Migrants living at the Ħal Far open centre experience “freezing” temperatures and lack warm clothing, according to NGO Lifeline.

Representatives of the NGO, whose migrant rescue vessel was impounded in Malta pending an investigation into its registration, visited the centre to hand over winter supplies to residents, a spokesman said.

“With the rapid turnover of residents and continued disembarkations, it is important to us that we help improve the conditions of new arrivals who now include women and children in centres not designed to support family units,” he added.

The Times of Malta reported that a number of women were temporarily moved to the Ħal Far centre over the past few weeks due to the lack of space at Dar il-Liedna, in Fgura.

Volunteers found babies and children residing at Ħal Far too, the spokesman said, adding more than 200 blankets were given to the migrants at the centre.

NGOs and other quarters have often called for improved conditions at open centres. More recently, controversy has centred on diplomatic disputes over which country should accept migrants rescued at sea.

The latest case, in which about 30 migrants remain stranded at sea, have pushed the Maltese bishops to publicly declare they were very worried that rescue ships were being turned away.

Centres not designed to support family units

Malta is one of five countries that have closed their ports to the NGO vessel SeaWatch 3, which saved 31 migrants on December 22 between Libya and Malta.

NGOs consider the situation as a “travesty of humanity”, calling on the government to “lead by example” and allow the people stranded on the vessel to disembark in Malta. Malta, like all other European states, had a legal obligation to offer refuge to people fleeing persecution, they pointed out in a joint statement.

Aditus, the Malta Emigrants Commission and Integra Foundation were among the NGOs warning that sending migrants back to Libya would expose them to the risk of being “imprisoned in horrible conditions, tortured, raped, or sold as slaves”.

They insisted that it was not just a matter of legal responsibility but also moral and ethical.

As it happened, 69 migrants saved by the Armed Forces of Malta on Sunday morning landed at Haywharf later in the evening.

In a two line statement, the government said the migrants were rescued by a patrol board from a wooden boat “in distress” about 117 nautical miles south west of Malta.

Would you like to help? Get in touch with the Jesuit Refugee Service (Malta) by emailing katrine@jrsmalta.org or calling 21442751

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.