Wednesday, 27th August 2008 - 16:56CET
UPDATE 3: Search to resume for 70 missing migrants, 3 bodies found yesterday
Updated 8.30 a.m. Aug 28
Two German helicopters based in Malta for Frontex patrols are this morning due to resume the search for as many as 70 would-be illegal immigrants reported missing off Malta.
One of the helicopters late yesterday afternoon spotted three bodies floating in the water 56 miles south of Malta, in approximately the same position where, yesterday morning, the Maltese fishing boat Madonna di Pompei rescued eight migrants from a half-submerged dinghy. It was those survivors who told the police and the local UNHCR representative that they had been in a group of 78.
Neil Falzon, the UNHCR (United Nations High Commission for Refugees) representative, said the surviving migrants he had spoken to, at Safi detention Centre, came from Ghana and Togo.
They told him that the group of 78 migrants including four women, three of them pregnant, left from the Libyan coast on a dinghy on Thursday. Their dinghy started taking in water early on Monday and it then capsized.
Mr Falzon said he was appealing to the government to release these survivors for medical and psychological attention. He said two of them, in particular, were in very weak condition and all were severely traumatized.
The eighth survivor, who says he is 15 hears old, is being cared for at Hal Far.
Mr Falzon said tthose in the boat came form various countries including Somalia, Ethiopia and Eritrea.
"This is a major tragedy on the scale we see elsewhere" Mr Falzon said.
There had initially been some confusion on the number of missing migrants, with the fishermen having told the AFM that the migrants said they were in a group of 18.
The AFM launched an air search using an Islander fixed wing aircraft as soon as it was learnt that some migrants were missing.
Several such large groups of migrants in dinghies were reported in the past few weeks.
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Comments
This is a very delicate problem. We can't afford more of them. Yes that's right we've reached our limits, but what can we do? Those people need help and unfortunately for us, we are, geographically, the middle spot between Africa and Europe. We can't just let them die while on the other hand, we can't make miracles and save them all.
I appreciate all the work that the Government and AFM are doing even though I know that there are somethings that need to improve.
Let's not have the least doubt that the powers that be, the politicians who advocated Malta's entry into the EU knew very well about this plague of illegal immigration. That is why EFA's administration changed the refugee Act in 2002, and it has been amended again recently to fall incompliance with Brussels’ prescribed rules.
We wanted to join at all costs, now lets lump it or leave it.
Goverment, and all the authorities wake up. These people are a financial burden for our country, businessmen are only gaining from them by paying cheap wages. Malta wake up before it is TOO LATE.
Meanwhile a few weeks ago while stuck in slow moving traffic I saw 2 pretty blonde ladies thumbing for a lift near the Kappara roundabout. (My wife and children were with me). I made a gesture to the ladies showing them the full car and that they wouldn't be able to fit in. What did I get in return? The middle finger!
In the mean time tomorrow ,I will hand in my permit application to the 17th Precint fo have a peaceful demonstration in front of the Maltese Ambassador to the United Nation at 249 E 35th St NY. NY for Sept 23rd while the Maltese delegation is in for the Assembly. I have a petition on www.gopetition.com, search, Save Malta from illegal immigrants or ilegall immigrants, If you agree please sign it. I know I'm reapeting my self, but I'm trying to get the word out. I appreciate Timesofmalta.com for posting some of my pleas. I also appreciate the concerned Maltese, that have been e-mailing me thier support.
For most commentators/journalists the problem seems to start when these immigrants are intercepted at sea or drown.
Will 11000 immigrants on the isalnd the job should not be too difficult. I am not referring to the sensational and emotional reporting on the occasional true refugee but to reporting on the majority who are not granted refugee status.
Some time ago there was reference to immigrants being given money by 'business men' to pay others for their voyage. Is this true?
Finally is there any practical way prospective immigrants can be made aware of the risks involved.
Not only "human traffickers". Human traffickers are only at the supply end of this deadly economic racket. We also have to point at those who employ illegals at the demand end. Illegal employment, same as human trafficking, has equally contributed to this tragedy. Those in authority, who have been closing an eye "ghax dawk imsieken", have much on their plate, and those employers who have profited from this racket, it's blood money they are looking at right now.
This sickening saga is more than enough to turn our stomach upside down. These things do not happen by themselves. Several people are responsible, actively or otherwise.
"The insecurity which irregular migrants face on a daily basis because of the unlawfulness of their residence prompted the European Committee on Migration (CDMG) to assess their situation in Council of Europe member states. The aim of the exercise was to pool national experiences and evaluate them and also to draw up possible proposals on dealing with irregular migrants and improving co-operation between countries of origin and host countries. Five countries volunteered (Armenia, Germany, Greece, Italy and the Russian Federation) and submitted some aspects of their national policies on the situation of irregular migrants for evaluation. The first volume contains a summary chapter (objectives, methodology, lessons to be drawn, etc) and the national reports of Italy and Germany."
My question is how come Malta did not take part in this study when this phenomeon has become part and parcel of our daily lives?
Your point about 'what if it were my child' is of course a valid reaction in a kidnapping case, but there is no comparable distinction between immigrants who have arrived to Malta and those who are planning to take the risk for us to favour one group over the other. So we cannot hide behind such an argument to escape the fact that our goodwill is making the whole situation worse by giving false hope to these people.
Yes, it is natural to want to help those who are among us, but that is a very shortsighted approach to the global illegal immigration problem.
"We can close our eyes to the Christian values we hold dear and listen to those who say human rights are secondary to the national interest", Dr Gonzi said. The government was putting pressure on the EU leaders and its voice was now being heard" he said".
Three years later the EU does not seem to have felt Dr Gonzi's pressure. In the meantime, 11 000 illegal immigrants have arrived in Malta, hundreds if not thousands heve been lost at sea, and Dr Gonzi is still holding dear his Christian values.
That having been said, it is still a non sequitur that Malta accepts ALL the immigrants who decide to cross the Mediterranean and somehow, either wilfully or by accident, manage to reach our shores.
By 'accepting', I mean keeping them here for months, years on end. It is not healthy for them, neither is it for our small and over-populated country.
Our government has the obligation to see to it that the counterparts at the EU sit down and listen to our country's problems and take the necessary decisions. A particular decision is to help the country keep a very firm surveillance of our territorial waters (vide Peter Serracino Inglott's Interview in Sunday Times, last Sunday I think).
A small, miniscule country such as ours, which happens also to be the only mainland (unlike other islands in the Mediterranean) cannot accept to perform the obligations that other, much larger countries have, those especially that are safely guarded by other countries and which have, over the years, been instrumental for the woes that Africa is now going through!
Well said! Most serious governments will not pay a ransom to kidnappers because it encourages kidnapping. In the same way, helping out the illegal imigrants encourages illegal immigration with all itsrisks.
@David Wain
'Refugee sympathisers' like you, David, need to realise that for every few they 'help' they are encouraging thousands more to risk their lives. It's exactly like making a group of children run across a busy road with the promise of a bag of sweets for those who make it alive. In thiscase, the bag of sweets is Tent City and a mobie phone. Charity my foot!
I agree with your view. That is surely an effective position in a ‘diplomatic’ way. i.e 'We vote against anything the EU proposes until they give us help.'
Libya is not going to accept any centres on its soil. That have been tried too.
There are no revolutions without tragedies. This is a revolution (which should be quelled) and we are at the receiving end of it. I see the only thing scary for our island is that the numbers and tactics have been upgraded.
However I agree with the detention policy that Malta adopts. We should also allow independent inspectors and journalists access to the detention centres. I am curious as to who provides food and medical care to these people once they are released into the open centres.
Joseph Bonnici says "This tragedy will send a harsh warning to those attempting to make such an illegal crossing into Europe...."
The problem is that, in spite of the fact that this is not the first tragedy to have befallen immigrants attempting to cross, it has done nothing to deter them, a very strong indication of the desperation faced by many of these people in their home country. Blaming these people and shortsightedly calling them criminals for entering Malta with no documentation is a sad case of mistaking the wood for the trees. I hope that this latest tragedy has been a reality check for some.
Yes, I am a refugee sympathiser, a phrase which has been bandled around as if it were derogatory in some way, and proud of it!! What I do not sympathise with are heartless criminals who are party to this massive, lucrative ring of organised crime.
It took a tragedy of these proportions to drive the point home to all of us ...
Please kindly speak for yourself.
But you can rest assured that those that are so manifestly absent in this thread will be back to spit their usual venom in due course once this tragedy is forgotten.
We vote against anything the EU proposes until they give us help.
e.g no to lisbon treaty, no to kosovo indepedence, no to Turkey in EU etc etc.
if the europeans have to help and i agree with helping these illegal migrants why dont we see where the problem is in their countries and help them there? africa is so big and rich cant they find rescue in a different part of africa and build up new citiesand new lives? dont you think it will be a pity to leave a great nature resource like africa empty?
What price the AFM not going out to help now? Inane comments like that are thankfully absent so far, replaced by realisation that however many problems they cause us, it's far better for these people to be brought here than to be allowed to drown.
Just a small point: what can our government do on its own? The sheer scale of the problem renders it one for the EU as a whole, with the inertia inherent in such a notion. It is manifestly unfair to point fingers at the PM or the Minister for Home Affairs - all they can do directly is administer Malta's small part, which at this stage is to give humanitarian aid.
As for "persuading" the thugs involved, be they Libya or the traffickers or whoever, to desist, that is Europe's task.
If the only two possible outcomes of a clandestine boat trip were either death on the seas or being sent back to the country of origin immediately, the whole thing would stop as soon as the word gets around. Taking a hard stance on illegal immigration not only benefits us Maltese, but also those Africans who are risking their lives for nothing.
If Malta were really in a position to help Africa, the way to do it would be to bring a number of Africans over legally and give them residence permits and turn back the rest. Can we do this? I'll let someone else answer that question.
While the idea has a lot of merit, the question is, will all the EU countries be willing to undertake such an undertaking? Or will it go into debate for the next decade and in the meantime it will be business as usual?
Why do you think the refugees in Libya will hear about this? It's not the first time such a tragedy has happened, and yet they still make the crossing...
Frattini is no longer an EU commissioner; he is now Italy's foreign minister. Rest assured, he is doing his damn best to solve the problem with Libya as Italy has borne the brunt of the influx of migrants from the south.
If there is anything for which the E.U. should be held responsible, it is the tariffs policy which is stunting growth in Africa. Otherwise, the anti-EU rhetoric expressed by some is really unjustified and out of place.
......;but such news never touch them and I think that there are people who are cursed from their birth.........or victims of evil powerful men...........may the good Lord open the gates of heaven and RUSH them in.
I am with you 100% Mr Gatt, what a brilliant suggestion. These people are probably dead by now and if the authorities take the appropriate action, that is cracking down on the human traffickers these deaths would have been avoided! The EU and Frontex are reluctant to get to the root of the problem and therefore the saga continues. Human traffickers getting richer and the anxiety amongst the Maltese taxpayers mounting due to our public services being eroded away. Hal Far should be an immigration centre on Libya's or Yemen's soil and the crossings will then come to a halt once repatriations take place. But the EU, including Frontex prefer the dangerous crossings to take place and similar tragedies to take place. Libya has a lot to answer same with DR Gonzi and Carm!!!!!
If this doesn't wake up Mr.Frattini, who is happily sleeping on the problem, I don't know what will! This tragedy shows how incompetent the EU is regarding Malta's problem and through the EU's inaction many people are being killed!
It is the Libyan government which has the blood of these poor people on its hands.
This has got to stop whatever it takes to stop it.
Simply folding one's arms and saying that nothing can be done is just not good enough!
Why can't the EU promote the blue card and make the Frontex operation, an EU wide operation with all the 27 countries participating in this operation. (3 patrol boats and 2 helicopters aren't enough to monitor an area bigger than the UK!!!!!!!!!!)
The EU should be liable to this tragedy
These are human beings as well.
Like us.
I would prefer them coming to Maltese shores than drowning!
Our seas will remain the final resting place for hundreds more unless:
* Frontex/Libya target the human trafficking gangs by offering rewards for information
* The EU offers an attractive repatriation programme
* The EU and Libya agree to a EU run centre on the African continent that will be accommodate asylum seekers where illegal immigrants from Malta and Italy could be flown to
Such an approach will discourage these dangerous crossings and result in fewer tragedies.