Mgr Philip Calleja, head of the Emigrants' Commission, justified the actions of an Ethiopian man who illegally boarded a trailer headed to Italy for Italy since he had "no other way left" to join his wife.
He said the plight of dispersed migrant families was often ignored, pointing out that there were hundreds of migrants in Malta who left their partners or children behind or had relatives living in other European countries.
Jacob Mussie Menghesa, 31, was conditionally discharged for a year by the court on Tuesday after he was caught inside a trailer as it was about to be shipped from Laboratory Wharf. Mr Menghesa and another Somali migrant had broken into the trailer in the belief that its destination was Italy.
Mr Menghesa pleaded guilty to trying to leave Malta illegally, saying he wanted to reunite with his wife.
Somali Abdulgazir Taher Tamer, 27, also pleaded guilty as he too wanted to join his family in Italy.
"I agree with what Jacob's lawyer said in court that if he found himself in similar circumstances he would probably do the same thing. It is heartbreaking to know that your wife is in Italy and you cannot be there because you are denied a travel document," Mgr Calleja said.
Mr Menghesa is a rejected asylum seeker and so has no international travel document unlike recognised refugees and people with temporary protection status.
Mgr Calleja defended the Ethiopian's actions insisting that even though he was rejected asylum he had not been sent back.
"People like him live in Malta and their visa is extended periodically. They also have the right to work. However, they have no travel document and so in Mr Menghesa's case he cannot even go abroad to meet his wife. Some of these migrants have been here since 2004 with only a picture of their wife and children in their pocket to remind them of their loved ones," Mgr Calleja said.
He estimated that there were probably about 60 migrants in the same situation like Mr Menghesa and another 500 refugees with family members in other countries. "These are conservative estimates. This is a problem we often overlook but behind the individuals and the numbers there are broken families," he said.
The Emigrants' Commission was working with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees to find a solution for people like Mr Menghesa.
"If the relative in the other country is legally resident there a request for a visa could be made for the estranged partner or children to join them. However, since the migrant in Malta would still not have a travel document or a passport I am trying to discuss the possibility with the UNHCR to issue them with a Red Cross document. In this way they would be travelling out of Malta legally to reunite with their family," Mgr Calleja said.
ksansone@timesofmalta.com