JRS emphasise urgent need for protection of migrants
The urgent need for the protection of migrants and asylum seekers has been emphasised by the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) Europe on the occasion of the agreement concluded between the EU and Libya.
A cooperation agreement which still has to be discussed at technical level by experts from the EU, representatives of its member states and Libya, was signed on Monday.
It will be based on projects related to the surveillance of Libya’s borders, the voluntary return of illegal immigrants from Libya to their country of origin and the upgrading of facilities used for asylum seekers in Libya.
“It’s not long ago that Tripoli expelled the UN High Commissioner for Refugees,” Michael Schoepf, regional director of JRS Europe, said
“Persons in urgent need of protection now have nowhere to turn to, as Libya has no national system in place to identify and provide protection to those who need it.
“Just as worrying are the consistent reports of harsh treatment and severe abuse of migrants caught staying in the country illegally or trying to leave without the necessary permission.
“Their needs must be given priority by the EU Commission,” he said.
At a meeting in Mount St Joseph Retreat House in Mosta, directors from JRS offices around Europe confirmed their deep conviction that, unless and until Libya and other countries of transit were truly able and willing to provide effective protection, asylum seekers should urgently be given access to procedures and protection in Europe.
Fr Joseph Cassar, director of JRS Malta, pointed out:
“Otherwise we violate core European and Christian values.”
Border management must never block access to a fair refugee recognition procedure, he said.
The number of asylum seekers arriving in Malta has decreased to a trickle over the past months, prompting calls for increased border controls to ensure that arrivals are kept to a minimum.
“But even if Malta had difficulties in dealing with protection seekers, closing European borders is the wrong answer”, Mr Schoepf emphasised.
“Border control must never be at the cost of human rights. Instead we invite the Maltese government to join efforts to change the EU legal framework.
“The Dublin II regulation must be amended in order to ensure more solidarity among Member States so that other countries accept more asylum seekers who have come to Europe via Malta,” he said.
The meeting also discussed the detention of migrants in Europe.
As a recently published study clearly shows, detention made migrants vulnerable.
“This is even more questionable as alternatives to detention exist,” it concluded.
The directors of the Catholic refugee agency called upon governments to urgently explore and implement such alternatives.
The meeting of the JRS in Europe ends on Sunday morning.
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S. Agius
Oct 9th 2010, 15:57
Europe has to put its food where its mouth is. It must start using its funds to help working mothers and not spend millions on illegal immigrants. They can be helped in their countries by charity. Certainly not by coming into Europe illegally and imposing help from European taxes.
Sean Grima
Oct 10th 2010, 07:20
don''t be ridiculous....do you really think working mothers need more help than migrants?!
Sean Grima
Oct 9th 2010, 15:30
these are only futile attempts to discredit JRS and other NGOs by a small minority. not only is the JRS morally and ethically right, it is also legally right, and it the law, not polls and surveys, which count.
Stephen Farrugia
Oct 9th 2010, 17:13
sure, and pigs can fly.
B. Cachia
Oct 9th 2010, 17:21
If the people concerned about large scale immigration are a small minority then their numbers must have shrunk very recently. I do remember seeing immigration consistently in one of the top two spots in the list of people's concerns, along with unemployment, over the past years, at least if scientific polls are to be believed. (Incidentally, I doubt whether JRS themselves would claim that they are supported by a majority or even a large minority of the people.) As for the law, it is a language that expresses what the people want their society to be like. In our case, the people express their will through elections and occasionally referenda. Polls are just an indicator of what people want, and what will influence their vote in elections etc. Politics is the process, the law is the result.
Sean Grima
Oct 14th 2010, 12:14
what is correct remains so even if not supported by the majority.
as for stephen farrugia, him of the extreme right: we have seen the true picture of the extreme right in the serbian nationalists during the match against in italy.
Louis Gialanze
Oct 8th 2010, 21:25
The JRS is very much out of step with the absolute majority of Maltese who would rather have the UNINVITED illegal immigrants repatriated. Libya is a sovereign country and neither the EU let alone the JRS in a position to dictate matters to Tripoli. Of course, Mount St Joseph could easily accomodate a couple of thousands of aliens yet it is not the case. No wonder so many Maltese are giving the church the cold shoulder.
Sean Grima
Oct 10th 2010, 07:21
the majority you mention is only a majority in polls and surveys. even if it were really a majority, it does not make it right
I M Dingli
Oct 8th 2010, 20:56
@ Charmaine Agius
I believe that the majority of the people commenting below (including me) are criticising the requests brought forward by JRS rather than their work. JRS are not requesting help but actually expecting Governments to just accept their proposals. I ask, does the church accept with arms wide open all requests brought forward to it by liberals etc? The answer is no, on the other hand when it criticises it does it with quite a spite.
Charmaine Agius
Oct 8th 2010, 17:41
Let me ask a question, for which I hope to get a sincere answer. How many of you people criticizing the JRS have actually seen by their own eyes the work that the Jesuits carry out with asylum seekers? It is easy to say that you are a Christian...but it is not that easy to actually be a Christian.
B. Cachia
Oct 9th 2010, 09:50
I think most people's problem with the JRS is not so much with the quality of its work with asylum seekers and so on but with its political position with regard to the issue of immigration. To many critics, it seems that Maltese national interest is absent from the JRS's priority list. They appear to view the issue exclusively from one angle.
Charmaine Agius
Oct 9th 2010, 12:08
Well, I guess human rights are on the top part of JRS's priority list. We seem to forget that these people are as human as we are, having the same rights that we have.
B. Cachia
Oct 9th 2010, 13:01
People around the world have a lot of basic rights which are not currently being catered for. Most people would agree that those who can should give a hand, but there are those who believe that one's own vital interests should come first and there are those who believe that the interests of others should be considered equally important. I would imagine that you and JRS fall in the second group, whereas I and many other Maltese fall in the first.
For me and, I think, many others, the establishment of a growing community of people with a view of the world incompatible with our own, who will eventually have a strong political voice on the island is a risk that I would prefer not to take, even if this means that Malta's contribution to other people's rights or interests will be smaller. We disagree on this point, but that is politics.
Sean Grima
Oct 10th 2010, 07:22
@ B Cachia: right, you and what you call the majority are egoists.
E. Azzopardi
Oct 8th 2010, 16:58
And who is protecting the Maltese citizens from this invasion?
s.koludrovic
Oct 8th 2010, 17:22
Certainly not the JRS. We seem to be unworthy of their help.
Sean Grima
Oct 9th 2010, 15:31
there is no invasion
J Farrugia
Oct 8th 2010, 16:22
Malta does not need any jesuit interference in this matter of illegal immigration. They have other things to attend to such as the Divorce debate. Where are you dear Jesuits. While priests are preaching God's words against divorce, what are you doing? I am seeing so many illegal immigrants wearing fine clothes and gizirajjen m;ghonqhom that I am jealous of their newly found riches. Can these Jesuits make us Maltese citizens as rich as these illegal immigrants?
John C Betts
Oct 8th 2010, 16:35
So the only function of priests would be to stick to ecclesiastical issues and not to take care of marginalized people, correct? I prefer it the other way round.
Mr Farrugia, you state that you are jealous of their newly found riches; would you give any potential or actual refugee or economic immigrant the right to be jealous of your peace of mind and comfortable life? Of you not ever having to cross the Mediterranean on a small boat? Of never having had to leave your country? I hope you never went through what they did.
Robert Callus
Oct 8th 2010, 17:06
@J Farrugia For clarity's sake, can you type your whole name? Ironically, someone else who signs here as J Farrugia happens to be a fervent Catholic. On a different issue he accused me of being hypocritical for agreeing with the Catholic church on some issues while disagreeing on others. Considering the fact that even the Vatican is strongly against racism as well as denying migrants rights, it would have been utterly ridiculous had you been that same person that accused me of the inconsistencies!
Louise Vella
Oct 8th 2010, 16:14
"At a meeting in Mount St Joseph Retreat House in Mosta, directors from JRS offices around Europe ..."
And it never crossed the minds of all those JRS directors from all over Europe to ask JRS Malta why it has not turned Mount St Joseph into a centre for refugees, asylum seekers and illegal immigrants. It never crossed their minds to ask JRS Malta if the "retreat house" is used only for retreats and not also for payng events that have nothing to do with religion. It never occurred to all those JRS directors to ask JRS Malta how it has saved enough money to own such a property as Mount St Joseph and how it pays for running it.
Charles Sammut
Oct 8th 2010, 22:21
@ Louise Vella
The Jesuits did not have to 'save' money to buy the vast property at Targa Gap. It was bequeathed to them by a prominent businessman no doubt in return for pie in the sky.
Sean Grima
Oct 9th 2010, 15:32
it was up to him to do what he wanted with his property. the JRS do use their property to help migrants.
Charles Sammut
Oct 8th 2010, 15:52
The only way illegal immigrants (asylum seekres to the politically correct brigade) can enter Europe is illegally by boat. There is no way they can travel by air or ferry. Hundreds drown or otherwise die every year making the crossing in unseaworthy boats.
That seems to be what the Jesuits want as long as enough of them survive to justify the JRS's existence. How very Christian.
John C Betts
Oct 8th 2010, 16:14
No, that only seems to be what you are implying they want, which is what suits your arguments - how equally Christian.
The JRS does not need to justify its existence, and would, I believe, prefer not to have to exist at all. That would happen when there are no more refugees in the world.
j gatt
Oct 8th 2010, 15:44
Yesterday late afternoon (around 6PM) I was sitting on Bench relaxing for a while in B`Buggia close the public toilets, whic were open at that time. Sittng there also were many illegal migrants drinking beer, when one of them decided to urinate directly opposite on the shore, rather than walk a few meters to the (open) toilets. , in full view of passers by, including women and children.
Maybe JRS should come down and explain to these individuals, that this are done differently in this part of the world, alternately we as a nation should adopt this new trend.
Who knows this may be beneficial, it would certainly reduce on our water consumption and the obvious bills.
John C Betts
Oct 8th 2010, 16:11
So do no Maltese people ever urinate in public?
Regrettably, both Maltese people and immigrants can behave equally inappropriately. We are far more equal than some people like to believe, whether our actions are correct or otherwise.
A Cassar
Oct 8th 2010, 15:43
What a bunch of illogical comments!!! It seems that Malta is full of "Christians" who have not the faintest idea what Christianity means.
The very moment you stop loving your neighbour...you stop being Christian. If you are surrounded by 1000 or 100 million Muslims doesn't make your Christian values disappear.
The African invasion of Malta has made our country lose our Christianity in an instant, messages full of HATRED on timesofmalta.com is proof of this
Joseph Calleja
Oct 8th 2010, 17:18
Mr Cassar you are so right . One question remains. How many of the illegal immigrants are you willing to sponsor and how many are you willing to feed and clothe and how many are you willing to keep in your house? I presume none. Malta is already over crowded with it's own people and that is a problem in itself. Malta cannot afford to take any more people. Nor do the other counties it seems. Charity begins at home.
Sean Grima
Oct 9th 2010, 15:35
nonsense. maltese law provides for the protection of migrants
d. borg
Oct 8th 2010, 15:37
'The Dublin II regulation must be amended in order to ensure more solidarity among Member States so that other countries accept more asylum seekers who have come to Europe via Malta,” he said.'
Are these people living on another planet? This has been tried over and over again, but no European country came forward to take these immigrants. It clearly shows that no European country wants them and neither does Malta.
Sean Grima
Oct 10th 2010, 07:23
it's not a question of wanting or not- it's what the law (rightly) says.
Raymond Sammut
Oct 8th 2010, 15:36
The Jesuit Refugee Service. Remember when Dun Philip wanted to dig a gargantuan hole in front of St John's, just because he was getting the funding from the EU? These guys like to do it differently. They encourage aliens into the country illegally just because they get funding from the EU. If the Malta Church wants to survive, they had better take a good look at themselves, because they are living in a world of their own. If they go down, that would be their own disaster and of their own making. Malta will not go down with them.
Louise Vella
Oct 8th 2010, 15:32
JRS does not see it this way. In many years based in Brussels, JRS has become an expert at fleecing the EU for funds, under one programme or another. Can JRS Europe tell us how many millions of euros it has obtained over the years from the EU institutions? Can JRS tell us if it would be able to survive and carry out its propaganda if it were deprived of EU funds? Does JRS Europe think that the Maltese government, elected by the people of Malta, should be carrying out JRS' programme in Brussels and voicing JRS' decisions?
As for Gaddafi, he may not use elegant words, but at least he described the nature of the problem correctly when he threatened to invade Europe with millions of "starving and uneducated" Africans. In our language we call them economic migrants. Gaddafi knows what he has in his country. African economic migrants ready to set sail for Europe. Not refugees. That's why UNHCR has never commented on Gaddafi's words. What does JRS have to say on what Gaddafi said?
Joseph Calleja
Oct 8th 2010, 15:41
Is the JRS running out of funds since the illegal immigration slowed down to a minimum? Maybe they are not getting those millions of euros anymore as I am sure the EU pays them for how many heads they sponsor. It all comes down to the almighty euro.
Sean Grima
Oct 14th 2010, 12:14
these are serious allegations.
Louise Vella
Oct 8th 2010, 15:29
The agreement between Italy and Libya is the best thing that ever happened to Malta. Thanks to it, Libya is fulfilling its international and moral obligations to prevent traffickers in human beings from transporting African illegal immigrants to the southern European shores. As a result thousands of lives - previously lost at sea - have been saved. This agreement needs to be completed by an agreement between the EU and Libya, so that the EU can strengthen Frontex and turn it into a strong coastguard. It will discourage boats from leaving Libya and so save many more thousands of lives, otherwise lost at sea.
Louise Vella
Oct 8th 2010, 15:16
Italy's and the EU's agreements with Libya are subject to Libya's good will. So the EU, Italy and Malta will remain subject to Gaddafi's blackmail. There is only one way to make sure the influx does not start again. That is to beef up Frontex and turn it into a strong, but unarmed, coastguard. This will discourage the boats from leaving and Libya from going back on its commitments. However one cannot rely on the do-gooder Swede Cecilia Malmstrom to work towards strengthening Frontex. She will always try to involve UNHCR and the NGOs. We all know what that means.
Charles Alamango
Oct 8th 2010, 15:14
I agree completely with JRS. We have an obligation to protect and CHERISH our "European and Christian Values" Consequently we must unite and continue to find ways and means to STOP completely even the merest trickle of Muslims to our Catholic and Christian Malta especially if the influx is ILLEGAL!
colin stanley
Oct 8th 2010, 15:31
Well said, I agree with you 100%
John C Betts
Oct 8th 2010, 16:21
I believe it's more Christian to accept Moslems than to want to prevent them from coming.
Incidentally, many immigrants are Christian, and I suppose they too are considered by some as being unwelcome.
Louise Vella
Oct 8th 2010, 15:08
Can JRS tell us how much money they have received from the EU over the last five years for their campaign in favour of illegal immigrants?
Sean Grima
Oct 10th 2010, 07:24
i don't see it is your business.
Louise Vella
Oct 8th 2010, 15:07
JRS has been campaigning in favour of illegal immigrants for the last 7 or 8 years. If JRS had its way, we would today have millions of illegal immigrants in Malta. This NGO has been conspicuously unheeding of the wishes and interests of the common people of Malta who want to live peacefully in their country without being overwhelmed by illegal foreigners.
Louise Vella
Oct 8th 2010, 15:05
How many votes did JRS get in the election? Who elected JRS? How much does the tax-exempt JRS pay in taxes? How many persons does JRS represent? How many refugees does JRS accomodate on Jesuit premises like Mount St Joseph, Mosta and Villa Manresa in Gozo? Does JRS propose holding a referendum to see how many Maltese favour seeing an influx of illegal immigrants?
c.c.Carbonaro
Oct 8th 2010, 15:54
Louise Vella was very correct asking how many refugees the Jesuits are keeping in their premises in Malta and Gozo."dic palam".
John C Betts
Oct 8th 2010, 16:24
If this NGO could be a candidate in elections, they'd get my vote sooner than many a politician.
Sean Grima
Oct 9th 2010, 15:36
JRS got as many votes as louise vella, so they have an equal right to voice their opinion.
Charles Sammut
Oct 8th 2010, 14:53
QUOTE[Fr Joseph Cassar, director of JRS Malta, pointed out:
“Otherwise we violate core European and Christian values]UNQUOTE
And how exactly would flooding Europe with muslim African immigrants conserve our European and Christian values?
This man speaks with forked tongue.
Wot? No illegal immigrants arriving in Malta? How will the JRS then justify its need of hundreds of thousands of tax free Euros in EU grants to do-gooder NGOs? Their raison d'être will disappear and hopefully so would they.
CZARB
Oct 8th 2010, 15:00
JRS Malta do not do their service for money. In matter of fact I believe that if immigrants stop from coming to Malta all these gentlemen (which also include graffiti and co) will emigrate to Africa to assist the immigrants on site.
Sean Grima
Oct 9th 2010, 15:34
the JRS has existed long before Malta joined the EU
CZARB
Oct 8th 2010, 14:51
“It’s not long ago that Tripoli expelled the UN High Commissioner for Refugees,” Michael Schoepf, regional director of JRS Europe, said
Its not long ago that a pope who described Jews as dogs and had kidnapped a 6 yr old kid from his family was beatified. And guess who beatified him? No it was not Gheddafi or another 'monster' but the papa John Paul II.
Anyway this is another classic case of how easy it is to criticize when you're not the one carrying the burden.
I M Dingli
Oct 8th 2010, 14:51
Can't JRS ask for assistance directly from the Vatican? I guess the relative EU Governments have already enough problems trying to solve issues in relation to its native citizens. Something which unfortunately is not happening here in Malta.
Patrick bellia
Oct 8th 2010, 14:48
Otherwise we violate core European and Christian values.” LOL
Everytime the same word christian values,
“Border control must never be at the cost of human rights. Instead we invite the Maltese government to join efforts to change the EU legal framework.
In the EU there are another 26 countires not malta alone and I'm afraid that things are going to remain as they are because no other countries want this burden.