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...
A new JRS Malta report uncovers shocking levels of exploitation and mistreatment among migrant workers in Malta, including withholding of wages, firing people without due cause, violations of health and safety regulations, and numerous instances of bullying,...
On Friday, 12th 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 year’s event is all about celebrating community – with live music, delicious food, and a raffle...
We are here for you… At JRS we do our best to provide clients with a professional service focused on supporting clients’ needs. We do our utmost to help clients feel respected and supported, as we meet their needs. If however there has been a situation where you have...
JRS Malta is seeking to recruit a Maternity Leave Cover – Advocacy & Administration to work with forced migrants and asylum seekers. The selected candidate will be offered a 6-month definite term full-time contract. As this post is a maternity leave cover, renewal...
JRS Malta is seeking to recruit a LAWYER, to work with asylum seekers and immigrants in Malta. The post is a full-time post, however applications from individuals wishing to work part-time or reduced hours will also be considered. Individuals who cannot work at least...
As we mark Women’s Day this March, I find myself reflecting on the pain and challenges women are facing during these months. I consider the local news, with two women violently murdered between January and March this year.[1] I am mindful of women fleeing their countries with little or nothing because of war, poverty, and on societies built on systems that make women vulnerable. This leads me to a deeper, personal reflection about the women who I encounter in the course of my work as a counsellor with the Jesuit Refugee Service.
In 2021, 41 women seeking asylum arrived on our shores. 205 unaccompanied children, and 43 accompanied children[2], some of whom are girls, are seeking the protection of our community in Malta. I think of their stories, which have entered my heart and will never leave me the same.
Stories of women who have fled forced-marriage, rape and female genital mutilation. Girls who have not been allowed to realise their dreams of education, simply because they are female. Women who have been sold and trafficked to become sex slaves. Women who have become vulnerable in detention centres in Libya, only to find themselves detained once again, traumatised and retraumatised by authorities responsible for their protection.
Women who have been told that what they have been through is not credible, or is not enough to qualify for protection. Women who would like to work and contribute to our society but are not able to access childcare which would allow them to learn our language and eventually find employment.
I acknowledge that the pain overwhelms and disheartens me at times, even if just for a moment. However, I am also overwhelmed by the strength, the resilience and the hope of women in search of a better future, who are actively striving to change their world. Women who carry great pain but still make it a point to laugh, to hope and to love. On this Women’s Day, let us celebrate and find inspiration in the women who continue to stand strong in hope in the face of an increasingly dark world.
Words by Sara Zingariello, Counsellor and Coordinator of the Intake Outreach and Basic Integration Services
[1] https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/malta-to-include-femicide-in-criminal-code-after-paulina-dembska.931654
[2] https://www.unhcr.org/mt/wp-content/uploads/sites/54/2022/02/Malta-Sea-Arrivals-and-Asylum-Statistics_UNHCR_Dec2021.pdf
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...
A new JRS Malta report uncovers shocking levels of exploitation and mistreatment among migrant workers in Malta, including withholding of wages, firing people without due cause, violations of health and safety regulations, and numerous instances of bullying,...
On Friday, 12th 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 year’s event is all about celebrating community – with live music, delicious food, and a raffle...
We are here for you… At JRS we do our best to provide clients with a professional service focused on supporting clients’ needs. We do our utmost to help clients feel respected and supported, as we meet their needs. If however there has been a situation where you have...
JRS Malta is seeking to recruit a Maternity Leave Cover – Advocacy & Administration to work with forced migrants and asylum seekers. The selected candidate will be offered a 6-month definite term full-time contract. As this post is a maternity leave cover, renewal...
JRS Malta is seeking to recruit a LAWYER, to work with asylum seekers and immigrants in Malta. The post is a full-time post, however applications from individuals wishing to work part-time or reduced hours will also be considered. Individuals who cannot work at least...
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...
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...
