Is the migration crisis no more?

This year brought with it a surprising change in asylum and migration patterns in Malta. Few had predicted that, in 2010, boat arrivals would be more conspicuous by their absence than by their high numbers. Unfortunately, it is not the result of peace in the Horn of Africa, nor a sign that Libya is becoming a safe haven for those escaping violence and persecution. The future of migration across the Mediterranean remains difficult to predict.

In Malta, detention facilities are all but empty while some of the open accommodation centres are still overcrowded and miserable reminders of what has been the reality of the reception conditions in recent years. People who have been granted a legal status to reside in Malta (they are hence not “illegal migrants”) have so far remained largely outside mainstream society, often resulting in marginalisation but, thankfully, not so far in any surge in crime or instability.

Meanwhile, in response to the migratory pressures Malta has been faced with, help is underway from the United States and several European countries: Last month alone, more than 140 individuals departed for Germany and the US. So far, close to 900 men, women and children who fled persecution, insecurity and violence at home have been given a chance to establish a new life elsewhere. UNHCR is confident that continued support will also facilitate Malta’s efforts to improve conditions for those who remain here.

On the eve of the first decade with a Maltese asylum Act in place, it is an opportune time to take a step back and look at the way ahead. Surely Malta will not much longer be host to Europe’s only official tent camp for migrants and refugees. Is not the detention policy ripe for an overhaul? Which rights and benefits should be available to different categories of people who arrive here? What should the national integration policy look like? And what should be the response to those who are not in need of international protection?

It is still going to be a bumpy road ahead. Malta is likely to receive asylum-seekers and migrants also in the future. Meanwhile, the living conditions in some of the centres remain sub-standard, mitigated only by the dedication of the people working there. For Malta, the challenge, and the opportunity, is to move from what has been in some respects an emergency response towards establishing sustainable asylum migration management mechanisms. International obligations as regards human rights and refugee protection must constitute the core of the system. But the Maltese government also has valid concerns about migration control. In UNHCR’s view. there is room for both.

Recently, Justice and Home Affairs Minister Carm Mifsud Bonnici said the long-term integration of those benefiting from international protection is the greatest challenge. MEP Simon Busuttil also commented it is time to wake up to reality and “review how we are dealing with migrants who do arrive and to improve things as much as we can”. These statements signal a readiness towards improving the situation. It is also encouraging to note the increasing engagement by national NGOs, Church-based organisations and private individuals in the promotion of tolerance and diversity. The broad support for the Maltese woman who recently intervened against aggressive behaviour towards a migrant family on a public bus is a case in point.

There is no doubt that Malta has experienced a comparatively large influx of asylum seekers in the last decade. It should also be acknowledged that a high percentage of those who arrived here have been granted protection by the asylum system in this country.

But is the overall situation really so extraordinary? The government statistics estimate there are about 4-5,000 migrants and refugees from sub-Saharan Africa in Malta (constituting about one per cent of the total population). It follows that, out of the 13,000 or so that arrived since 2002, many have left the country on their own or been assisted to start a new life elsewhere.

It is also a fact there are more and more jobs that are less and less sought after among the Maltese population. Labour unions have confirmed that migrants are already contributing to the economy by filling gaps in the national job market. Additional efforts are needed to ensure that migrants and refugees have other options than to enter into the informal, unregulated economy. The national pre-Budget document for this year also noted another interesting fact: Malta’s working age population is in decline with the number of persons able to support the pension system expected to shrink from five to two working persons per pensioner by 2020, “unless there are higher immigration flows”.

In the years ahead Malta will have to take important decisions relating to the management of migration and asylum, both at home and at the European level. The choices made will not only impact on the fate of refugees and migrants arriving in this country but also influence Malta’s possibility to show leadership in promoting fundamental principles and values in a region faced with multiple challenges.

The author is the Malta representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.