The village of Kirkop may be a small piece in the puzzle of illegal immigration but residents are dealing with their fair share of problems because of the detention centre that borders their locality.
The detention centre is housed within the barracks of the Armed Forces at Safi, which Kirkop residents argue is a misnomer. The detention quarters are literally metres away from a country lane that borders Kirkop.
The Times was taken on site by Kirkop mayor Mario Salerno and shown around the AFM's perimeter fence, which is punctuated with holes and rusting barbed wire. At one point, the whole fence and the waist-high wall are non-existent, making it easy for anyone to enter or leave the AFM's grounds. Just 20 metres away from the perimeter fence is a farmer busy at work.
"When they escape, more often than not, the immigrants end up in Kirkop," Mr Salerno says.
"We have asked the military to change the perimeter fence into a wall 15 courses high but our requests have fallen on deaf ears," he insists.
He acknowledges that people in Kirkop are worried about the situation, complaining that his locality is forgotten by the authorities.
Mr Salerno chooses his words carefully. He does not want to alarm people but his concerns are a reflection of the general sentiment in Kirkop.
Two women walking past St Benedict's College say they were less worried when the detention centre had opened since it housed fewer immigrants and the situation was manageable.
"I used to pity them but today I am worried about the situation. It is not the first time we found an immigrant in our porch when they escape," one of the women says.
"We don't feel safe anymore," her friend adds.
They argue that the immigrants should be sent back because Malta does not have the space for them.
Their reactions are also reflected in the comments of another woman, who was pushing her daughter in the buggy on the pavement along the perimeter fence.
"I think it is a problem," she says when asked what her thoughts were on illegal immigration.
"I don't think it is right when they burn mattresses and create all sorts of problems after what we've been doing for them. I have nothing against them but there are too many now and they should be sent back," she says.
On the other hand, for Karmenu, a pensioner and long-time resident of Kirkop, the locality has never had any problems with immigrants: "Sometimes they try to escape but the problems are inside the centre". However, he insists that the prevailing economic situation does not permit the country to allow the immigrants to stay. Kirkop is a quiet village, and the chirping of birds breaks the silence. In the background you can hear the immigrants playing football behind the fence.
The mayor insists people are worried because they cannot feel safe in a situation where immigrants who are supposed to be locked up continue to escape. "We just hope the army heeds our requests," he says, raising his hands in resignation.
See video on timesofmalta.com.
ksansone@timesofmalta.com