Suicide attempts in asylum detention centres are not officially recorded, the government said, after CNN reported that one detainee a week tried to take their own life. No suicides had ever occurred.
However, a spokeswoman for the Home Affairs Ministry acknowledged that “there have been instances over the past months when immigrants whose first or second application for asylum was rejected tried to commit suicide”.
“Since the establishment of both detention centres in Malta no records were ever kept of the number of attempted suicides,” she said.
In a video report uploaded on the CNN website on January 2, reporter Isa Soares said: “Officials tell me there is one attempted suicide per week [in Malta’s detention centres]”.
This report on the website of one of the world’s biggest international news networks is entitled ‘Tough conditions for Malta’s asylum seekers’.
The government said it did not know who told CNN there was one suicide attempt per week in detention.
“The source is unnamed, therefore it cannot be identified. These comments were not, however, given officially,” the spokeswoman said.
Questioned on why the government was not recording data on something so serious, the spokeswoman replied: “Reports of attempted suicides are always lodged with the relevant authorities, however, they are not registered and documented in a specific system, so there cannot be any formal statistics on the matter.
“This is a system that was inherited from the previous government. As soon as the resources of the detention centres are strengthened, changes will be duly considered.”
Malta’s system of detaining all irregular immigrants has come under severe criticism in recent years from human rights organisations. Since 2002, the island has been receiving boatloads of asylum seekers from Libya. The majority of the arrivals originally hail from the troubled Horn of Africa.
Irregular immigrants who apply for protection are detained until their asylum claims are determined, which usually takes months. If their claim is still pending after 12 months they are automatically released.
Rejected asylum seekers and other irregular migrants not deported within 18 months are also released into the community.
Exceptions are made for those deemed to be “vulnerable”, such as unaccompanied minors. They are released after medical screening, although the process can also take several weeks if not months, particularly if an age determination test is required.
Maria Pisani, director of Integra Foundation, said it was “scandalous” that no record of suicide attempts was kept. “Surely one suicide attempt in detention is one too many,” she asked.
Integra, a social inclusion NGO, runs several projects for migrants.
The government cannot wash its hands of this reality
Ms Pisani felt that mental health problems were exacerbated by the conditions and duration of detention, the absence of stimulation, and constrained movement, combined with in adequate mental health care and support.
“These are people who have already experienced extreme hardship and trauma by virtue of the very nature of forced migration, fleeing one’s home and the treacherous crossing.
“They are locked up. Under such conditions, tragically, yes, suicide is a stark reality,” said Ms Pisani.
“The government cannot wash its hands of this reality. Any attempt to do so is a breach of governmental responsibility and, at a more basic level, an utter disrespect for human rights,” she said.
Last month, Malta lost final appeals against two separate European Court of Human Rights’ judgments in cases brought by former detainees.
Besides recommending a shorter stay for detainees and an improvement in conditions, the European Court urged the government to adopt a speedier decision-making process when asylum seekers challenged the duration of their detention.
A Jesuit Refugee Services Malta study conducted in 2009 found almost 80 per cent of detainees reported deterioration in their psychological well-being while they were locked up. The results were consistent with findings from other JRS studies on detention across Europe.
JRS Malta director Katrine Camilleri said Detention Service personnel had neither the training nor the resources to help detainees suffering with complex problems.
“They do their best but their training is mainly focused on security,” Dr Camilleri said.
“The welfare support structures in detention are inadequate across the board,” she added.
The government said detention staff quickly referred any detainees in need of assistance to medical personnel at both centres daily. Detained asylum seekers could also be referred to the national mental health services, the government spokeswoman pointed out.
The Health Ministry told Times of Malta last November that about 530 asylum seekers, refugees and irregular migrants had been admitted to Mount Carmel Mental Health Hospital since 2007.
Amnesty International directed this newspaper to its report last year on Greek detention centres, where there are similarities to the Maltese situation.
“The absence of firm information on how long each detainee might end up being held, the possibility of being detained for 18 months, the poor living conditions, the lack of access to fresh air and the scant communication with the outside world all have an acute impact on the psychological state of detainees,” the report said.
“The majority of those that Amnesty International spoke to complained that they were unable to sleep and that suicide attempts are not uncommon.”
Psychologists and social workers in a Greek detention centre cited suicide attempts, self-harm and self-mutilation, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and sleeping disorders among the psychological problems they encountered.
A study in 2009 found almost 80 per cent of detainees reported deterioration in their psychological well-being while locked up. Photos: Darrin Zammit Lupi