables in Marsa, reportedly paying €100 a month to live in squalid conditions. And two weeks ago, a raid of an illegal Ħal Far residence called China House, forced another group of refugees onto the street.
“It is important that the government puts in place social housing options for the most vulnerable, according to pre-set criteria,” Dr Camilleri had said.
Racism is also another major obstacle to migrants finding accommodation. The Sudanese community leader, Negmeldin Soliman, was told by one real estate agent that the colour of his skin was going to make it hard for him to find a house.
The director of the human rights NGO Aditus, Neil Falzon, had confirmed that this experience was common to many migrants.
“Property owners are either unwilling to rent to them or too keen to exploit them, simply because of who they are: refugee, black, African, migrant, Muslim... The impact of racism is brutal.”