Mothers’ plight as they risk eviction from shelters

Four mothers, all victims of domestic violence, risk being separated from their children unless the authorities accede to a judicial protest calling on them to issue a residency permit without any further delay.

The judicial protest, filed by human rights lawyer Lara Dimitrijevic on behalf of Wendy Buchalan, Alicia Laquio Mejlak, Angy Shoukry Ibrahim Shenouida and Manar Yassine, sheds light on the plight faced by many third-country nationals who are forced to face delays and excessive bureaucracy in their attempt to acquire a residency permit.

The women are all mothers of very young children, whose Maltese fathers were abusive or who didn’t want to have anything to do with the children they fathered. Having nowhere to turn to and running from abusive relationships, the single mothers were forced to seek the support of shelters for victims of domestic violence.

The women have been living in a shelter for several months, others even years, as they struggle to acquire a residency permit. Since their children are Maltese citizens, born and bred in Malta, it is their mothers’ right – as their primary carers – to reside in Malta. 

However, because they are no longer married, the women do not have an automatic right to freedom of movement and need to acquire a residency permit. To support their sons and daughters, the women must find a stable job, which would allow them to receive a work permit.

But the circumstances are not easy: because they are single mothers, they do not enjoy the support of a husband or partner while, many a time, the fathers do not contribute to their children’s maintenance. 

Endless delays, excessive bureaucracy and the absolute lack of information available and basic assistance have made it even harder for these women to obtain a residency permit. 

Matters took a turn downhill after the government allegedly started pressuring shelters to encourage residents who have exceeded their maximum stay at the shelter to move out. The reason being an ever-increasing waiting list of victims of domestic violence seeking shelter.

“Laquio Mejlak and Shoukry have been asked to leave the shelter because they have exceeded their stay. They were also told by workers at the shelter that the government was pressuring them to encourage the mothers, along with their children, to leave,” according to the judicial protest.

Without a job, nowhere to live and no money to support their children, the risk of being separated from their children is very real.

“These women are caught in a vicious circle,” Dimitrijevic, founder of Women’s Rights Foundation, told MaltaToday.

“One of the women has been living in the shelter for the past three years and three months, without a regular income and caring for her toddler. She cannot work because her kid is so young … she doesn’t benefit from any incentives or schemes, such as free childcare centres, that would allow her to at least go look for a job.”

The allowance they receive is of around €400, not enough to even cover the rent of an apartment. 

“Prices have shot up and they do not afford a place where to live. They have been reduced to a precarious state, facing poverty. Many a time, women in similar situations, end up sharing an apartment with two or three other mothers. Can you imagine the conditions they end up living in?”

With the judicial protest, Dimitrijevic – and mostly the women – hope that the authorities take heed of their plight and offer the necessary support.

“We hope that the government recognises the vulnerable situation these women and their children are in,” the lawyer said. 

“It’s a sad and gruesome reality. 

“Even the children themselves are suffering. Moreover, because the mothers don’t have an automatic right to a work permit, they are losing out on a lot of benefits.”