This year, on the 112th World Day for Migrants and Refugees, Pope Leo XIV calls on us all to remember the suffering of migrant and refugee children, especially those travelling alone. At JRS, the cornerstone of our work with young people is that these children are...
On Friday, 11th September, we invite you to gather with us at St Aloysius College, B’Kara, for our annual fundraising celebration, Under the Stars. Doors open at 7pm. This event is our yearly event celebrating community, an effort to raise funds for our cause, and an...
We are extremely disappointed that the Equality Minister’s first decision was to wholly ignore human rights NGOs. The Bill to strengthen Malta’s human rights regime and establish a much-needed human rights institution was rushed through Parliament, despite our...
ILGA-Europe have drafted a letter to European Parliament President Roberta Metsola following last week’s shameful scenes at the European Parliament on the occasion of the adoption of the Return Regulation, calling on her to publicly condemn the chanting of the MEPs,...
For a couple of weeks in June the JRS offices had the pleasure of welcoming a group of volunteers from the Boston University. The students participated in job shadowing, received training and joined in on different activities with staff members. As part of our ongoing...
The government of Malta was ordered to pay €5,000 to a teenage asylum seeker for breaching his fundamental rights. Judge Giovanni Grixti ruled that Ayoubah Fona was unlawfully detained as a minor in poor conditions. Lawyer Neil Falzon from aditus foundation, together...
As 2025 draws to a close, we want to thank you for continuing to walk this journey with us, a journey alongside countless refugees and displaced families who long for safety, peace, and a place to belong. Unfortunately, just when the needs are greatest, devastating...
We are deeply concerned at Malta’s statement urging the Council of Europe to explore how to restrict the fundamental human rights of migrants. Packaged as national security measures, the proposals will result in a dramatic lowering of human rights standards in over...
JRS Malta is launching a Call for a Service Contract for the provision of research studies into the lived experiences of asylum seekers and the legal and policy framework regulating access to healthcare for different categories of migrants. This task is part of the...
JRS Malta is teaming up with Jesuits & Friends to launch the latest in a series of our fundraising efforts. This time, we are calling on all running enthusiasts to join the Jesuits & Friends Team at the LifeStar Malta Marathon and help raise funds for JRS in...
On 29 May, JRS Malta organised Detention under the Spotlight. The event was helt to shed light on the detention of asylum seekers in Malta, detailing what has and hasn’t changed over the years, the impact that it has on the people that live through it and why NGOs like ours advocate for the creation of a system that is more humane, and ultimately, an end to immigration detention in Malta.
The event was also an important opportunity to mark the lives of those who never made it out of detention, documenting the stories of individuals who died while in the system.
The event consisted of four main elements. In the main room, we exhibited a timeline of events surrounding detention, from 1998 up until the present day. In particular, this detention timeline covered the number of migrant arrivals, local and international court cases, government decisions affecting the asylum procedure and detention practices, as well as riots and protests that erupted over the years.
In another area at the venue for this event, we invited photojournalist Joanna Demarco to exhibit her photos which were part of a project that documented life inside detention during the time of the pandemic. Her work was part of a project supported by National Geographic.
Finally, we invited the public to walk into a ‘reflective space’. In this room, attendees could read hand-written letters sent to JRS from inside detention over the past years. While safeguarding the writer’s anonymity, the public read words which echoed sorrow, desperation and pain from life behind closed doors. Other letters emitted simple requests asking for basic things like skin cream and chocolate for Christmas.
In this space, we also commemorated those individuals who lost their life while under the responsibility of detention services. We remembered, among others, the brutal murder of Mamadou Kamara, who was killed after repeated kicks in the groin in the back of a detention services van. We created what looked like ‘funeral cards’ to remember the people that died in detention.
Attendees were invited to use this space for reflection and had the opportunity to share their thoughts over a blank canvas. “Detention is a place that shouldn’t even exists”, someone wrote after reading the letters.
This event was made possible with the supported of JRS Europe and OAK Foundation, as part of the Detention Under the Spotlight project. Alongside initiatives such as this event, this project supported our visits to detention to provide legal support. As part of the project, fact sheets for the participating countries were produced, highlighting issues of concern. Two comparative reports were also developed, one looking into what visiting detention centres looks like across Europe, and the other focusing on legal assistance in detention. This project served as a great opportunity to better record and document our work in detention as well as to raise awareness about detention in Malta and to advocate for change.
The event was held at the Capuchin Friars in Floriana. We thank them for their support.
This year, on the 112th World Day for Migrants and Refugees, Pope Leo XIV calls on us all to remember the suffering of migrant and refugee children, especially those travelling alone. At JRS, the cornerstone of our work with young people is that these children are...
On Friday, 11th September, we invite you to gather with us at St Aloysius College, B’Kara, for our annual fundraising celebration, Under the Stars. Doors open at 7pm. This event is our yearly event celebrating community, an effort to raise funds for our cause, and an...
We are extremely disappointed that the Equality Minister’s first decision was to wholly ignore human rights NGOs. The Bill to strengthen Malta’s human rights regime and establish a much-needed human rights institution was rushed through Parliament, despite our...
ILGA-Europe have drafted a letter to European Parliament President Roberta Metsola following last week’s shameful scenes at the European Parliament on the occasion of the adoption of the Return Regulation, calling on her to publicly condemn the chanting of the MEPs,...
For a couple of weeks in June the JRS offices had the pleasure of welcoming a group of volunteers from the Boston University. The students participated in job shadowing, received training and joined in on different activities with staff members. As part of our ongoing...
The government of Malta was ordered to pay €5,000 to a teenage asylum seeker for breaching his fundamental rights. Judge Giovanni Grixti ruled that Ayoubah Fona was unlawfully detained as a minor in poor conditions. Lawyer Neil Falzon from aditus foundation, together...
As 2025 draws to a close, we want to thank you for continuing to walk this journey with us, a journey alongside countless refugees and displaced families who long for safety, peace, and a place to belong. Unfortunately, just when the needs are greatest, devastating...
We are deeply concerned at Malta’s statement urging the Council of Europe to explore how to restrict the fundamental human rights of migrants. Packaged as national security measures, the proposals will result in a dramatic lowering of human rights standards in over...
JRS Malta is launching a Call for a Service Contract for the provision of research studies into the lived experiences of asylum seekers and the legal and policy framework regulating access to healthcare for different categories of migrants. This task is part of the...
JRS Malta is teaming up with Jesuits & Friends to launch the latest in a series of our fundraising efforts. This time, we are calling on all running enthusiasts to join the Jesuits & Friends Team at the LifeStar Malta Marathon and help raise funds for JRS in...
This year, on the 112th World Day for Migrants and Refugees, Pope Leo XIV calls on us all to remember the suffering of migrant and refugee children, especially those travelling alone. At JRS, the...
On Friday, 11th September, we invite you to gather with us at St Aloysius College, B’Kara, for our annual fundraising celebration, Under the Stars. Doors open at 7pm. This event is our yearly event...
