Favour John wants to be reunited with her daughter Samira, who is still in Nigeria. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

A Nigerian woman feels stuck between two continents because Malta is a safe country in which to bring up her two-year-old son, who was born here after she was raped in Libya, but her six-year-old daughter remains in Nigeria.

Favour John, 23, is torn between wanting to leave the island with Destiny, her son, and risk taking him into a life of poverty, and being reunited with her daughter.

She could also try to remain in Malta, where Destiny attends school, but remain miles away from her daughter Samira, to whom she sends money each month.

The problem is that the choice might not be hers to make. Since she is a failed asylum seeker, she has no right to be in Malta and should be repatriated to Nigeria. But the process is not straightforward and might take years (see box).

“I need help. I want to get my daughter here. I’ll be the happiest woman on earth. Going back is not a good idea,” says Ms John, pointing out that returning home with a fatherless child would mean facing social stigma.

She looks affectionately towards her son who, oblivious to his mother’s worries, falls asleep in her arms. Then her face suddenly darkens. “I didn’t choose this,” she says with a reflective pause after which her expression softens: “I was angry at the baby. But I know it was not his fault.”

She said she did not know she was pregnant when she arrived in Malta in August 2012 after travelling from Nigeria to Libya.

Ms John was brought up in a poor neighbourhood in Edo State, Nigeria. When she turned 15, her elder sister took her to Burkina Faso with the promise of earning a better living but, when they got there, her sister wanted to prostitute her. She refused and ended up alone in the streets. That was when she met a man from the Ivory Coast who took her in and cared for her. She fell in love with him and they had Samira.

I want to get my daughter here. I’ll be the happiest woman on earth

When Samira was born, she returned to her village to introduce her child to her mother. The child’s father followed but her mother did not approve their union because the man was not rich enough.

Ms John then decided to do something about her life. After having heard about the prosperity in Italy, she decided to go and work in Europe. The plan was to earn enough money to be able to return for her family. She left Nigeria and spent five days crossing the desert to Libya.

“It was very terrible. They pointed a shotgun at the boys and made them sleep with us, rape us, while they clapped and watched,” she said, clapping angrily. When in Malta she realised she was pregnant, she was devastated. Because she was pregnant she was released from detention and, after a while, she started working at a grocer and sending money home.

Ms John says she wants nothing more than to be reunited with her daughter but she also has to keep in mind Destiny’s future.

Legal limbo

There are hundreds of people who, like Favour John, are caught in a legal limbo after their request for asylum is rejected, says Neil Falzon of human rights NGO Aditus.

Since their application is rejected, technically, they are meant to be sent home. But this is difficult in practice because, in order for the government to send people back, their country must first recognise them as citizens.

“These people become almost invisible in the eyes of the law. They are allowed to get a working permit but they are not entitled to healthcare or social support,” he notes.

When there are children involved it gets more complicated, as the child too has to be officially recognised. These situations are resulting in many split families, he says.

Dr Falzon, a lawyer, adds that such people need legal and social advisers to look into their cases and give them advice that could include applying for citizenship on humanitarian grounds, depending on the case.

A spokesman for the Home Affairs Ministry said that, as a failed asylum seeker, Ms John is awaiting repatriation and is not entitled to family reunification – that is, bringing her daughter over.

Repatriation took time because of the complicated paperwork.

While aware that there are people’s lives at stake, the spokesman added that there are rules to be followed and that the government could not allow all economic mi-grants to bring their families to Malta.