Lawyer demands Malta certificate for migrant’s boy born at sea

A lawyer representing a Somali woman who gave birth on a boat three days before reaching Malta is calling for the child to be given a Maltese birth certificate.

Lawyer Tonio Azzopardi exhibited a birth certificate of a Maltese child born in Australian territorial waters but registered in Malta. The child was not born on a Maltese-registered ship or in Maltese territorial waters as was the case with Hatra Chama’s baby, the lawyer said. In the Australian case, a Maltese civil court had ordered that the girl be registered in Malta despite being born in Australian waters, he continued.

As yet, Ms Chama’s child does not have a formal identity, status and citizenship.

Ms Chama is married and already had three children: five-year-old Abdirahman, four-year-old Sagal and three-year-old Samiya. She left her homeland in March 2008 when she was pregnant with Muna and then left the Libyan coast on November 1 and gave birth on the boat the following day.

A Russian ship, the Yelena Shatrova, had rescued her together with another 70 immigrants before they were brought to Malta. On November 5, the immigrants landed in Malta where Ms Chama and her baby were given registration numbers by the police.

Ms Chama and her daughter are now in France where they enjoy international protection as part of a responsibility sharing initiative between the French and Maltese authorities.

The case continues.

Lawyer Christian Falzon Scerri represented the Attorney General’s Office.