Herman Grech
Medecins Sans Frontières returns to a detention centre
International aid agency Medecins Sans Frontières has started providing services at a Maltese detention centre, three months after a widely-publicised withdrawal in protest over poor conditions.
MSF started seeing to immigrants at the new Ta' Kandja solidarity centre from last Wednesday, agency coordinator Gabriele Santi told The Sunday Times.
Though there are "encouraging signs", MSF will still not be offering any services at Lyster and Safi Barracks - which it pulled out from last March.
MSF had described the conditions at Malta's detention centres as appalling and inhuman.
The claims had been denied by Home Affairs Minister Carm Mifsud Bonnici who said the government was doing all it could to improve the conditions but it was overwhelmed by the record number of arrivals last year.
But MSF's tone appeared to be more conciliatory yesterday, with Mr Santi saying that the agency decided to start offering services at the new centre following negotiations.
"The way things were operating at the centres was rendering our services useless. But we are seeing a willingness to improve. This is the first step," Mr Santi said.
Mr Santi said the authorities had seen to a series of shortcomings to ensure Ta' Kandja was up to requirements, including the creation of a proper isolation area. MSF had lamented that immigrants with infectious diseases were being kept with healthy individuals.
The organisation had also criticised the slow process to identify the more vulnerable groups, such as pregnant women and minors. It had said that most of the immigrants that landed in Malta were in good health upon arrival but they deteriorated during detention because of the poor conditions.
MSF had said the lack of a pharmacy in detention centres meant that medicines prescribed to immigrants were not delivered on time or at all, making it impossible to offer adequate and effective treatment.
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Sander Depasquale
Jun 29th 2009, 00:46
The Government was let down by MSF with one italian minister even scorning the government when we had an issue with the italians. This politician had even threatened to disclose the contents of the report that MSF had submitted to the EU. I am amazed with the PN for allowing to take the MSF once again. They suffered a heavy defeat in the MEPs elections and yet again keep on making serious mistakes.... Come on Gonzi be SMART!
lgalea
Jun 28th 2009, 18:47
louise vella
Have a look at http://www.cnimalta.org/ilE.html to see about diseases in Africa
Robert Callus
The government ignored the report because it was a pack of lies.
As for the windows, who broke them Callus?
Who broke down everything and set fire to their quarters Callus?
The ILLEAGL immigrants themselves Callus.
So do you expect us to continue top pay every time they break up everything?
c. camilleri
Jun 28th 2009, 18:25
We should never have accepted them back.
Robert Callus
Jun 28th 2009, 15:56
@Peter Borg
Why does this prove MSF has a poor credibility, and worse still that the govt was right all along? Did you read MSF's report before they left? The govt didn't contest it, can't it be because they were right? What can a doctor do if he prescribes medicine and it is not supplied? Or suggests a severly ill person to keep warm but he can't cause no one bothered repair a window?
MSF do sterling work in many countries. No matter what one's opinion about immigration is, the fact is we are dealing with human beings. There is no excuse for denying people basic rights such as medicine.
Graham Crocker
Jun 28th 2009, 13:03
MSF still don't get it do they. The only reason the detention centres improved was because the rate of immigrants coming into Malta slowed considerably.
When the Australians get illegal immigrants that cannot be deported, they put them on Islands that dwarf Malta.
Peter Borg
Jun 28th 2009, 11:20
This proves that MSF has very poor credibility, and that the government was right all along.
louise vella
Jun 28th 2009, 10:53
Part 2
Then I read "most of the immigrants that landed in Malta were in good health upon arrival but they deteriorated during detention"! But was it not in The Sunday Times that we read a few months ago that a high proportion of HIV positive patients in Mater Dei were African illegal immigrants? Did they contract their health condition while in Malta? And how about tubercolosis? any Google search will show TB to be unfortunately very widespread in Africa, especially in the Horn of Africa. Do the illegal immigrants contract TB in Malta's detention centres too?
louise vella
Jun 28th 2009, 10:51
Part 1
"Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me" says an old English proverb. Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici was already fooled last summer when he welcomed Medecines sans Frontiers believing they were buona fide doctors intending to treat illegal immigrants. It turned out they were a politically motivated organisation which pulled the rag from under the innocent minister by holding a much publicised press conference at the most embarrassing time for the government - just as the French foreign minister (their founder) and the French Commissioner responsible were about to arrive in Malta. Medecines sans Frontiers acted professionally - as media experts, if not as doctors. Now Dr Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici has welcomed them again with open arms. Let's just wait!
lgalea
Jun 28th 2009, 10:51
So we shall expect more interference in our internal affairs by another foreign NGO (No Good Organization).
If they don't like what we have for illegal immigrants then they should take them promptly to their own countries and stop interfering in our internal affairs.