UPDATED/The scandal is the immigrants, not the desperate living conditions. God bless Malta.
Eight men have been found living in asbestos pipes – why are there pipes made of lethal asbestos lying around in public? – and the problem is that they are ‘illegals’ and not that they are human beings living in asbestos pipes off the charity of their fellowmen at the nearby Hal Far Centre.
There is something not quite right with this story. Why would men who have succeeded in reaching Italy – the aim of all immigrants coming this way – hop on a catamaran and come to the very place that all immigrants are trying to avoid because it is a dead end for them?
Also, to board a catamaran between Sicily and Malta you need an identification document. Those without legal status don’t have identification documents.
UPDATED: Yes, in fact Malta Today’s story is wrong on those counts. Times of Malta now reports:
Seven foreigners being held by immigration police
Eight foreigners who entered Malta legally with documents issued by Italy were today found living in a precarious state at Hal Far during a raid by immigration police at 6.30am.
The raid was carried out with the assistance of district police.
Seven people – five from Ghana and two from Togo, were found during the raid. There was also a Spanish citizen who was released once his documents were verified.
As the foreigners do not have the means to sustain themselves, the police are making the necessary arrangements for them to return to Italy. They are currently in police custody.
——
The Spaniard has freedom of movement because he is an EU citizen, which is why the police released him. The others are not EU citizens, and people who are not EU citizens can be deported if they outstay their visa (usually three months) or if they cannot support themselves and live as vagrants.
All of them came in with proper documents, which is why they were able to get on the catamaran, something that should have occurred to whoever wrote that Malta Today story.
Meanwhile, in terms of the ongoing debate, I trust the teeming number of self-described religious people who read that story feel as great a pang as some of us secular people do.
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http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/court_and_police/48523/immigrants_found_living_in_asbestos_pipes_in_police_raid?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed#.VLo-I8stEdV
That place is also pretty close to the ‘dormitories’ opposite the ETC. One just walks past the drag strip and firefighting training facilities.
‘Eight foreigners who entered Malta legally with documents issued by Italy were today found living in a precarious state at Hal Far during a raid by immigration police at 6.30am.’ Times of Malta
The article goes on to say that one was a Spaniard so was released and the rest are being sent back to Italy. I am wondering however why they are being sent back if they entered Malta legally.
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20150117/local/seven-foreigners-being-held-by-immigration-police.552228
[Daphne – You are deported if you are not an EU citizen, and you outstay your visa, commit a crime or cannot support yourself financially. That’s why the Spaniard wasn’t similarly deported. He is an EU citizen and has freedom of movement in Malta.]
Then why have I, an Englishman, after separating from my Maltese wife, been told I no longer have freedom of movement?
According to the ‘new system’ I have to apply again, why not the Spaniard?
[Daphne – I don’t believe you. If you’re not lying then you have a subnormal IQ, which is clearly not the case as you can form proper sentences. With a British passport, you don’t need a Maltese wife to make Malta your home and place of work. Any idiot knows that.]
I lost my job, found it impossible to get work, over 50’s seem to here, decided to stay and live off my savings. My Son was born here. I changed my address and went to Valletta to change my I.D. card as I had done before. They asked for freedom of movement letter from 2003 which I later provided, they said it would take two months to process, I recieved a phone call after about 6 weeks, “Sorry, no longer married, no freedom of movement” I explained that was not needed as I was a European in a European country. Bank statements and medical insurance asked for, I am still to provide them yet.
I am not lying, I will keep you informed.
[Daphne – You don’t need to keep ME informed. You need to speak to a lawyer to speak to them. British citizens don’t need medical insurance in Malta. They didn’t even before we joined the EU because Malta and Britain had a reciprocal health agreement.]
EU citizens are being asked to take medical insurance coverage in order to get a Maltese identity card. I’ve been told as much by two of the outraged victims. Join the dots is not lying.
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20150117/local/seven-foreigners-being-held-by-immigration-police.552228
In my line of work I get to speak with quite a number of African migrants and there is a growing number who have come from Italy.
The reason is simple: they don’t initially want to LAND in Malta because our detention policy is atrocious. Migrants can remain in detention for up to a year awaiting refugee status. Meanwhile in Italy, they are usually processed and issued with documents within 3 months.
However, having obtained legal documents they then set about building a better life for themselves, and that involves a job.
It is far easier for them to find work in Malta than in Italy (because the economy’s better off) or Germany and other continental countries (because authorities there are a lot stricter when it comes to the legality of workers). Here, they can and do find a lot of unofficial work paid in cash. It exposes them to all sorts of abuses but local authorities turn a blind eye.
The ultimate aim obviously is to secure a steady job and start paying taxes. It’s only then that they can start the process to bring their families back home over.
The pipes shown in picture could be made from fibre cement and not asbestos.
Originally asbestos was used in the manufacturing of fibre cement products, but today other nonhazardous fibres are used in the manufacturing of fibre cements.
The authorities should check the real composite of these pipes in Hal Far and act accordingly. They have been lying there for decades now.
[Daphne – If they have been lying there for decades then they are made of asbestos and not of ‘today’s materials’. How shocking that they should still be lying around in public.]
Asbestos-containing cement pipes are not hazardous unless they release asbestos dust or fibres. To do that they have to be ground to a powder.
Anything made of asbestos will be costly to handle, transport and destroy.
Full safety gear required by all handling it.
That’s probably why not touching them was the safer option at the time?
However, I wouldn’t be confident that no asbestos dust/particles is/are released into the (immediate) environment.
Aren’t immigrants who have been granted some form of protection or residency given an ID card which clearly states that it is not valid for travel ?
How is it that the non-eu people caught were allowed to travel using such documentation ?
Also, as far as I know given the fact that they are not EU citizens (unlike the Spanish chap) wouldn’t they need a visa for any sort of travel other than the country they have a permit to live in ? In this case Italy/Sicily.
Check out the comments on Times of Malta’s comments board. The usual hate and ignorance.
You seem to have religious people in your gun-sights all the time. What makes you think that (to borrow your phrase, “self-described”) secular persons have a monopoly to feel pangs for the misfortunes of fellow human beings? I am afraid that your attitude in this respect does not add merit to your otherwise very useful contribution to public debate.
Incidentally, my impression is that the Church and religious organisations, even in Malta, receive a fair share of criticism for showing too much sympathy towards people like those in this story.
[Daphne – In fact I almost never write about religion as it is rarely topical. It was, inevitably, topical these last few days because of the terrorism in Paris. It is the people who rant and rave against Islam who have religious people in their gun-sights all the time. My views are the opposite of that – and though by ‘religious people’ I know you mean Roman Catholics and not, say, Muslims or Buddhists, the same applies.]
“Meanwhile, in terms of the ongoing debate, I trust the teeming number of self-described religious people who read that story feel as great a pang as some of us secular people do.”
Holier than thou, no Daphne?
[Daphne – Compassion for others, Joey, has absolutely nothing to do with holiness. Its root is imaginative empathy, which is why those who lack imagination are often also hard and heartless, and why stupid people are often the most cruel.]
These came from Italy, and under the Dublin II, these should be sent back to Italy, as much as in the reverse situation Sweden and Italy and other EU countries send back here migrants.
It is our obligation to help these people and treat with dignity. But our country cannot be expected also to accept African ‘refugees’ and migrants from Italy or other EU countries. As long as the Dublin II is still in place.