Big drop in refugee applications

Applications for asylum filed with the Refugee Commissioner in Malta dropped by 92.6 per cent in 2010 when compared to the previous year.

Two boats carrying 47 people reached Malta’s shores last year, a drop of 15 boats compared to 2009 and the lowest number in a decade. The drop is mainly attributed to the controversial Libya-Italy pushback agreement, which was widely criticised by humanitarian organisations.

About 65 per cent of the 176 applicants filed by the end of last year were Africans and another 33 per cent were Asians, according to official statistics. The majority, 63.6 per cent, were between 18 and 34 years of age. Just over 80 per cent were men.

By the end of last year, 1,676 immigrants lived in open centres and 316 resided in other institutional households. More than half were living in Ħal-Far. The majority of the residents were adults and about 10 per cent were minors.

In 2010, a total of 243 people were found to be illegally living in Malta and 272 were returned to a third country, the statistics show.

World Refugee Day, which will be celebrated on Monday, marks the 1951 Convention for Refugees.

This week, 18 refugees from Eritrea and Somalia left Malta to begin a new life in the US. More than 700 refugees have been resettled in the US since 2006.

US Chargé d’Affaires Richard Mills hosted a reception at the Ambassador’s residence in Attard to meet the refugees. “The US Refugee Resettlement programme represents a small contribution by the people of the United States to help alleviate the world’s suffering,” he said.

He said the resettlement success was a collaboration between the Maltese government, the UNHCR, the International Organisation for Migration and the US.