[WATCH] Average annual income of asylum seekers in Malta a paltry €4,823

Some 80% of asylum seekers living in Malta are living in or are at risk of poverty, a landmark study has revealed.

The study - conducted by human rights NGOs JRS Malta and Aditus and funded by the Malta Community Chest Fund - found that the mean annual disposable household income of asylum seekers, excluding money transferred to relatives in their countries of origin, stands at a measly €4,823. This falls way below lower than the National Statistics Office's ‘At risk of poverty’ threshold of €7,600.

Apart from participants residing at the Marsa and Hal Far open centres or at accommodation provided by the Church, the vast majority rented their accommodation at an average price of €3,010 a year.

It is therefore unsurprising that 74% of respondents said that they were unable to buy a car, compared with 3.3% of the general population. 95.8% cannot afford an annual holiday abroad, compared with 51% of the Maltese population, while 40% cannot afford to eat meat, fish or chicken every second day, compared with 15.5% of the population.

The study was conducted last year amongst 125 asylum seekers, including 33 minors, spread across 72 households. Participants hailed from a variety of regions across Africa and the Middle East, with the most common country of origin being Libya with 23 people. 

73% were beneficiaries of subsidiary protection, refugee status or temporary protection. Although 47 of the 72 participating households were eligible for social benefits, only 30 actually claimed them, the most common being social assistance.

The study also indicated that that asylum seekers tend to suffer from relatively low levels of psychological well-being, although they score more highly where physical health is concerned.

The document is the first study specifically focusing on poverty amongst asylum seekers in Malta

The document – entitled ‘Struggling to Survive’ was launched by JRS psychologist Julian Caruana at a conference at the St James Cavalier this afternoon.

Describing the study’s results as “alarming”, Caritas director Leonid McKay warned that asylum seekers in Malta tend to struggle to survive in silence. He noted that their situation has grown more precarious by the rising costs of rent across the island – with a one bedroom apartment in Qawra now costing an average €350 per month.  

European Studies lecturer Stefano Moncada sought to dismiss popular myths that asylum seekers leech public funds, arguing that they actually contribute much more to the economy than they take in terms of social benefits, and that they do not poach jobs away from locals.

Appogg chief executive Alfred Grixti called for a shift away from a “culture of dependency” on social benefits, reeling out the popular analogy that hungry men must be given a rod instead of a fish.

‘Increase minimum wage, regularise long-term failed asylum seekers’

The human rights NGOs used the occasion to urge the government to increase the statutory minimum wage over and above the COLA adjustment, slightly, but annually, for a period of three years – a proposal that was recently floated by a coalition of NGOs.

They also called for the regularisation of failed asylum seekers who have been living in Malta for over five years and who have made themselves constantly visible to the immigration police. The holders of Temporary Humanitarian Protection –New (THPN) status – which are set to expire in November – should be given a new permanent status.

JRS director Katrine Camilleri and psychologist Julian Caruana launch the study

Moreover, they said that need should be prioritised over protection status when determining access of asylum seekers to social security benefits.

“Whilst we believe that in principle this should apply to all individuals seeking asylum, as a starting point we recommend removing the distinctions in entitlements for social security benefits between beneficiaries of refugee status, subsidiary protection and temporary humanitarian protection,” the report reads. “We particularly want to recommend this approach in relation to children’s allowance, given that in principle preventing minors from suffering from depression should be given primary importance, in accordance with the best interests of the child.”

Other proposals include implementing an integration programme for asylum seekers at reception stage, providing asylum seekers with more social and recreational activities, and equipping community services to be able to serve asylum seekers.