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.