Mgr Philip Calleja: “Those whose asylum claims are rejected but cannot be returned to their home countries for safety or logistical reasons face big problems.”

Failed asylum seekers of good conduct who are long-term residents in Malta should be granted ‘alien’ passports, according to Emigrants’ Commission head Philip Calleja.

Mgr Calleja referred to the case of the destitute Ethiopian woman who abandoned her baby in Valletta on November 15 when her husband was jailed for attempting to leave the island with his family using false passports.

The woman had begged to be jailed with her husband, Ibrahim Mohammed Abdallah, as the family were homeless and penniless. She abandoned her baby in panic after her request was turned down.

On November 22 she made contact with the Emigrants’ Commission, who helped her to visit the baby at the Ursuline Crèche and also arranged legal representation for her with help from the Jesuit Refugee Service.

Mr Abdallah and his wife had arrived in Malta in 2011 but had their applications for protection rejected. Their child was born in March this year.

Mgr Calleja said it was likely that they had used much of their savings trying to leave the island using false passports. They were not entitled to ‘alien’ passports because they did not have international protection.

“Those whose asylum claims are rejected but cannot be returned to their home countries for safety or logistical reasons face big problems,” Mgr Calleja said. Unable to leave and unable to work legally unless an employer applies for a work permit for them, many find themselves living in poverty.

Mgr Calleja said those who have been in Malta for a long time and are known to be of good conduct should be given temporary humanitarian protection status and ‘alien’ passports, which would enable them to leave the island for a temporary period.

“They could visit family and friends abroad,” he said.

Legally they would be expected to return to Malta but in practice some would not.

Legally they would be expected to return to Malta but in practice some would not

The Ethiopian mother was spared jail by the courts for abandoning her baby and has been offered sheltered accommodation by the Emigrants’ Commission.

The child will remain with the Ursuline Sisters for the time being but it is expected he will live with his mother once she is settled in her new home.

Fr Alfred Vella accompanied the mother on a visit to her son on Friday.

“We will try to help her as much as we can,” said Mgr Calleja, adding that some donations towards her welfare had been received from members of the public.