Occupancy at migrant open centres is at historic low

Migrant open centres in Malta were only at their 26 per cent occupancy by the end of 2021, a historical low for the island, according to a European report warning that life there continues to be challenging. In December, 696 people were living in centres that can accommodate 2,638 migrants, not including the newly-constructed emergency centre that has a capacity of 500 beds. The low occupancy rate is a result of the fact that there were only 838 admissions in the centres in 2021, according to a country report by the European Council on Refugees and Exiles. Throughout the year, the UNHCR, in fact, recorded 832 sea arrivals – a 63 per cent decrease over 2020. Of these, 63 landed on Malta spontaneously in February and 49 in November. The AFM rescued 596, while a further 10 people were brought here for medical reasons after they were rescued by NGOs. A total of 97 people were rescued by a private boat and 17 by a merchant vessel. The main countries of origin were Eritrea (26 per cent), Syria (16 per cent), Sudan (12 per cent) and Egypt (10 per cent). The report acknowledges that living conditions have “reportedly marginally improved”, refurbishments were carried out and a new space...