The evolution of illegal immigration in Malta
Illegal immigration is one impending security challenge in the Mediterranean and particularly in Malta it is considered a "priority issue" since immigration rates are undermining the country's "national stability." Malta has strategically focused on illegal immigration as a primary foreign policy priority which has become a main concern on the international agenda of Europe's main security institutions. Illegal immigration is not a recent phenomenon in Malta. In fact Malta started experiencing the effects of illegal immigration in the early 1990s with the onset of the war between Yugoslavia and Iraq. The people who fled these areas relocated in Malta which is considered amongst the safest of countries to live in. The first vessles transporting migrants reached the Maltese waters in November 2001 carrying 57 immigrants. Since then the issue of illegal immigration has become more pronounced.
Malta acts as a bridge between the Mediterranean and Europe being situated just a few kilometers below Sicily. These immigrants are in search for a better life in the Western countries which unlike their home countries are free from social strife and civil and political unrest. Poverty is therefore the root cause of illegal immigration. Case in point, before the discovery of oil, Libyans migrated to better regions but now oil has made Libya a country of destination. The number of immigrants in Malta in 2002 amounted to more than 1,600. However, a year later, the number of migrants arriving in Malta again dropped considerably to around 500, but this decline proved to be only temporary, with an increase to more than 1,700 in 2004. Since then, this figure fluctuates between 1,500 and 2,500 per year. Researchers attribute Malta's accession in the European Union to the sudden surge of illegal immigration in 2002 and 2004. Amongst the other members of the EU, Malta has experienced the largest influx of irregular immigrants. Malta already suffers from a high population density which is a determining factor in the depletion of resources like natural groundwater. Therefore it comes to no surprise that the regular influx of illegal immigrants especially in calm weather, is increasing the burden on the Maltese government and citizens alike. This manifests itself in financial costs, domestic, political and cultural costs and the external influence costs. The third type of cost infers that an effect on Europe's influence in the world cannot be avoided.
Challenges
An inflow of 2,000 migrants into Malta equates to more than four hundred thousand arriving in Germany, or to around three hundred thousand entering France, the UK, or Italy. Most immigrants are coming from Western Africa with Somalia being the most popular country of origin of asylum seekers. Most of these immigrants are repatriated or resettled in countries which are willing to offer asylum, in particular the United States. However, the intention of most immigrants is to reach the shores of European countries other than Malta. Our neighboring islands, Sicily and Lampedusa are also facing Malta's same problems and risk factors. Lampedusa however, is not experiencing the severity of the consequences as Malta is doing as most of the immigrants are transferred to mainland Italy; the same with those arriving in the Canary Islands which are relocated in Spain.
Crisis management should be employed to avoid deaths in the open seas. Human trafficking is an organized crime and the transportation of illegal immigrants generates billions of dollars in annual business worldwide. So far, the EU's fledging border control agency FRONTEX has not been successful in curbing boatloads of immigrants from reaching the shores of Mediterranean countries.
Prosperous and aging Europe and highly populated, economically underdeveloped North Africa are two opposing realities divided by the Mediterranean Sea. However, although these immigrants can compensate for the declining workforce in Europe, the immigrants that arrive are not adapted to and lack the skills for the type of work demand and most often end up exploited. One such measure to limit illegal immigration that has scarcely been employed in the Southern European context is sanctions on employers who intentionally hire unauthorized immigrants.
Improving the current situation
Malta has been implementing a comprehensive foreign policy strategy to raise awareness and also take the necessary action to deal more effectively with this new form of human slavery that dominates modern Euro-Mediterranean relations. It has also been calling for more support and for burden-sharing mechanisms from other EU countries that have the geographical space and resources to cope with an influx of immigrants.
Main organizations such as the G8, the Commonwealth and the United Nations play a significant role in the war against poverty mainly through funding programs which however have to be better distributed. Ulitmately, as long as countries of origin, transit and destination meet and propose solutions to mitigate the problem, the situation will not get any better. For example Libya which is an important transit country has to improve its efforts to increase border surveillance. The north-south, socio-economic situation should therefore form the basis of a long term strategy to better control illegal immigration.
Links
http://mq.dukejournals.org/cgi/reprint/20/1/119 [Accessed 12/01/10]
http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayFulltext?type=1&fid=234810&jid=ERW&volumeId=12&issueId=03&aid=234809 [Accessed 12/01/10]
http://www.taurillon.org/Illegal-immigration-and-Malta [Accessed 12/01/10]
http://www.alertnet.org/db/an_art/55866/2009/11/1-143347-1.htm [Accessed 12/01/10]
http://www.thinkingeurope.eu/images/upload/Gonzi.pdf [Accessed 12/01/10]
http://www.workpermit.com/news/2006_07_04/europe/malta_illegal_immigration.htm [Accessed 12/01/10]
Illegal immigration is one impending security challenge in the Mediterranean and particularly in Malta it is considered a "priority issue" since immigration rates are undermining the country's "national stability." Malta has strategically focused on illegal immigration as a primary foreign policy priority which has become a main concern on the international agenda of Europe's main security institutions. Illegal immigration is not a recent phenomenon in Malta. In fact Malta started experiencing the effects of illegal immigration in the early 1990s with the onset of the war between Yugoslavia and Iraq. The people who fled these areas relocated in Malta which is considered amongst the safest of countries to live in. The first vessles transporting migrants reached the Maltese waters in November 2001 carrying 57 immigrants. Since then the issue of illegal immigration has become more pronounced.
Malta acts as a bridge between the Mediterranean and Europe being situated just a few kilometers below Sicily. These immigrants are in search for a better life in the Western countries which unlike their home countries are free from social strife and civil and political unrest. Poverty is therefore the root cause of illegal immigration. Case in point, before the discovery of oil, Libyans migrated to better regions but now oil has made Libya a country of destination. The number of immigrants in Malta in 2002 amounted to more than 1,600. However, a year later, the number of migrants arriving in Malta again dropped considerably to around 500, but this decline proved to be only temporary, with an increase to more than 1,700 in 2004. Since then, this figure fluctuates between 1,500 and 2,500 per year. Researchers attribute Malta's accession in the European Union to the sudden surge of illegal immigration in 2002 and 2004. Amongst the other members of the EU, Malta has experienced the largest influx of irregular immigrants. Malta already suffers from a high population density which is a determining factor in the depletion of resources like natural groundwater. Therefore it comes to no surprise that the regular influx of illegal immigrants especially in calm weather, is increasing the burden on the Maltese government and citizens alike. This manifests itself in financial costs, domestic, political and cultural costs and the external influence costs. The third type of cost infers that an effect on Europe's influence in the world cannot be avoided.
Challenges
An inflow of 2,000 migrants into Malta equates to more than four hundred thousand arriving in Germany, or to around three hundred thousand entering France, the UK, or Italy. Most immigrants are coming from Western Africa with Somalia being the most popular country of origin of asylum seekers. Most of these immigrants are repatriated or resettled in countries which are willing to offer asylum, in particular the United States. However, the intention of most immigrants is to reach the shores of European countries other than Malta. Our neighboring islands, Sicily and Lampedusa are also facing Malta's same problems and risk factors. Lampedusa however, is not experiencing the severity of the consequences as Malta is doing as most of the immigrants are transferred to mainland Italy; the same with those arriving in the Canary Islands which are relocated in Spain.
Crisis management should be employed to avoid deaths in the open seas. Human trafficking is an organized crime and the transportation of illegal immigrants generates billions of dollars in annual business worldwide. So far, the EU's fledging border control agency FRONTEX has not been successful in curbing boatloads of immigrants from reaching the shores of Mediterranean countries.
Prosperous and aging Europe and highly populated, economically underdeveloped North Africa are two opposing realities divided by the Mediterranean Sea. However, although these immigrants can compensate for the declining workforce in Europe, the immigrants that arrive are not adapted to and lack the skills for the type of work demand and most often end up exploited. One such measure to limit illegal immigration that has scarcely been employed in the Southern European context is sanctions on employers who intentionally hire unauthorized immigrants.
Improving the current situation
Malta has been implementing a comprehensive foreign policy strategy to raise awareness and also take the necessary action to deal more effectively with this new form of human slavery that dominates modern Euro-Mediterranean relations. It has also been calling for more support and for burden-sharing mechanisms from other EU countries that have the geographical space and resources to cope with an influx of immigrants.
Main organizations such as the G8, the Commonwealth and the United Nations play a significant role in the war against poverty mainly through funding programs which however have to be better distributed. Ulitmately, as long as countries of origin, transit and destination meet and propose solutions to mitigate the problem, the situation will not get any better. For example Libya which is an important transit country has to improve its efforts to increase border surveillance. The north-south, socio-economic situation should therefore form the basis of a long term strategy to better control illegal immigration.
Links
http://mq.dukejournals.org/cgi/reprint/20/1/119 [Accessed 12/01/10]
http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayFulltext?type=1&fid=234810&jid=ERW&volumeId=12&issueId=03&aid=234809 [Accessed 12/01/10]
http://www.taurillon.org/Illegal-immigration-and-Malta [Accessed 12/01/10]
http://www.alertnet.org/db/an_art/55866/2009/11/1-143347-1.htm [Accessed 12/01/10]
http://www.thinkingeurope.eu/images/upload/Gonzi.pdf [Accessed 12/01/10]
http://www.workpermit.com/news/2006_07_04/europe/malta_illegal_immigration.htm [Accessed 12/01/10]
Very good analysis of the problem (illegal immigration), its evolution and the driving force (poverty). I think from a systems approach analysis of this problem in the long term it may be a balancing feedback cycle? In my own analysis of poverty disparity i found that poorer nations were slowly closing the gap of wealth disparity with their richer wester counterpart countries and after all it is this original povery that is the driving place in the first place. So perhaps in the future we will see a decline in this problem as the feedback seeks to balance the system?
ReplyDeleteAlso there is another hard element that the very fact that people are leaving their population centre, it relieves the burden on resources that specific population centre exerts. Since there is less people after the emmigration, the ones that remain will have more opportunity to harvest a resource return.
There are also many soft factors such as perception that they will be able to find a much better life. The fact is usually much different with these immigrants either being caged like animals for extended periods of time and treated very poorly.
This is a very sensitive topic and I appreciate your willingness to address this issue. As stated in your blog, "the regular influx of illegal immigrants especially in calm weather, is increasing the burden on the Maltese government and citizens alike." It is obvious that Malta and other EU states consider illegal immigration to be a burden. However, policy makers and citizens alike must remember that "illegal immigrants" are actual human beings, the polices created could potential help or hinder these people. The potential policies to control illegal immigration could also be detrimental to the Maltese economy. Since Malta is service based economy bringing in over 1 million tourist every year, there are various entry level jobs that need to be filled. This is often the positions that refugees/illegal immigrants are holding. To eliminate the exploitation of refugees an alternative solution needs to be implemented to prohibit exploitation. A system dynamic model could be developed to understand the long term effects of prohibiting immigration. It could also be used to explore the effects of a policy on Malta's tourism industry. Moreover, Malta is supposed to be a country based on the Catholic faith. It would be interesting to see how the moral obligations of this country will effect certain policies and ultimately the future of the refugees.
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