[WATCH] Government evaluating alternative locations for a new migrant open centre

Different locations for a possible new migrant open centre are being looked at, Home Affairs Minister Michael Farrugia confirmed.

Speaking with MaltaToday, Farrugia said that "there could be new alternatives [for a migrant open centre] and [the government] is evaluating these different alternatives."

Farrugia was at Valletta's City Gate where he presided over the inauguration of the new Hate Speech and Crime Unit, a specialised unit that will comprise of professionals, including psychologists, who will offer support to victims of such crimes.

Acknowledging the issue of overcrowding at the migrant open centre in Hal Far, Farrugia said that, unfortunately, European countries that could share the burden of migrant populations were not showing solidarity. A ministerial meeting on migration last September saw a number of European interior ministers agreeing on a migrant disembarkation and relocation system.

"The paper that we presented from that ministerial meeting discusses how a country should be supported when under stress from immigration. It doesn't just talk about relocation and disembarkation but delineates how a country should be supported when under stress due to migrant populations – unfortunately, not all countries are showing solidarity and some are not willing to pull the same rope," Farrugia told MaltaToday.

The home affairs ministry recently met with representatives of the Agency for the Welfare of Asylum Seekers (AWAS) who had recently complained of a lack of security among other things following a riot at the Hal Far open centre which saw the burning of three open centre employee cars and a police vehicle. 

"We met with the representatives of AWAS and we are evaluating the circumstances of the country, including the number of migrants that have landed in Malta. We would be taking the necessary steps to address certain issues. On this particular topic, you have pressures from different sectors, so we will also be talking with NGOs on how we can help each other," Farrugia said.