Lecturer’s petition urges Muscat not to deport Malian asylum seekers

A university lecturer is gathering signatures in an attempt to persuade Prime Minister Joseph Muscat to backtrack on his pledge to deport some 28 failed Malian asylum seekers.

In his petition, education lecturer Colin Calleja argues that most of the migrants designated for deportation have become contributors to communities and that tearing them out will amount to “a violent assault on Maltese society”.

He told MaltaToday that around 140 people, including 70 academics, have signed the petition so far.

“We are not saying that the government is breaking the law; in fact it is most probably operating within a legal framework,” he said. “While governments are often satisfied purely because they are operating within a legal framework, we are arguing that there is more to life than the legal framework and that we cannot forget the humanity aspect.”

University lecturer Colin Calleja's petition to stop the deportations of Malian migrants has garnered over 140 signatures

In his petition, he wrote that a society that holds strong to democratic principles and inclusive ideals should never consider the deportation of people on the sole basis of legal irregularities.

“Not holding a permanent permit to reside in Malta did not prevent the people in question from contributing to our society and from establishing relationships.”

The EU has signed a deal with Mali that will see it provide funds to the West African country in return for its agreement to accept failed asylum seekers from European countries and step up its fight against human smuggling.

Joseph Muscat argued last month that Malta will lose credibility with the EU if, after warning for so long that it cannot accept more irregular immigrants, it fails to repatriate failed asylum seekers.

However, Calleja told MaltaToday that such agreements are often dubious in nature and that there’s a risk that the migrants will be rounded up and jailed as soon as they touch down in Mali, recounting how a group of Eritrean migrants deported by the Maltese government in 2002 ended up tortured in prisons.

“Deportation is a big deal, it’s a legal action that will stay with them for life and it will be very tough for them to ever return to Europe as legal migrants,” he said.

In his petition Calleja also claimed that Malta would actually gain credibility within EU institutions if it continues hosting the migrants, and that deporting them would inflict a loss of credibility on both the Maltese government and people.

“The Maltese government’s claim that a small country like Malta needs urgent help to survive the wave of immigration does not contradict potential efforts of the Maltese government to offer hospitality to migrants who are already living in Maltese territory.

“As concerned people who have at heart both the wellbeing of any human individual and that of Maltese society, we urge the Maltese government to renounce the decision to deport these individuals. We are willing to collaborate with the Maltese authorities in finding more creative and inclusive solutions through which both the migrants and Maltese society will benefit.”

Some 70 academics have signed the petition so far – including Michael Briguglio, Peter Mayo, Marie Briguglio and Mario Aquilina. Signatories also include St Julian’s deputy mayor Albert Buttigieg and Alternattiva Demokratika official Mario Mallia.

President Marie Louise Coleiro Preca used her annual Republic Day speech yesterday to condemn the proposed deportations.

“As a guardian of the Constitution, I believe that Malta should continue to host all those who live among us, or those who come to visit us, with the utmost love and respect. I am morally convinced that we should appreciate, and not condemn, people who are helping to build our prosperity, and who form part of our society, by sending them back.”

People wishing to sign this petition are requested to send an email to Colin Calleja on [email protected] with their name and ID number.