Migrants are prey to homelessness without proper help to get jobs

Asylum seekers unable to integrate into Maltese society are being let down by a system that lacks resources to ensure they find jobs and housing.

Homeless migrants sleeping rough on Triton Square in Valletta were forced to leave the migrants open reception centre, which does not house asylum seekers beyond a certain period in a bid to reduce their dependence on state facilities.

But homeless asylum seekers who spoke to MaltaToday say they are living on a bare minimum, waiting for people to give them food or money to make it through the day.

READ MORE: Teenagers sleeping rough in Valletta fear endless cycle of unemployment

“There is nothing new about this. It has been like this since the beginning. We need to have structures in place which can support these people both financially and psychologically,” the academic Maria Pisani, who runs Integra Foundation, said.

Migrants are provided temporary accommodation for a specific period of time upon their arrival to the country. During this time, the migrants are encouraged to find a job and alternative housing. The only exceptions to this process are vulnerable migrants who reside at the centre for a longer period than other migrants.

While Pisani agrees that asylum seekers and such migrant workers should be incentivised to integrate, she pointed out that a flawed system is not catering the hurdles they face upon their induction into society.

Obstacles like workplace exploitation and racism are still alive and well, she points out. “The policy needs to partnered with resources, or else it fails completely,” Pisani said, saying the homeless migrants in Valletta had been faced with “the perfect storm”.

“The increase in arrivals coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic has made the situation visibly harder for these people. The pandemic has brought about economic uncertainty. This means finding a job has become even harder for these people, leaving large groups of people either jobless or vulnerable to exploitation,” she said.

While calling for more resources to be directed towards integration, Pisani insisted this was no criticism of the Agency for the Welfare of Asylum Seekers (AWAS), but of policy. “The issue desperately needs addressing. In helping these people society as a whole will be benefit,” she said.

AWAS head Mauro Farrugia shared Pisani’s sentiment that integration for such migrants came with difficult hurdles. “One cannot deny that asylum seekers are one of the most vulnerable groups in society. The only way to ensure that migrants live an independent life is to engage them in stable and legal employment. The transition to the community is always a challenge and AWAS provides individual support to migrants to make such process as smooth as possible.”

But Farrugia pointed out that the lack of trust with respect to asylum seekers from employers. “Many employers prefer to import workers instead of hiring asylum seekers who are already physically present in the country. AWAS does its utmost to help asylum seekers cope in such a scenario, mainly through the promotion of legal employment, addressing the language barrier and awareness-raising.”

Farrugia said more awareness needs to be raised among the general public, employers and the migrants themselves. “Government resources are being reoriented to focus more on preparing migrants to lead an independent life rather than simply providing accommodation or material support. It also appears that the government is willing to manage the competition in the labour market resulting from the admission of labour migrants, especially where low-skilled work is concerned.”

General Workers Union (GWU) President Victor Carachi expressed his frustration at the situation. “We cannot have second-class citizens, no matter where they are from,” he said, acknowledging the exploitation of foreign workers as an ongoing matter of concern. “To the detriment of both the migrants and other workers, the abuse will end up distorting the workforce,” Carachi said.

Carachi said unionising such asylum seekers and migrant workers would help them in enforcing their rights, but cited the importance in providing courses to the migrants entering Maltese society. “It gives them leverage in finding good employment while providing know how on the industry they might be looking to work in. Workers have worked hard to acquire these rights along the years, so we cannot allow certain employers to throw that away by exploiting these vulnerable people.”