To Accompany, Serve and Defend
As we unveil our 2023 Annual Report, we reflect on what it means for JRS Malta to accompany, serve and defend asylum seekers and refugees in a context marked by significant challenges For all those who care enough to look closely, it is evident that the system is increasingly failing those it is meant to protect. This report starts off by providing an overview of the critical issues affecting asylum seekers and refugees, before outlining the response which, thanks to our funders and benefactors, JRS Malta was able to provide in 2023.
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Context
Shrinking Protection Space
One of the most concerning trends observed over the past years is the shrinking protection space for asylum seekers This means that very few people are receiving protection status. The systemic denial of protection to those who need it most undermines the core principles of asylum law and places vulnerable individuals at heightened risk of harm
Lengthy Detention and Restricted Access to Legal Services
Detention remains a critical issue, particularly for asylum seekers from so-called “safe” countries who face prolonged confinement with limited access to information and legal services
Additionally, increased restriction on NGOs requesting access to detention facilities means that many individuals remain without the support they need. It bears reminding that the impact of lengthy detention goes beyond legal limbo it strips individuals of their dignity, impacts their mental health, and often leads to long-term trauma, especially when compounded by a lack of transparency and access to justice
Living in Limbo: Rejected Asylum Seekers and the end of SRA
The termination of the Specific Residence Authorization (SRA) in November 2020 has left a growing number of rejected asylum seekers, including many who have lived in Malta for years, without any hope of regularization These individuals and their children live in a state of perpetual limbo, with limited rights, no access to documentation, and no legal status Without the possibility of regularizing their status, they are left to navigate daily life with significant constraints
The absence of a clear path to regularization not only affects the lives of these individuals but also has broader social implications, contributing to cycles of poverty, exclusion, and marginalization.
Vulnerable Asylum Seekers and Barriers to Essential Services
Over the past years, there has been a noticeable increase in the number of asylum seekers facing particularly vulnerable situations due to medical or mental health problems. These individuals struggle to access the services they need to live with dignity The lack of adequate healthcare, mental health support, and tailored services compounds their vulnerabilities, leaving them at risk of further deterioration For many, the journey to safety does not end upon arrival; instead, they continue to battle the challenges of a system illequipped to meet their needs
Lack of Support for Unaccompanied Children and Young Adults
Unaccompanied children and young adults represent one of the most vulnerable groups within the asylum system. And yet, support for these individuals remains inadequate As they transition to adulthood, many face a stark reality of limited assistance, with most state agencies and NGOs providing little more than basic services There is a pressing need to move beyond minimal support and towards a more comprehensive approach that empowers young people to reach their potential and live with dignity This requires investment in education, employment opportunities, and mental health services to ensure that unaccompanied minors and young adults can build stable, fulfilling lives
Migration Framed as a Security Issue
The prevailing portrayal of migration as a security threat continues to dominate public discourse, with a disproportionate focus on highlighting "illegality" rather than addressing the human dignity and needs of those seeking protection This approach fuels xenophobia and distracts from the underlying causes of displacement, such as conflict, persecution, and human rights abuses. A shift in narrative is urgently needed one that recognizes the humanity of migrants and reframes migration as a complex, multifaceted issue that requires compassion and strategic solutions
JRS Malta Core Principles
Faced with these multiple challenges, in 2023 the JRS Malta team embarked on a discernment exercise and identified these core principles which guide all our actions:
Walking with young people towards a hope-filled future. We choose to walk with young people who struggle to access the services and support they need to achieve their goals, empowering and accompanying them, for as long as they require our support, on their journey to becoming independent and active members of society
Standing with the vulnerable and excluded and supporting them to live life with dignity. We choose to be present with, and to work with those who are unable to access the support they need most, who struggle to meet their most basic needs and who find themselves stuck in the margins of society, working with others to support them to live with dignity.
Creating spaces for reconciliation to facilitate community building. Acknowledging our part in a society that excludes, and mindful of our own contribution to social tension, we strive to be part of the transformation of our community into one that is more just. Through encounter and dialogue, we choose to work with the community, empowering people to take ownership of fostering this social change
Working for systemic change and justice. We choose a holistic approach to doing this, working closely/engaging with the community, but also with decision-makers, with the aim of fostering long-term social change and justice
Projects and activities
As in previous years, JRS Malta sustained its core services, primarily information, legal assistance, psychosocial support, and basic integration support for asylum seekers and beneficiaries of protection. Below is a short description of some of the main projects and activities:
Project Integrated
As in previous years, Project Integrated, which is funded by UNHCR and implemented in collaboration with aditus foundation, Integra Foundation, and Women’s Rights Foundation, had two main components: one focused on protection and the other on integration
Through the project, we worked towards these aims through different means including service provision (primarily information, legal services, social work support, and psychological support), provision of training, educational support, workshops for women, and advocacy.
Detention under the Spotlight
Detention Under the Spotlight project, which started in October 2022, continued throughout the year under review Funded by the OAK Foundation, coordinated by JRS Europe, and involving several JRS country offices in the region, the project aims to set up a database to record information on detention in partner countries, including information on detention centres, the legal framework on detention, and in the people impacted by it.
Detention timeline displayed during the event ‘Detention under the Spotlight’.
Reconciliation project
During 2023, JRS Malta continued working on the Reconciliation Project, led by JRS International, which aims to counter misinformation, foster social inclusion of people seeking refuge, and build right relationships between refugees and the host community The project intends to create spaces of encounter for refugees and the Maltese population in hope of creating dialogue and journeying together towards reconciliation The focus in this project is on appreciation of religious diversity. This project, which will run from July 2021 to June 2024, is funded by GHR Foundation through JRS International.
FA.B! Family Based care for Children in Migration
In May 2023 the FA.B! Family Based care for children in migration came to an end.The project, which started at the beginning of 2021 and was funded by AMIF (Asylum Migration and Integration Fund) , aimed at supporting the improvement and expansion of alternative family-based care system for unaccompanied migrant children in five European frontline Mediterranean Countries: Italy, Greece, Spain, Malta and Cyprus
As the national partner for Malta, JRS coordinated field visits, workshops and training for various professionals, to share knowledge and learn about good practices and methodology in this area We also advocated for family-based care for child asylum seekers and worked to raise awareness of the lived experience of unaccompanied children.
From Surviving to Thriving: A Project to Help Young Asylum Seekers Achieve their Potential
In 2022 JRS Malta applied for and was awarded a 3-year operational grant through the Invest scheme, which is funded and operated by Aġenzija Żgħażagħ The grant allowed us to intentionally develop our youth service for the first time and lay the foundations of our youth work programme, by setting up the youth services and building the capacity of JRS staff to work with youth
JRS Malta’s youth programme, developed through Invest, consists of the following separate yet inter-linked services:
(1)A youth information service
(2)A basic education programme, consisting of language and other classes
(3)Individualised education and employability support, to access educational opportunities, complete their studies, and find dignified employment in line with their qualifications
(4)Regular outreach in the open centres where young people are accommodated.
(5)Accommodation and support for five refugee students, at Dar Pedro Arrupe, Zejtun, to help them cope with the financial burdens that can arise when going into full time education.
(6)Youth activities intended to counter isolation and loneliness among refugee youth
In September 2023, JRS started implementing a 12-month project named From surviving to thriving: A project to help young asylum seekers in Malta develop their potential and improve their employability and/or their prospects of job progression through education, funded by Mapfre Foundation, 1 Run, Invest, P Cutajar Foundation and APS. The project, which takes forward the youth plan developed through the Invest grant, aims to ensure that unaccompanied children and young asylum seekers can achieve their personal goals, develop their potential through education, and live dignified and self-sufficient lives
Alm Aldeen, resident at Dar Pedro Arrupe
My name is Alm Aldeen, I am from Sudan I am 23 years old and I am a full time student at MCAST. I moved into the house in Zejtun in August 2022. To have a home while you’re going to school is very important. At least when you finish your day you know you have a place to live that is comfortable If I don’t have a house like Zejtun I would have to go to work every day after school to be able to pay rent and to live but now I can go home and find everything I need.
Having people from JRS coming to the house and asking how we are doing in school and in our life helps a lot too. If we have any problems, we have someone that we can ask. Also, we are able to get extra tutoring through JRS. This house is also very good because I like living with other people, it is better than being alone. If you need help they can help you, and you can also try and help them When someone needs help from you, you will remember the times that you got help from others. In Zejtun I also met new people that I would never have met before. Living in a place like Zejtun is helping me to complete my education and I am very thankful that JRS has helped with a house like this to live.
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Education projects for women
Between January and March 2023, JRS Malta implemented a project funded by the British High Commission, named Beyond the Barrier: empowering women building their future in Malta The programme included three key elements:
-Information provision and guidance on access to rights/services: through the know-your-rights sessions and access to a dedicated case worker
-Education support: through the provision language classes in two locations (Hal Far/ Floriana), specialised language support (where necessary), and training courses.
-Social support/activities: through regular dance and movement sessions, as well as organised social activities, such as visits to museums, etc
In September 2023, we started implementing a follow up project called Listening to their voices: A project to understand the barriers faced by refugee women, also funded by the British High Commission
Programmes and services
Below is a snapshot of the work of JRS Malta in 2023, organised according to four main areas of activity: psychosocial, legal, advocacy, and awareness raising and reconciliation
Psychosocial support: Serving youth and vulnerable asylum-seekers
Our aim: Asylum seekers receive the care, support and services they require, on arrival and throughout their stay in Malta.
51 individuals provided with social work support
23 Individuals provided with psychological support
146 Individuals provided with basic integration support
78 individuals supported to further their education and follow specialised courses
5 students assisted with accommodation and mentoring at Zejtun
35 individuals provided with financial support in 2023
Legal support: Defending asylum seekers’ rights
Our aim: Asylum seekers arriving in Malta obtain the protection they need and are able to effectively enjoy/exercise their rights
2 individuals in detention assisted with legal issues
77 individuals in the community assisted with protectionrelated issues
34 individuals assisted with integration-related cases in the community
Advocacy: Committed to the struggle for justice
Our aim: Asylum seekers and beneficiaries of protection are treated with dignity, and their needs are identified and rights are respected from the moment of their arrival in Malta.
JRS and aditus continued to work on legal challenges on behalf of individual clients claiming that their rights were breached by government action.
These included two cases challenging the detention of a minor asylum seeker, one before the Constitutional Court and the other before the European Court of Human Rights
Another case concerns 32 asylum seekers detained on the Captain Morgan vessels who are alleging that their human rights were breached
In October 2023 - A 17-year-old Ivorian migrant, who spent 225 days in detention in Malta, was awarded €25,000 in damages by the European Court of Human Rights
As part of the OAK project, in November 2023 JRS Malta submitted one factsheet on the legality and length of detention in Malta and contributed to the survey on access to legal assistance
Awareness-raising and Reconciliation: Creating spaces for encounter
and understanding
Our aim: To foster more welcoming and inclusive societies by creating safe spaces of encounter, where knowledge and experiences can be shared, and new perspectives formed.
As part of the Reconciliation Project, during 2023, we continued the conflict assessment with key members of the community but also with the general community, through walkabouts in Ħamrun and Marsa
Activities such as the Salott taħt iz-Zuntier and regular walkabouts offered a space for every individual in these two localities to be heard and seen as a human being
JRS also worked to build networks and relationships with other entities and organizations working in and with these two communities
Finances
Even at the best of times, JRS struggles to raise sufficient funds to cover all our annual costs. By the end of 2022 it was clear that, during 2023, the project funding available to fund services was going to be very limited, as no large EU calls open to NGOs were projected before the second half of 2023.
In view of this we undertook the following measures:
→ A team exercise to discern what we must sustain for our mission to have any meaning, even in the light of funding restrictions
→ Closing down of two services (basic integration service and employment service), both of which were linked to specific projects. This meant that our staff complement decreased to 17 by the end of 2022 and 15 by end 2023.
→ Increased efforts to attract project funds from other sources, such as embassies and private foundations.
→ More emphasis on community fundraising, through the introduction of a monthly newsletter to keep more regular communication with donors, and the organisation of occasional fundraising events.
While we did manage to raise some funds through these efforts, as can be seen below, this was not sufficient to cover the costs of 2023. As a result, we needed to use the savings made in previous years, to take us to end of the year.
T h a n k s
D o n a t e
Thanks/Donate
JRS’s mission in Malta would not be possible without the help of numerous collaborators. The team would like to express its heartfelt thanks towards benefactors and funding partners and organisations, who believe in our cause. A special thanks goes to the JRS team, whose dedication makes the dream of our founder, Fr Pedro Arrupe, a reality; to our volunteers who give their precious time in assisting; and to every individual who gave even the smallest of monetary or other forms of support when JRS called for help. Thanks to your support, we can fulfil our mission to accompany, serve and defend the rights of refugees.
Our work is only possible thanks to the help of people who share our vision. Any donation, large or small, will help us to continue providing our services and give refugees and asylum seekers hope. This is how you can help: -Postal donation by check to JRSMalta -Bank transfer HSBC MT45MMEB44163000000016116055050 BOV MT11VALL22013000000040012100660 -Visit our Donate Page on jrsmalta.org jrsmalta org
