Kurt Sansone
Over 1,400 migrants arrived in 17 boats
The 1,475 migrants who landed on Malta's shores last year spoke 24 different languages from the predominant Somali to the minority Woluf, the native tongue of an ethnic group that lives in the Senegal region.
Somali was spoken by 878 people while English was spoken by 268 migrants, almost half of them being Nigerian. Arabic was spoken by 146 migrants and French was spoken by 47 people.
The range of languages spoken, which includes singular examples of minority ethnic groups, makes for an interesting microcosm of African culture spanning from west to east and from the Northern Mediterranean shores to sub-Saharan Africa.
The information was presented to the media by Refugee Commissioner Mario Guido Friggieri during an overview of his office's work to process asylum applications this week.
Mr Friggieri said 481 migrants who landed last year were married but left their spouses behind them while another 37 couples travelled together. The vast majority, 920, were single.
The number of women was on the increase with 219 making it to Malta even though they were still heavily outnumbered by men. There were also 101 children who made the treacherous journey across the sea. Another 19 children were born in Malta.
Somalis formed the largest group of migrants followed at a distance by Eritreans.
Migrants arrived in just 17 boats, an indication of the larger boats that made it to Malta last year.
The statistics also burst the myth that migrants were predominantly from professional classes with only 39 being classified as such. Another 485 claimed to have some form of skill and 90 were classified as unskilled. The majority, 694, did not specify any skill and claimed they were unemployed.
Mr Friggieri explained that, upon arrival, migrants were informed by his office about their rights to apply for asylum.
They were also provided information booklets in 11 languages, explaining how the process would proceed.
Last year 1,308 migrants applied for asylum and 980 were granted some form of protection.
The Refugee Commissioner's Office received EU funds to bolster its human resources and ability to process applications at a faster pace.
Mr Friggieri said the average amount of time to conclude an asylum application had reduced to about six months.
The office was also receiving help from British and Dutch asylum and immigration agencies.
11 Comments
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sean grima
Mar 7th 2010, 11:54
@lawrence galea: well, you should be thankful of immigration if what you say is the case.
@colin stanley: you are mentioning hypothetical situations - the riots in other countries were a result of immigrants being attacked. two wrongs do not make a right, but please point out the full picture.
@denis catania: immigrant to malta is not the business of american immigrants.
@john portelli: most of those who have arrived have left, so the number in malta is relatively stable.
@louis gialanze: since when are you an expert in security matters? this is your usual scaremongering
colin stanley
Mar 6th 2010, 20:29
@ Sean Grima,don't you know what happens in other countries, when these people demonstrate, in M alta we said that people are uncivilised, because of some name calling during a protest in Valletta, what would you say if these peop;le demonstrate, and start looting our shops and burning hundreds of cars like they do in other EU, countries.
John P. Portelli
Mar 6th 2010, 18:24
Sean, you really don't know much about life do you. Are you telling that if thousands and thousands of people keep coming to Malta we have to keep them and deal with them. Are you that naive. Cannot you realize that we have over 10,000 in just 5 years. That is insane. As Mr. Azzopardi said below, we are way too small for this kind of influx. And EUROPE doesn't want them either. they have their own problems. I would suggest that you harbor some in your house.
Louise Vella
Mar 6th 2010, 14:46
Somali language
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Spoken in Somalia
Total speakers 10-16 million native speakers and maybe 500,000 second language speakers.
Official status
Official language in Somalia
The Somali language (Somali: Afsoomaali, Arabic: الصومالية) is a member of the East Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family. Its nearest relatives are Afar and Oromo. Somali is the best documented of the Cushitic languages, with academic studies of it from before 1900.
Number of speakers
The exact number of speakers of Somali is unknown. One source estimates that there are 7.78 million speakers of Somali in Somalia itself and 12.65 million speakers globally. A population estimate made by the Dutch Universiteitsbibliotheek Utrecht puts the Somali population somewhere between 10 and 15 million. Combined with a large international expatriate community, it is difficult to get a specific number of Somali speakers, but somewhere between 10 and 16 million worldwide seems a reasonable estimate.
Denis Catania
Mar 6th 2010, 14:39
When will Malta start the deportation cases ?
Louis Gialanze
Mar 6th 2010, 14:24
Somalia is a failed state and on the watch list of most western intelligence services. In view of the large number of Somalis, who come in uninvited and undocumented, roaming about this tiny island the security of this country is being seriously jeopardized. Repatriation and detention are the only effective means to safeguard Malta's interests. Our elected representatives are duty bound to allay our concern. Failure to do is a shot in the arm for our own home grown Geert Wilders. PNPL the writing is on the wall and your cordon sanitaire might not last forever!
lgalea
Mar 6th 2010, 14:10
GONZI, GET ALL OF THEM OUT OF HERE. THEY ARE UNWANTED AND UNWELCOME BY THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE MALTESE CITIZENS. THE MORE YOU ALLOW THEM TO REMAIN HERE THE MORE WILL BE THE LANDSLIDE PL VICTORY COME NEXT ELECTION.
sean grima
Mar 6th 2010, 13:41
1. Somalis speak Arabic, not "Somali" which does not exist.
2. It is better to be a do-gooder than a "do-badder" like louise.
3. Somalis are the largest group because their country is one of the worst off - in spite of louis's cynicism.
4. immigrant women have the same maternal instincts as all humans, including louise do - the insinuation they get pregnant to get social benefits is just your invention, as is the fact of having multiple wives.
5. the fact that only some are professionals does not exclude - but in fact confirms - the existence of professionals amongst immigrants.
6. perhaps louise should consider spending months in detention like immigrants do before she talks about the easiness of it.
John Azzopardi
Mar 6th 2010, 13:40
Isn't anyone in Malta seeing the dangers in these statistics. What is little Malta suppose todo with all these people. Only a handful have left and another handful have been taken by the US. Also, the other problem I am seeing is a country within a country. If Malta keeps going at this rate, we are going to see a large Somali concentration on our soil and before you know it, they will start demanding all kind of Language rights. THis is very very dangerous and the Maltese better wake up and realize what is happening on our little island. Malta, with it's size and crowded population on such a small cannot keep going this way - accepting large amounts of illegals and granting them protection and allowing them to stay here en mass. This situation requires immediate attention and solutions in order to address the problems that already exist and will increase another large number will arrive among us in the summer. This was not a one time event. This has now become an annual occurance and it's very dangerous to our well being and standard of living as a society.
Louise Vella
Mar 6th 2010, 11:34
II
“The statistics also burst the myth that migrants were predominantly from professional classes with only 39 being classified as such.”
What myth? We always knew that most illegal immigrants are unskilled. But some sob stories spoke of so-and-so “an engineer by profession” and the other “a psychologist by profession” etc. The sob stories created the myth. In most cases we read they had lost their certificates in their country of origin. But if I or my children or another ordinary Maltese person claims to have some qualification, we are immediately asked to produce the relevant certificate.
“Mr Friggieri explained that, upon arrival, migrants were informed by his office about their rights to apply for asylum.”
They don’ need to be informed. They know before they come. That’s why they come.
“Mr Friggieri said the average amount of time to conclude an asylum application had reduced to about six months.”
The easier you make it for them, the more illegal immigrants will come.
Louise Vella
Mar 6th 2010, 11:32
I
“The 1,475 migrants who landed on Malta's shores last year spoke 24 different languages”
Do-gooder NGOs expect the Maltese government to provide all illegal immigrants with translation services out of our taxes. What use are these languages, such as Somali, to our children’s education, especially since they need to be competitive in Europe?
“Mr Friggieri said 481 migrants who landed last year were married but left their spouses behind them”
Soon the illegal immigrants will apply for family reunification and in some cases they have more than one wife/family.
“The number of women was on the increase with 219 making it to Malta”
Many illegal immigrant women are pregnant to take maximum benefit from the system.
“Somalis formed the largest group of migrants”
Something to be thankful for!