Updated 7.40pm: Adds comment from ministry source

A teenager who survived a hit-and-run attack six months ago is among a group of migrants facing eviction from Malta's biggest open centre.

May Malimi was found unconscious and in a pool of blood in February and was left with scars and pain from the injuries he sustained.

The 19-year-old from Chad was attacked and left for dead on the same road as the drive-by shootings in Ħal Far in April that led to the death of Lassana Cisse and two others being injured.

Francesco Fenech, 21, and Lorin Scicluna, 22, the men who are charged with the drive-by shootings on Triq tal-Ġebel, are being charged with this incident too.

He claims to be one of several migrants rescued last year by the search and rescue boat Lifeline that have been told they have to leave their Ħal Far tent village.

They claim no translator was provided to communicate the temporary nature of their accommodation.

Mr Malimi told Times of Malta he has not received much support since the incident and is unable to find stable employment. He is not sure where he will go once he is evicted, he said.

Sources from the Home Affairs Ministry, however, said Mr Malimi was to be allowed to stay at the centre.

He told Times of Malta he was one of the group of migrants who received a letter by the authorities two weeks ago telling them they would have to leave their Ħal Far Tent Village.

The letter he received is dated August 9 and gives him until August 31 to vacate his room at the Tent Village.

"As from the 31st August 2019 you will be responsible to make accommodation arrangements for yourselves and for your dependent(s)," the letter states. 

Upon entry to the open centre, asylum seekers are asked to sign a service agreement in English, outlining their right to reside there for nine to 12 months.

However, apart from one Gambian man who is an English native speaker, the rest of the group faced a language barrier when they first arrived and claimed they weren’t given a translation of the information with the documents they signed.

“The first day we are told to sign a paper but we didn’t know the meaning of the paper. So we signed it but we cannot speak English and we didn’t have a translator.

“Then one month ago we received a letter saying we have to go. But we didn’t know about this and we do not have anywhere to go,” Kone Amara, one of the asylum seekers who received an eviction notice, said through a translator.

Contacted by Times of Malta, a spokesperson for the Home Affairs Ministry said that upon arrival on the first day at the centre, residents are briefed by means of a translator on their rights, such as medical assistance, access to mainstream services, education, employment and public transport, among others, as well as on their obligations, such as good conduct, financial assistance and reporting, safety and security procedures, among others.

Residents are then provided with a physical copy of the service provision agreement which includes the time frame by which they are expected to take up private residence in the community, she said. 

“Within this time frame, the Agency for the Welfare of Asylum Seekers (AWAS), which manages reception centres, works with the UNHCR, IOM and local NGOs to support and encourage the residents in using the utmost of their abilities to start an independent life,” the spokesperson added.

Sources at AWAS said the year-long window was necessary to ensure migrants did not crowd out facilities. The reception centres, they said, were meant to facilitate migrants’ transition into society and not provide permanent hospitality.

It was also important to make sure there was enough space for potential new arrivals, the sources added.

The director of the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS), Katrine Camilleri, said that the NGO was not able to confirm whether translations of the service agreement were provided or not.

In signing the service agreement, from a legal point of view, migrants indicate that they understand and accept the conditions of the agreement, one of which is that their stay in the centre is for a period of 12 months, she added. 

We cannot speak English and we didn’t have a translator

However, in a number of cases this time limit is extended as the NGO meets people who have lived in the open centre for much longer. 

“Because of this, they ‒ perhaps understandably ‒ do not expect the one-year time limit to be applied rigidly in their case, especially when the difficulties they face when seeking stable employment and accommodation are well-known, and they only enjoy limited rights as their asylum applications have not yet been processed.” 

Nowhere to go

The majority of those facing eviction claim they cannot find stable employment due to their uncertain legal status and will be out on the streets in two weeks, since they will not be able to afford rent.

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.

According to the migrants, employers are put off by this process, and out of 12 migrants who spoke to Times of Malta, only one had found full-time employment.

Dr Camilleri confirmed that 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 a lack of resources and an overburdened system, migrants receive very little support to transition from the open centres to the rental market.