Lecture in Dresden...

On the 7th of May 2008, Judith (Coordinator of the Project) was in Dresden, Germany to give a lecture on Migration and talked about our project...

Here are the some photos from our presedence... :)

Statement of the participants of the “Destination Europe” study visit to Malta, 10-14 April 2008

Cooperating partners:

MEDAC Alumni Association (Malta), Youth for Exchange and Understanding (Cyprus), Association Metline (Tunisia), Minorities of Israel (Israel), Sustainable Development Association (Egypt), AEGEE Utrecht, AEGEE Valletta, AEGEE Human Rights working group, AEGEE Ankara, AEGEE Izmir, AEGEE Torun, AEGEE Barcelona, AEGEE Europe.

During the study visit “Destination Europe”, we, 25 young people from 8 different Euro-Mediterranean countries, have investigated the issue of irregular migration to Malta and the current situation of her refugees.

Our most important conclusions are:

1. The group of refugees that are currently accommodated in Malta are in a disproportionate relation to the size of the island. Moreover, because the flow of refugees to Malta is such a recent development, the governmental agencies have not yet been able to create a proper infrastructure to receive these refugees in a decent manner.
2. Another problem we have encountered is the lack of information and awareness among the local Maltese community concerning illegal migration. Information on refugees in Malta runs mainly through the media, while most Maltese citizens don’t have personal contacts with refugees. However, we have also learned that the people living close to the Marsa refugee centre in Malta were rather more open and tolerant to refugees that people who lived further away and had less contact with refugees.
3. We also acknowledge that when the differences in socio-economic development between Africa and Europe persist, as well as the conflicts, wars and climate changes in the African continent, the stream of refugees to Europe (and Malta in particular) will not cease or diminish. However, most refugees in Malta are young men that could definitely be a benefit for European societies in general, but only if they receive equal chances on citizenship, employment and education.

In our view, the following things could be done in order to fight the aforementioned issues:

1. BURDEN SHARING

We believe that other European countries should share more responsibility of the burden of Southern-European countries bordering the Mediterranean, when it comes to the reception and treatment of refugees. In particular, a common and coherent European migration policy or an adaptation of current migration agreements (like the Dublin II convention) could definitively lead to more burden sharing and cooperation among European countries. Also, there should be intensive cooperation on this with North African and Middle Eastern countries who often function as transit countries for these groups of refugees.

Secondly, projects should be designed that are aimed at offering better accommodation and service to refugees in Malta. This could be done by encouraging voluntary services to cater to refugees among young people, or lobby at national and European institutions for better facilitation for refugees, reducing the number of refugees in closed detention centres, and improving their chances on decent and suitable education and employment.

2. AWARENESS AND INTEGRATION

Right information and awareness on refugees in Malta is crucial for a thorough understanding of their situation by local Maltese citizens, as it diminishes acts of racism and discrimination against groups of refugees. Closer contact between Maltese citizens and refugees would definitely benefit their integration on the island and fosters a tolerant mode of living together. Therefore, projects should be developed that aim at bringing Maltese citizens and refugees closer together, and the media can be a good tool for that.

Providing the right information on refugees and fostering integration is something that should be done in other Euro-Mediterranean countries as well. This can be reached by for example organizing a series of concerts that bring the refugees’ problems to public attention.

3. IMPROVING CONDITIONS IN HOMELAND

This point is the most difficult, as we realize that we can not improve conditions in Africa from one day to another. Problems of poverty, disorder and conflicts in Africa are deeply rooted, and therefore we can not expect to remove the incentive for people to flee their country. However, we could try to get more understanding of the causes of migration from African countries to Europe, and encourage voluntary service among European and Mediterranean youngsters in Africa, for example in the field of education.

A small country with a huge responsibility: Malta bears the brunt of the European refugee problem

Utrecht, May 1^st

“600 Africans perished at sea”. “Spanish coastguard intercepts a boat with refugees again”. In the past few years, news reports about Africans travelling in perilous boats, looking for a better life in Europe have filled many headlines in the European media. For these refugees, Gibraltar, the Canary Islands and Lampedusa in Italy were the most popular destinations. However, much less in known about the thousands of African refugees that Malta has been receiving since 2000.

Indeed, boat refugees often don’t choose to arrive in Malta, a small island in front of the Libyan coast that joined the European Union in 2004. Most of the refugees are on their way to Italy but get in distress at sea. As Malta is responsible to rescue people in need in an enormous part of the Mediterranean Sea (250.000 m2, which is 791 times her own surface), it often happens that refugees unwillingly have to apply for asylum in Malta. According to the Dublin II Convention (2003), refugees can only issue an asylum application in the country they first enter. And due to its geographical location, Malta has become the country of arrival for a disproportionate number of African immigrants in comparison with the rest of Europe. For the small country of Malta, with its 400.000 inhabitants, this is a huge burden.

So from both the Maltese side as from the side of refugees, one cannot speak of a ‘match’. Refugees consider Malta as a mere transit point to another EU-country that presents them with more possibilities; Malta is not able anymore to bear the high numbers of refugees and is often forced to accommodate them in detention centres, where they await the result of their asylum request. This process takes about 12 to 18 months.

The situation of these African refugees was the main reason for Europe’s largest students forum AEGEE to organize a study visit to Malta. The event took place within the framework of the project ‘Destination Europe’ that focuses specifically on illegal migration from Africa to Europe.

From the 10^th to the 14^th of April 2008, 25 youngsters from the whole Euro-Mediterranean region came together to learn more about this issue. The participants, coming from diverse countries like Egypt, Israel, Cyprus, Turkey, Poland, Spain and the Netherlands, discussed with each other and listened to the stories of different NGO’s and youth workers who are dealing with migrants in Malta. This enabled the participants to compare the Maltese situation with the one in their own country and worked towards a better understanding of illegal migration, its causes and its consequences.

One of the activities during the event was a visit to the Marsa open refugee centre, located in Malta’s harbour area. This centre, housed in an old school building, is fit to accommodate 400 refugees. Currently 1600 people are living there already: 1599 men and one woman. Most of the refugees are from Somalia, but there are also considerable numbers of refugees from Eritrea, Ethiopia and Sudan; regions where there has been a lot of unrest in the past, or where the situation is still unbearable.

The people that are living in the Marsa centre can be considered to be real survivors: for every refugee that made it to Malta, four have died on the sea. (Frame suggestion 1)

Terry Gosden, since 4 years the manager of the open centre, guides the students around: “Look at this area; we are hidden away in the harbour, the water around the centre is heavily polluted and the building is way too small for all the people it has to accommodate”. But Terry also speaks enthusiastically about the centre’s residents: “Every Somali can present his family tree back up to 200 years. The people here have an impressive memory. But they also experienced the most horrible events. However, we are seriously lacking a psychological model to help this people with that. The known Anglo-Saxon models are totally inapplicable for their situation.”

Besides Marsa, there is also a refugee centre in Hal Far. Here, the conditions are even worse. First of all because the refugees are accommodated in military tents, as if they are living in a conflict zone in European territory. Secondly, this camp is located next to the airport, so everyday the refugees see the planes to Europe flying by.” And Europe seems to be the only refuge for these people, because going back to their home country is not an option at all. (Frame suggestion 1)

During the last day of the study visit, the participants discussed their experiences and looked for possible solutions for this problem. It was surprising to see that most participants waved away possibilities to host refugees in their own countries. One Tunisian participant expressed that it was impossible for his country to host any refugees without any help from the European Union: “Tunisia doesn’t have the means to receive any refugees. The country lives on tourism and can not even support itself. That’s why we keep our borders firmly closed. Personally I saw a boat with refugees arriving in the village where I live, the people came through Libya. The refugees were received by the authorities but actually they didn’t want to be there at all.”

The participants from Egypt tell about a time when a lot of refugees from Darfur came to Cairo and set up their tents in the middle of the city’s largest square. This caused a lot of commotion, and it was clear that the refugees couldn’t stay there. Most of them moved on to Israel. The Spanish participants express how their country is already taking up many refugees and migrants from Africa, and also they have reached their max.

During the study visit, the participants expressed the urgent need to design a more coherent EU-policy on illegal migration, in relation to the ‘unfair’ proportion of refugees between coming to Mediterranean countries like Spain, Italy and Malta, in contrast to the Northern countries of the EU. That is why they recommend a revision of the 2003 Dublin Convention. This kind of ‘burden sharing’ would definitely solve some of Malta’s problems.

Furthermore they also recognized that more money should be allowed to decrease the period of detention of refugees in Malta. At the moment, the period that refugees spend in detention is in deep violation of their human rights. From talks with the local population, the participants also felt the need to inform Maltese citizens better about the situation of refugees, and to foster their integration into society.

Later on, the project “Destination Europe” will also devote attention to other aspects in the process of illegal migration from Africa to Europe, like human trafficking through North African countries and the reception of refugees in Spain.

For more information, have a look at www.aegee.org/destinationeurope

Tjerk Destombes en Judith

Suggestion 1:

Abdel is a Somali refugee who learnt English from books and TV. He would love to go back to his country but he simply cannot because of the ongoing conflicts. He invites us to have a tea in one of the two Somalian restaurants in the centre. While we are sipping from our tea, he tells us about life in the centre and the lack of prospects for refugees in Malta. But in the way Abdel and his co-residents speak English, it becomes clear to us that he and other refugees could definitely benefit the Maltese society in many ways.

Suggestion 2:

The fact that it goes quite well with the people in the Marsa centre can, according to Gosden, be attributed to the ‘management model’ he developed within the centre and which seems very satisfactory to its residents. Gosden works with a multicultural staff including European volunteers (Maltese, Dutch, Americans) and a ‘cultural advisor’ from every African country (Somalia, Eritrea, etc). There is no hierarchy, which means that every staff member is equal. In this way, cultural values are constantly exchanged and this leads to mutual respect and avoidance of conflicts. Nevertheless, the atmosphere in the centre can get really tense sometimes, as when Gosden needs to leave us for a moment to check on a mentally instable person who is bound to be deported back to his country.

Participants discussing

Entrance of the refugee centre in Marsa

Refugees together with a participant in the centre of Hal Far

Participants during their visit in the Marsa refugee centre

Millenium Development Goals and Refugees

Just to keep in mind....

At the Millennium Summit in New York in September 2000, the largest gathering of world leaders in history, heads of states and governments adopted the UN Millennium Declaration. This committed their nations to a new global partnership to reduce extreme poverty and also set out a series of targets, all with a deadline of 2015, that have become known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute (NIDI) report on living conditions of people of concern. On behalf of UNHCR, the (NIDI) investigated the MDG-related living conditions of

• refugees in Armenia
• refugees in Pakistan
• asylum-seekers in Ecuador
• internally displaced persons in Sri Lanka

Comparative summary report: The living conditions of refugees in Armenia and Pakistan, asylum seekers in Ecuador and internally displaced persons in Sri Lanka

HSRC report on refugees and urban asylum seekers in South Africa

The Human Sciences Research Council, in Pretoria (South Africa), undertook a desk study for the UNHCR on refugees and asylum-seekers in South Africa. This study compares the well being of such persons with comparable groups in South Africa based on the UNHCR Standards and Indicators Report and the UN Millennium Development Indicators.


Resource: UNHCR offical Wev Page...

Lisbon Strategy - Press Release of Youth Forum

LISBON STRATEGY NEEDS TO STRENGTHEN COHESION IN ORDER TO WORK FOR YOUNG PEOPLE


Following the European Council meeting of 13—14 March, the European Youth Forum (YFJ) welcomes the emphasis European Heads of State and Government have put on the need to give continued attention to youth and employment in the context of the implementation of the European Youth Pact, as well as on the need to strengthen the social dimension of the Lisbon Strategy.

"EU Member States need to work more on the cohesion and inclusion of young people in order to ensure that all — and not only a privileged few — can profit from 'more and better jobs'," states Bettina Schwarzmayr, President of the European Youth Forum. The Heads of State highlighted that the renewed Social Agenda, which should strengthen the social dimension of the Lisbon Strategy, should cover such issues as youth, education, migration, demography and intercultural dialogue. The European Council called on Member States to implement the common principles on flexicurity, with due regard to intergenerational solidarity and with continued attention to tackling youth unemployment and implementing the European Youth Pact. When implementing the common principles on flexicurity, and in the framework of the flexicurity missions to Member States, the YFJ calls on the European Commission, EU governments, and the social partners, to meet with National Youth Councils in order to establish a genuine dialogue on integrating young people into the labour market. "It is good to hear European leaders repeat their call for a strengthened social dimension in the Lisbon Strategy," stated Schwarzmayr, "however, to achieve this, cohesion will need to become a focus of the strategy. Moreover, there is a need for more cross-sector cooperation between policy makers and the involvement of all stakeholders, including youth organisations."

Our Webpage!!!

If you still didn't check OUR PROJECT'S WEBPAGE???

You should... :)

Special Thanks to William...

Here WE are...

We are;

• Maisa Mohamed Abd El Magid Nasr
• Dina Samy Ibrahim Mahmoud EL Maayrgy
• Elad Aron
• Daniel Shweitzer
• Hazem Abo-youness
• Iyad Al shihabi
• Judith Zijstra
• Tjerk Destombes
• Joanna Danilewicz
• Senem Gungor
• Maarja-Liisa Kärp
• Anna Szramkowska
• Ceren Gergeroglu
• Serhan Karatas

ready to go! :)