Many migrants are living lives of quiet despair, and failure to address their realities is not the solution, according to Jesuit Refugee Service director Katrine Camilleri.

Migrants feel they have no rights after failing to obtain refugee status. Photos: Matthew Mirabelli

It was extremely worrying that there had been at least three suicides in the last few months and it was very clear that these suicides were an indication of a problem that ran very deep, Dr Camilleri told this newspaper.

The situation was very complex and there was no one reason for committing suicide.

“But I think what it tells us is that in Malta, many migrants living among us, including those with protection, are living lives of quiet despair and eventually, when it becomes too much, they decide there’s no point in living anymore.

“I think that this alone should spur us to ask why there are people driven to such extremes, in this small community,” she said.

When it becomes too much, they decide there’s no point in living anymore

Although suicide was not limited to migrants, there was “a very high number of migrants” who choose to take their life.

Failure to address the reality of migrants and their contribution to society was not the solution, Dr Camilleri insisted.

Dr Camilleri said we could start by looking at why people, even those with protection, felt they had no future here.

“It’s about the difficulty of building a life in Malta and the lack of respect that they feel as human beings equal to us. It’s also about asking why people among us are lacking the most basic things like documentation.

“Simply saying they don’t have a legal right to protection is not reason enough to deny people a life of dignity. You need a document for everything – to get a bus card, to go to hospital, among others. If people don’t have that basic documentation, then how are people expected to live and build a life that is worthy of a human being,” she asked.

There were several complex problems, which could be intimidating. However, listening to people was a very good place to start.