Home affairs minister - Malta braces for ‘worst scenario’, surge in Libyan arrivals

Home affairs minister Carm Mifsud Bonnici has told Australian ABC news that Malta was preparing itself for “the worst scenario” once the inclement weather lifts and brings an influx of migrants to the island. “We are expecting a wave of persons as soon as the sea calms down... we are expecting boats to move up from the Libyan shores, escaping from what is happening in Libya, towards mainland Europe,” Mifsud Bonnici told Elizabeth Jackson of ABC news. The minister said Malta was already helping EU and non-EU nationals moving out of Libya. The island has been turned into a logistical hub for evacuations from Libya of thousands of UK, US, Chinese and Brazilian and other EU nationals. He said he had no idea of what the size of the migrant influx would be. While Tunisia and Egypt are currently seeing thousands of migrants at their borders, Malta will undoubtedly see a migrant influx that will be mixed: people seeking refuge from the Libyan unrest, African economic migrants, and also refugees from political and other types of persecution. “We are appealing to other countries to come to our aid to help us in this humanitarian issue,” Mifsud Bonnici said. “These are people who need the support of the European countries and countries all over the world because they are people who are fleeing away from devastation, from a war.” Asked whether the Maltese would be tolerant of such an influx, Mifsud Bonnici said the population was tolerant but anxious of the numbers of arrivals. “And the numbers which arrive could put a great significant pressure on our economy, on our social texture and that could create difficulties.” Earlier on in the week, the home affairs minister presented Malta’s case for assistance in the European council meeting of ministers for the interior. “The result of the meeting has been that the European Commission has prepared a line of action to help not only Malta but the countries in the Mediterranean to come up with a program through which we can give humanitarian aid to these people,” Mifsud Bonnici said.