It has taken me a while to write part two of the visit to the Marsa Centre because I found it difficult to express my contrasting views on the experience.
When we arrived at the Centre, I still had in mind some of the enthusiastic comments I had heard a day earlier during the debate and my expectations were high. As we arrived, the reason why Terry Gosden had been adamant about feeling so far from what he would like to achieve in Marsa, became immediately clear. To my eyes the building, which was once a school, seemed to be in “the middle of nowhere�. In the courtyard several young guys were standing, some of them were chatting, others playing football and others just seemed to be waiting…….!
We were greeted in Terry’s office and accompanied in the main living space where they have organised a small bar and a TV corner, which at that moment showed football matches. Then we were given the chance to talk to people and look around. They were obviously curious about the purpose of our visit, but seemed used to people going to the centre. Some of them hoped we were sent by other EU governments to choose some of them to take to our countries! We were a disappointment indeed!
I talked to a guy who showed me around and translated for others as well. A few asylum seekers complained they had not managed to see a lawyer yet to make sure their cases were heard properly and feared they could be sent back to the country of origin. A family who had been sent back from another EU country according to the Dublin Convention, worried about the future of their children and the fact that they were not attending school in Malta.
Showing me and other colleagues around some of them underlined the problems coming from the fact that so many people have to share the same room (once class rooms), that the bathrooms are outdoor, that certain parts of the buildings have no working lights, etc…… They knew they were free to go out and find a job, but they claimed it was really difficult for them to actually find one in Malta.
It was clear now, that this place was not what I expected. I started wondering whether it was the fact of being used to the extreme conditions of certain closed detention centres that made other people describe this place as an example to follow! But I also realised that they probably referred to the potential of this place. Given the situation, the migrants in the centre and their guide Terry were actually trying their best. With time and more support this place could turn into the model Terry Gosden has in mind and manage to become a useful place of transition were people can recover from the experience of their journey and regain the necessary confidence to start taking care of their own lives again. Clearly, a great obstacle to their empowerment is their often unclear legal position and lack of future prospects. The management of the Marsa Centre cannot be left alone in this and I think needs help to be able to let people help themselves.