Asylum seeking and refugee women leave their homes for many reasons. To escape conflict and devastation in their countries, to flee from violence and persecution and situations of severe poverty and destitution. Women and girls are also vulnerable to...
Remembering Lassana | 4th Anniversary of the Racially Motivated Murder
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Joint statement: Malta complicit in unlawful pushbacks at sea
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JRS joins NGOs in letter to the EP calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza
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Joint Civil Society Statement on Article 5 of the EU Screening Regulation
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Joint Statement: Better no pact than compromising on Human Rights and EU Values
On 24-25 October 2023, the directors of 23 JRS country offices met in Brussels for JRS Europe biannual Regional Coordination meeting to exchange experiences and discuss recent developments. Among them, the negotiations on the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum were...
Help us design a national campaign!
The Malta Refugee Council (MRC) has just embarked on a project that will strengthen its capacity and visibility. With the support of the US Embassy in Malta, the MRC will organise a national campaign that speaks positively about refugees in Malta. We will also...
On April 6th, 2019, Lassana Cisse, a 42-year-old man from the Ivory Coast, was shot and killed in Birżebbuġa, Malta, in a racially motivated attack, where two other victims Ibrahim Bah and Mohammed Jallow were also left for dead. The two suspects were identified as off-duty Armed Forces of Malta (AFM) soldiers, who allegedly targeted the victims because of their skin colour. Just a few months before, the same two perpetrators deliberately ran over May Malimi, a young man from Chad, whilst he was also walking in Birżebbuġa. Four years on and Lassana’s family and the other 3 victims are still waiting for the excruciatingly slow wheels of justice to turn, whilst the suspects are out on bail.
This heinous act was intended to terrorise and instil fear within the black migrant community. The self-confidence of the two suspects was fueled by years of political rhetoric and inhumane immigration policies that suggested that migrants of colour and black migrants may be treated as inferior people. For far too long, political discourse and punishing policies have fanned the flames of racial prejudice, while others have condoned such discrimination through their deafening silence.
The Government needs to stress that racism and prejudice will not be tolerated. Only then can we start to see real change in the public and private sectors. The Government must demonstrate its commitment to ensuring that justice is served and that such acts of racial violence will not go unpunished. Words are simply not enough! Whilst the launch of the anti-racism strategy is a step in the right direction, real change requires a transparent review of all structures, policies and social norms, and a concerted effort to address systemic racism at its roots.
aditus foundation has compiled a timeline of the known instances of institutional neglect and racialised violence that records Malta’s long and shameful history in its treatment of migrants and asylum-seekers that have reached our shores since 2002. This shocking and shameful timeline speaks for itself.
The killing of Lassana is a tragic reminder that we must continue to fight against all forms of racism and bigotry. We stand in solidarity with the family and friends of Lassana, the other 3 victims, and all those who have been affected by racial violence.
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aditus foundation and Jesuit Refugee Service (Malta) are extremely saddened by the recent news of yet another tragedy at sea that resulted in several people dying. We are further upset by Malta’s treatment of the survivors. According to news sites that we are unable...
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On Sunday 18 February, 25 local organisations are calling on the Maltese authorities to prevent further human rights violations and deaths in the Mediterranean Sea.The Mediterranean Sea remains one of the deadliest border spaces in the world. Tens of thousands of...
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Joint Press Statement by aditus Foundation, Jesuit Refugee Service Malta, Moviment Graffitti and SAR (Search and Rescue) Malta Network Shocking details of the complicity of the Maltese state in coordinating pushbacks to Libya from Malta’s search and rescue zone...
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