Aina Onyekachi was at work on December 23 when she received a call from a social worker informing her that she will not be spending Christmas with her two children, as she has done every year since their birth.

The Nigerian woman was told her children were going to be placed under a care order and she could only see them under supervision. The order was based on claims she wanted to abscond.

She was confused: she had full custody of her children, whom she had voluntarily placed with foster carers so that she would be able to support them financially and spend all her time off with them.

With no other family in Malta, Aina considered the foster carers her extended family, and they had never flagged any concern with her over the children.

“The first thing I asked was what offence have I committed? For 13 years, I have worked day and night to financially contribute for the upbringing of my son and daughter, because they are all I have.”

Since that call on December 23, Aina has only seen her daughter four times and is now allowed to be with her son under supervision only.

Her lawyer Lara Dimitrijevic has filed a judicial protest against the Foundation for Social Welfare Services and the Child Protection Services directors, on her behalf, arguing that Aina has been denied a fair hearing and raising concern about racial discrimination.

Aina admits that she now feels “half-dead”.

“Why do they want to take my children away from me? They are not even allowing me to see my daughter under supervision now. I invested in life insurance for my children and opened a savings account for them. I contribute for my son’s education and they will not even let me see his test results.

They will have to put me six feet under to take my children away from me

“I ensured they were well cared for, while I was at work to provide for them. What else can a mother do for her children?

“I will not let go. They will have to put me six feet under to take my children away from me. I will fight for them until my last breath,” she says, swiping selfie photos and videos that her beaming daughter had taken on their last encounter a month ago.

Aina, now a residential home carer, was seven months pregnant with her eldest when she landed in Malta in 2008. Five years ago, together with hundreds of asylum seekers, she was threatened with deportation after the government announced it was reviewing the temporary humanitarian protection system.

The government eventually backtracked on its proposal, but in the meantime, Aina fought with all her might to remain in Malta.

“Had I known back then that it would come to this, I would have packed up and left. At least I would have had my children with me.”

It transpired that the care order was issued under an ‘emergency application’ a few months after a fostered child, who, unlike Aina’s children, was under the protection of a care order, was ‘abducted’ by her biological mother and taken abroad.

“I have no intention of leaving Malta. Had I really wanted to go abroad with my children, I would have already done so, especially because I have custody of my children and I can travel legally.

“In fact, I have to sign to allow the foster carers to travel with my children. I am the one who should be afraid here,” she said. 

In the judicial protest, Dimitrijevic argues that Aina’s ordeal constitutes serious abuse of administrative rights and natural justice, including a fair hearing. It also leads one to suspect glaring racial discrimination.

The lawyer told Times of Malta she has never, in her career, come across such a case.

Aina, who had entered into a voluntary fostering contract with Aġenzija Appoġġ, had often asked for a social worker to support her, just like her children and the carers. However, she was never afforded one.

This ensured she was kept out of the loop and was even told she did not need to attend a court hearing where she officially learnt that a care order was being issued for the protection of her two children, Dimitrijevic explained.

According to the protest, the court has not yet heard Aina’s defence, there was no investigation into claims that she wanted to abscond, and no proof had been presented to court to back up this allegation.

Dimitrijevic hopes that during the next hearing, Aina will have the opportunity to present her defence.