In search of solidarity
During a recent visit to a detention centre, we spoke to a 10-year-old boy, Ahmed*, who arrived in Malta on his own just a few weeks ago. He left Somalia after his older brother was killed. After spending months in a detention centre in Libya he decided to join a group of fellow Somalis to venture out to sea on a large, inflatable dinghy. Smugglers clearly don’t differentiate; they exploit the young and the old. A few dramatic days later he found himself in Malta, after being rescued by a patrol boat of the Armed Forces of Malta.
His story is gruelling but it is also full of hope. As you are reading this, he is cautiously finding out what it is like living in one of Malta’s centres for separated children. Thankfully, he now has people around him who have his best interest in mind. English-speaking and street-wise, he now has a chance to make a new start. So far, he is blissfully unaware that his boat arrival in Malta was met with disdain by some.
Just another story to cater to “bleeding hearts”? Regardless, it is a true one.
Of course, Ahmed’s presence in Malta is not telling the whole story. More than 800 people have arrived by boat from Libya this year alone. And that is less than half the number that came here in 2011. The majority, but not all, qualified for protection status. Not an unmanageable situation but definitely a challenge for a small island-state.
Hence, Malta continues to look for support from other countries. And there have been important contributions by some European states that have joined our efforts by offering solutions for hundreds of people. Add this to the ongoing US resettlement process and you will find that the number of those who have been assisted to settle elsewhere is now close to 1,700 and counting. Many will say it is far from enough but the fact is that this level of support is quite unique in the EU context.
The current situation is characterised by clashing expectations. On the one hand, those who have been granted protection in this country have a basic right to expect fair treatment and a dignified living environment. Meanwhile, Malta rightly makes the argument that Europe needs to set up effective solidarity mechanisms that take into account the capacity of receiving countries.
The public, including in Malta, often argue that those who seek asylum should do so by crossing borders “legally”. But international law and the 1951 Refugee Convention is based on the expectation that states adhere to their legal obligation to provide access to a fair process for all those seeking asylum, regardless of the mode of entry, and without penalisation.
It is a paradox that today’s entry visa regimes leave most refugees without any possibility to cross borders legally.
Taking a step away from Malta and even out of Europe, what can be said about the situation of the more than 400,000 refugees who languish in the world’s biggest refugee camp in Kenya? Or the more than two million Afghans who fled to cross the borders into Pakistan and Iran?
Is there in fact real global solidarity to support the large majority of refugees who have lost their lifeline to their home countries but who remain in their regions of origin?
These are questions too big to even try to address on half a newspaper page but they are illustrative of the global challenge at hand.
So let’s go back to young Ahmed in Malta. He says he is searching for freedom. Hopefully he has found just that: arriving here will, no doubt, be a life-changing experience. He can finally start looking ahead rather than over his shoulder.
Today, June 20, is World Refugee Day. It is a time to pause and to take a step back from important but faceless debates on “burden sharing”. Today we simply recognise the resilience of Ahmed and millions of people like him around the world.
None of them chose to become refugees. They all deserve to be met with respect and solidarity.
*Name changed
The author is Malta representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
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Robert Callus
Jun 20th 2012, 17:32
Suggestion to Mr Hoister and other professionals writing on this issue:
For 3 weeks before writing an article, refrain from reading comments on the Times or certain online debaters.
Why?
Anyone involved in the field knows without a flicker of doubt that the horror stories are true. Former sceptics who have shown interest in the issue with an open mind also arrive to the same conclusion. However, the usual speculators will keep on saying (and possibly even thinking) the same things even if you send the evidence to their homes in a silver box. Most refugees (in Malta) are Africans and they just don’t like African people. Full stop.
The problem is these people hijacking the whole agenda. The legitimacy of refugees, although not doubted by any of political parties, happens to be the only thing we talk about on this issue, at the expense on everything else. May I suggest the focus is changed and the stakeholders start writing on more pressing issues.
I would start from employment.
As we all know, most immigrants work (that they live on social benefits is a myth perpetrated by the far right, though it does seem to gain some ground in certain quarters). We also know that while some work legally and pay taxes, others are being illegally exploited. There are measures that can be taken that are not being done. Measures I’d rather discuss in a whole article than a comment – BUT NO ONE IS TALKING ABOUT IT.
Though I agree with burden sharing there are simpler and more effective ways to lessen the financial burden. That is by having the maximum amount of immigrants working legally and paying taxes.
But government is not doing it, many times with impunity. And it is doing it because it can – since no one is addressing the issue anyway. So why bother keep a check on exploitative employers?
Andy Farrugia
Jun 20th 2012, 16:33
"SIX Maltese refugees": running away from the noise of fireworks, festa celebrations, claustrophobic conditions of life, football fever extravaganzas, and the reckless driving in Malta. The UNHCR , Mr Guterres and Jon Hoisaeter seem to have a problem with being credible.
GL Calleja
Jun 20th 2012, 16:30
In plain English, Mr Hoisaeter is earning his money. Wonder what his salary is? Again if the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has all this at heart, why not advice his association to invest heavily in Africa so these people can remain at their own home. Stop making illegal immigration a business, it is not.
Louise Vella
Jun 20th 2012, 15:47
With his parable about a 10-year old child Mr Hoisaeter has used the favourite tactic of UNHCR and other bleeding hearts; that is, using children as a Trojan horse for illegal immigrants of all sorts. This can be seen in UNHCR publications which make ample use of photos of children.
stephen koludrovic
Jun 20th 2012, 12:15
Could Mr Hoisaeter explain the logistics of how the young lad travelled from Somalia to Tripoli, and then on to the boat.
In short when he boarded the boat did he pay the full fare to the smugglers, get maybe a discount, or did the traffickers because for some charitable reason give him a free ride.
I know that I am being very cynical, but after hearing so many yarns coming out of some people I sometimes have my doubts about how true certain stories are.
Evarist Saliba
Jun 20th 2012, 10:20
Mr Hoisaeter is wrong when he says that Malta expects asylum seekers to e nter Malta legally in the first place, and coming from the UNHCR representative this is unacceptable.
Illegal migration is one thing.
Seeking asylum is another.
Treating illegal migrants straight away as asylum seekers is not something required by any legal obligation.
An asylum seeker is expected to claim this status in the first country that he enters after leaving the country in which he feels that he is threatened.
The way this human movment is developing now is that persons are aiming at a destination (as far as we are concerned, this is Europe),and they are briefed by the criminal organisations handling this movement on what to say and how to act if apprehended.
"Claim asylum" is the magic word.
And this is being claimed by everyone, genuine asylum seekers, economic migrants, criminals escaping justice, human traffickers.......
I regret to say that the way the UNHCR is dealing with this movement is encouraging, perhaps unwittingly, this mass movement at the expense of genuine asylum seekers. It is also putting an undue burden on frontier countries unless there is international cooperation as mandatory as granting asylum is.
James Dimech
Jun 20th 2012, 10:13
Fine. But how many people like Ahmed can Malta realistically accept ?
The problems faced by people like Ahmed should be solved through development. Not immigration.
J Degabriele
Jun 20th 2012, 09:53
This is all so much C...! The individual stories of many are truly heart rending and Malta is always ready to help. The island would have welcomed and tried to integrate happily a certain number of refugees. The perennial problem is the numbers that threaten to engulf such a tiny island!
The "faceless debates on 'burden-sharing'" will and should go on. If huge and rich countries like those of N.Europe refuse to let these refugees in, how the heck can they expect practically invisible Malta to accept these interminable waves of people with no documents whatsoever and all expecting "fair treatment and a dignified living environment"?
What are 1,700 refugees to other countries? These have all been scrutinized to make sure that these countries receive the best! But for Malta it is a free for all! This is a totally untenable situation!
Louise Vella
Jun 20th 2012, 09:18
In this talking point Mr Hoisaeter reveals UNHCR objective to use Malta as a transit point to other European countries.
Mauro debattista
Jun 20th 2012, 22:17
All comments you wrote makes sense and I agree 100%. Instead of helping the illegal immigrants to do so but legally the UN is just promoting illegal immigration which leaves a big business.
Louise Vella
Jun 20th 2012, 09:17
In its enthusiasm to transfer people from Africa to Europe UNHCR seems to forget that Europe is in an economic crisis with unemployment at 10% and rising. Any more people from outside Europe (illegal immigrants, irregular migrants, refugees, asylum seekers ... whatever) can only add to the unemployed and compete with them for jobs thus lowering wages and working conditions in Europe.
Louise Vella
Jun 20th 2012, 09:15
Mr Hoisaeter, a Norwegian whose sparsely populated country is up in the North and safe from the influx of boat people, has taken advantage of World Refugee Day to preach to us a parable about Ahmed. Perhaps unconsciously he has revealed UNHCR's objective which is to encourage people from Africa and Asia to come over to Europe. Some of them are genuine refugees. Others pretend to be refugees - Mr Hoisaeter must know that the Refugee Convention is one of the most used, over-used and abused Conventions that exist. Most of the boat people are economic migrants. By casting its net wide to include all of them, UNHCR is undermining the very concept of giving protection to genuine refugees.
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