Immigrants 'prefer to die' than return home

Illegal immigrants detained at Ta' Kandja and the Hal-Far immigration centre yesterday said they would rather die in Malta than return to their homeland.

The situation at Ta' Kandja remained calm yesterday following a serious disturbance on Wednesday afternoon in which immigrants demanding to leave Malta turned violent, forcing police to fire rubber bullets.

Several illegal immigrants yesterday claimed to have been on hunger strike for more than 48 hours in protest at the authorities' decision not to allow them to continue on their journey to another country.

It was still unclear, however, how many are involved in the strike.

One man, who claimed to be speaking on behalf of the refugees, yesterday called The Times to say that no fewer than 370 immigrants were refusing food.

But police sources said that following a search at Ta' Kandja, police found six boxes of apples and oranges, while bread was hidden behind the ceiling soffit.

Police said a number of immigrants had refused to apply for refugee status in Malta, but want to do so in Europe and Canada, where they claim to have relatives.

The illegal immigrants are asking for a boat in order to continue on their journey, arguing that it was never their wish to land in Malta.

Speaking yesterday, an Eritrean illegal immigrant stressed that their protests were being "constantly ignored" by the authorities.

He said that the illegal immigrants had done all that was legally possible to leave Malta and go to some other country.

"It was never our intention to stay in Malta. We have been detained in prison for too long. We want our freedom - that is all. People should know about our plight," he protested.

The man said the United Nations was wrong to believe that the torment in Eritrea ceased to exist. He said it was relying on false information supplied by the Eritrean government.

"We are prepared to die rather than be sent back home."

Earlier this year, the UNHCR ruled that it was ending refugee status for Eritreans following the end of conflict there.

Commissioner for Refugees Charles Buttigieg spent several hours with the illegal immigrants last Wednesday explaining the procedures that must be followed.

"We spoke to them about their problems and concerns and I gave them all the information they required," Mr Buttigieg said.

Police sources said the issue was delicate, especially since a large number of the illegal immigrants had been rescued from international waters on July 25 after they found themselves in difficulty. This meant they had not infringed immigration laws.

Peace Lab director Fr Dionysius Mintoff claimed that the Refugee Appeals Board was trying to make matters tougher for those asylum seekers that landed in Malta last March.

The Eritreans had berthed at Xlendi Bay last March when their boat ran out of fuel.

Dr George Abela was engaged to try and help with their cause and despite presenting evidence to the Refugee Appeals Board it was decided that their appeal could not be upheld, Fr Mintoff said.

"The response to Dr Abela's many pages of appeal submissions was a two-lined sentence offering no justification," he said.

Fr Mintoff claimed that the Ta' Kandja centre was tough on illegal immigrants.

"It is worse than a lion's den," he said.

"Many of these refugees, who have survived armed conflicts, persecution and fear of death, seek refuge in other countries.

"Malta was not on their map. Shortage of petrol and inclement weather forced them to stop over here. I am afraid they are encountering an atmosphere of prejudice and misunderstanding," Fr Mintoff said.

There are more than 500 illegal immigrants being held on the island at present.