The Jesuit Refugee Service has published a collection of testimonies by asylum seekers in Malta describing conditions in Libya before they started their passage to Europe.
Do They Know? as the collection is called, is what the migrants ask themselves about the international community as they endure hardship in Libya, the JRS said.
"Since May 2009, some 1,409 migrants, attempting to reach a place where they could obtain protection or the possibility to live in safety and dignity, were pushed back to Libya.
"These actions were widely criticised and held by many to be a violation of international law, as Libya does not have the mechanisms in place to grant protection to those who need it and there is evidence that those returned would be at risk of harm," the JRS said.
"International Migrants Day is a good time to ask ourselves whether we are fully aware of the possible consequences of these actions for the people concerned. We believe that many who see this as a quick solution to the pressures that Malta is facing would think differently if they knew about the treatment that migrants face there," said JRS Malta Director, Fr Joseph Cassar SJ.
The testimonies reveal unthinkable hardship many migrants face in Libya, which is almost an obligatory transit country for sub-Saharan Africans fleeing widespread violence and human rights violations in their countries of origin, the JRS said.
It added that returning migrants to Libya, where they cannot obtain effective protection if they need it and where they face a real risk of serious harm, violates international law.
JRS called on the government to ensure that all asylum seekers within Malta's effective jurisdiction are allowed to apply for protection.
It should also ensure that those rescued within Malta's Search and Rescue Area are disembarked at a safe port, where those in search of protection can seek asylum ·
It also called on the government to refrain from actions that would result, directly or indirectly, in the return of migrants to a country where they risk suffering serious violations of their fundamental human rights.
"While it is true that migrant boat people attempting the south-north crossing of the Mediterranean are not all necessarily fleeing persecution, this does not justify returning anyone to a country where her/his life might be seriously at risk. Malta has an obligation to ensure that the rights of all migrants within its effective jurisdiction are protected, regardless of their legal status."
Do They Know? is also available online at <http://www.jrsmalta.org/Do%20They%20Know.pdf> www.jrsmalta.org/Do%20They%20Know.pdf