Repatriated migrants making good living

Ivan Visanich

Jan 30th 2009, 07:34

@ t Aquilina

Yes I am a maltese born,my parents are,my grand parents are and my grand grand parents are as well even though my surname comes from ex-Yugoslavia and I am proud to be From Malta . If you trace all Maltese families you'll find that none of them orginated from Malta so your point doesn't make sense at all.

M Borg

Jan 30th 2009, 05:28

I am also interested in setting up my business in Malta. Am a Maltese, have been paying taxes and NI for over 20 years.

Unfortunately i do not have the Capital, cannot take a loan because of my financial position (already am paying my home loan), i pay water and electricity bills, fixed line bills, mobile bills, VAT, regularly.

Where can i apply for having a 'soft' cash injection in order to start my business? Am not aiming so high. For a:
taxi business i will need some Euro20,000 to buy a new car;
or otherwise some Euro15,000 to rent a shop and start selling mobile phones;
or about Euro10,000 to start rearing sheep and produce some 'gbejniet';
or maybe some Euro5,000 and start a construction compnay;
or maybe given some land and about Euro20,000 to open a business selling car spares.

If anybody knows where shall i apply for such grants, please let me know.

Or am i missing something? Ain't i being discriminated by my own Country??????

marina klen

Jan 29th 2009, 18:51

I am very happy for those who managed to rebuild their life back home in Africa. But the whole project somehow reminds me of a feeding pigions´ situation. The more you feed them the more they come to feed. Malta is just 27 x 15 km plus Gozo, Comino, St.Paul´s Islands, as well, we can count Filfla and Cominoto. Will there be enough space and money to accommodate all great african nations in need? And who subsidise those european funds where the money come from, I wonder?

Adrian Allain

Jan 29th 2009, 17:57

".........have now set up a business in their own countries through assistance provided by the project."
Why do they have to be helped to set up their own businesses?
What's wrong with working for someone else as most people do?
Obviously paying criminal gangs to get you to Europe as an illegal immigrant pays huge dividends.
Many, many more will follow suit.

Joey Borg

Jan 29th 2009, 17:11

if they are safe now? weren't they safe also before?

if they had no money to start a business, doesn't make them in danger - they just esacaped instead of facing the challenge.

So apparently the trend in africa is: if you don't have money escape to europe.. you'll find idiots who give you money...

Michelle Dali

Jan 29th 2009, 16:44

The fact that they were happy to return to their own country after entering Malta illegally claiming they were escaping persecution, proves that this was a false claim.

I remember reading that one of them admitted in an interview at the airport that he was going to use to 5000 Euros to 'expand his business' in Ghana. If he had a business in Ghana, which he wanted to expand, I ask again, why did he illegally enter our country claiming asylum?

I think some serious questions need to be asked before the EU starts dishing out thousands of Euros to people who are clearly spinning stories for financial gain.

However, if the EU is happy to pay 5000 Euros to every African who comes here illegally just to get them to agree to return home, so be it! Unfortunately, this will only encourage more to risk their lives during the journey over.

Andrew Cassar

Jan 29th 2009, 15:54

@Brian Maloret

Yes, you are missing something......banks in africa don't give out buseness loans!! Secured loans are not possible because;
1) Most people do not own land or property,
2)even if a person owns a house or land, they do not have a legal documentation to prove it. 3)And even if they do have a legal deed on a property legal frameworks are so poor that banks would not be able to foreclose

A lot of NGOs are setting up special banks which micro-finance businesses. But this is not available everywhere. Part and package of such loans (and I suppose this project as well) is educating the would-be business start-ups how to manage their business.

This is the way to solve Europe's illegal immigration problem, by making sure that people who want to work to make a living can do so at home and not come to Europe! Though, It is easier said than done.

T Mifsud

Jan 29th 2009, 15:41

There is direct discrimination by the government on illegal immigrants
CASE 1) Two Russian people entered the country officially with all papers. They overstayed their visa and got henceforth ARRESTED and deported with police escort.
CASE 2) 3000 Africans, in multiples of 27, entered our country illegally by mostly initiating an emergency to activate madatory rescue in accordance with maritime law. They are given provisions, healthcare, accomodation and rights that discriminate against the Maltese eg. skipping Maltese people at hospital waiting room. But then, instead of arrresting and deporting them with police escort, we give them 5000 Euros to start business.

Now how about that for discrimination!

Ivan Visanich

Jan 29th 2009, 14:33

@ t.aquilina

Yes I am a maltese national even though my surname is from Ex-Yugoslavia.I was born here by maltese parents,my grand and grand grand parents were Maltese and I am proud to be Maltese or to be more precise from Malta.What I do not like is this silent invasion in our Island which now looks more clear to be that these people are escaping from their countries because of economic reasons and not because of civil wars and all that bull stuff.They should thank us europeans for giving them funds from our taxes to help them.

Joseph Calleja

Jan 29th 2009, 14:31

Now that's good news, only 12500 to go not withstanding another 2000 or more illegal emigrants arriving in Malta this year. Welcome to Malta, we'll educate you and you can go back home and become a business man. We'll funish you with a one way ticket, we even give you money to help you get started. The Maltese taxpayer's fund. No wonder the illegal emigrants seek Malta as a refuge.

Alex Spiteri

Jan 29th 2009, 14:07

as burden sharing and integration projects, voluntary repatriation is not a solution and my claim is confirmed by a record number of immigrants who landed in malta during 2008.

these are proposals who are created from politicians who don't want to solve the problem, but they simply want to give the impression that they are doing something becuase of votes. with these ideas, we will still have a considerable number of africans in malta

Noel Cutajar

Jan 29th 2009, 13:52

Shall we praise this project? It will mean that more will come to benefit from this project and in no way will it stop illegal immigration but rather we are indirectly encouraging it.

Aaron Baldacchino

Jan 29th 2009, 13:50

It's good to hear that the immigrants where ripatriated and are making a good living. But i hope this "way" of repatriation is not an incentive for more immigrants to come to malta in order to get this repatriation money.

Kevin Zammit

Jan 29th 2009, 13:08

So since Canada is a much richer country than Malta I should go there by boat and wait for them to give me money to open a business in Malta.

Wait a minute ... I had to apply for permits, prove I had the required skills, pay C$2000, prove I had enough money to sustain myself for at least 3 months, declare I was not a criminal + provide proof, find a job first and do a more than comprehensive medical test. After all that I am still interviewed to make sure I was of sound moral judgement and well prepared that I was ready to be a sound contributer to their economy. Whole process takes 8 months circa.

... let me know what's wrong here cause I just cannot figure it out ... maybe the UN can help here?

E Gatt

Jan 29th 2009, 13:04

Good for them and may the country/EU provide further funds for more repatriations and to stop new waves of illegal immigrants.

It proves the point however that many of these people are 'economic' migrants and not people that are escaping for political reasons or war.

Brian Maloret

Jan 29th 2009, 13:04

If these people are now making a good living in their own countries why did they flee those countries in the first place to seek "asylum" elsewhere. Instead of fleeing would it not have been easier for each of them to apply for a business loan in their respective countries rather than making the hazardous journey to Malta then be given a free handout through EU funding to be repatriated back to set up a business? Am I missing something here?

Joseph Sammut

Jan 29th 2009, 12:53

@ IM Dingli

They might but then again the others who are still in their country might reason that to succeed they must first come to Malta, get looked after for some time and given some money to set up business at home - dandy!!

d. borg

Jan 29th 2009, 12:51

Should'nt immigrants from Sudan and Ghana be repatriated fortwith? I don't think they qualify for refugee status. We should'nt be handing them money to go back, since they have no right to be here in the first place.

taquilina

Jan 29th 2009, 12:47

Who is Mr Visanich to say ' Let's repatriate them all then'? Is he a Maltese National?

Ivan visanich

Jan 29th 2009, 12:09

Good,nice to hear that....Let's repatriate them all then.

Christopher Mamo

Jan 29th 2009, 12:02

Just as a question, not intended as criticism.

Now that they are "making good living"... are they going to pay back the money that they have obtained by criminally entering my country?

I M Dingli

Jan 29th 2009, 11:54

Good luck to them, I hope they give an example to the others who are still in their country.