Injustice = imprisoning the illegal immigrant

The referendum and general election are history. In the meantime, an ongoing situation in our country subsists. It looks as if the competent authorities are not giving the problem of asylum seekers the attention it deserves.

We refer to these people as asylum-seekers, not as migrants or illegal immigrants. The latter words enable authorities to derogate from their obligations towards asylum-seekers and refugees; it fudges issues concerning asylum-seekers and refugees, and it misleads the public, encouraging racial tension.

The following is an exposition of facts dealing with the living conditions of these asylum-seekers. It must be noted that this information has been drawn up by lawyers (including the writers themselves) and social workers who assist various organisations, including the Jesuit Refugee Society and the Malta Red Cross. Its contents are impartial and objective.

The facts

Most asylum-seekers have been detained in Malta for the past year or so in various places, ranging from Safi to Lyster Barracks, and to the Floriana General Police Headquarters. In various cases, detainees have already experienced detention in their country of origin before their arrival in Malta.

They are thus an exceptionally vulnerable group of people, and it is unlikely that they will be able to withstand the treatment they are being subjected to without suffering irreparable psychological harm. In fact, a number of detainees have already been hospitalised for psychiatric treatment.

Recently, the asylum-seekers at Hal Far have been transferred to Floriana. Here, the premises consist of three rooms, each measuring approximately 26m x 7m (86 feet x 23 feet). Approximately 47, 55 and, at times, 60 persons were being detained in each room, leaving no privacy to the detainees.

There is an exposed yard adjoining the rooms. It is, however, impossible for detainees to remain in the yard for prolonged hours without exposing themselves to the risk of a heatstroke. The only telephone available is situated in this yard, thus ensuring that the detainees are forced to stand in the heat throughout the conversation.

In winter, different weather is likely to create other problems. Beds are aligned foot to foot in such a way that there is little standing room left between them. The only possible source of distraction provided is a television set in each room. Yet, since they are left on 24 hours a day, they render sleep and rest difficult for detainees, particularly in these hot summer months.

The detainees receive three meals a day, but are provided with only one litre of drinking water per person per day. Given that the average person requires two litres of water a day, the detainees are in a permanent state of dehydration, which is obviously aggravated by the ongoing heatwave.

Tea or coffee is served to the detainees when they pass a plastic bottle through the bars to be filled. Similarly, to brush one's teeth, one must necessarily place one's toothbrush or finger through the bars for toothpaste. No extra water is provided to wash out one's mouth.

There are six toilets which are extremely dirty since they have not been provided with disinfectants to clean them up. Furthermore, there are only two water pipes. Three showers are partitioned by plastic garbage bags which serve as shower curtains and the supply of soap is irregular.

Clothes are washed by hand in the yard and then hung up to dry on the iron bars and barbed wire fencing, which can bring back some nasty memories to the detainees.

When the writers visited the detainees, they were confronted with a sea of human arms reaching out towards us through the bars. It is obvious that crowding so many people under such uncongenial circumstances is conducive to violent behaviour and is likely to lead to an escalation of tension which could easily result in physical aggression, as has happened recently.

Policemen are thus right to feel frightened to go behind the bars, fearing they are the best targets for reprisals. Even the police stand for long hours in the sun and have stood for tortuous long hours in the last cold winter. Some of them have contracted pneumonia and bronchitis. They are constantly spoken to in a vulgar way by detainees; even they are victims of this undesirable situation.

Insofar as police officers' fears are justified, the higher authorities that permitted or condoned the detention itself and the detention conditions described above, cannot be similarly excused.

It is shocking, however, that the Commissioner of Police has recently declared that detaining asylum-seekers acts as a deterrent for others not to come to Malta. The end does not justify the means! We appreciate your work in this regard, but we disapprove of such ideas and statements.

Even introducing castration, as a deterrent, could help reduce rape in Malta, and probably our number of murders per year would diminish had we legalised the death penalty. So, with your reasoning, why not promulgate laws to this effect too?

Some self-evident and direct reasons that militate against detention of these innocent, unfortunate victims of circumstances are listed below:

¤ it is a highly stressful condition, especially since asylum-seekers are already vulnerable on arrival;

¤ it undermines natural coping mechanisms that enable people to adjust to new situations and become self-sufficient;

¤ it isolates asylum-seekers from the local population and therefore inhibits social contact that could stifle 'demonisation myths';

¤ there are little or no educational and cultural activities that would facilitate assimilation;

¤ to detain people under acceptable living conditions is expensive in human and financial resources - there are more humane alternatives that could be adopted more cost-effectively; and

¤ people who have left their country in desperation to defend their lives and those of their families can never perceive that they have committed a crime against Maltese laws, especially when they planned to go to Italy and ended up in Malta by chance, as has happened on various occasions.

Many detainees never even knew that Malta existed until they ended up locked like criminals in our detention centres. Detention is a last resort for people who have committed crimes and should be resorted to only when absolute necessary.

In the next article the applicable law dealing with this problem will be considered, and it will be shown that the detention (and its conditions) of the asylum-seekers is considered by various lawyers as contravening the European Convention on Human Rights.