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Tuesday, February 21, 2017

A migrant facing deportation to Ghana as a result of the government's decision to review humanitarian protection laws has taken his own life, Times of Malta has learnt.



Frederick Ofosu died early Sunday morning.

Frederick Ofosu, who is in his early 30s, was found strangled with an electric cable in a Qawra building site on Saturday night.

He left a recorded message for friends explaining his despair, saying he was being forced to feel like a criminal when he had done no wrong.

Ahmed Bugri, director for the Foundation for Shelter and Support for Migrants, who identified the victim together with an embassy official, said the government's decision to review the so-called THPn system had forced him to the edge.

He was one of the estimated 1,200 migrants who fall under the so-called Temporary Humanitarian Protection-New (THPn) statuses to failed asylum seekers.

In November, the Home Affairs Ministry suspended the renewal of those holding THPn status, a move which incensed human rights organisations.

Migrants who fall into this category have been given until October 31 to start making arrangements to procure all the required documentation from their country of origin.

But human rights organisations say the scheme will require hundreds to comply with requirements the ministry knows they are unable to meet, including procurement of identification documentation and the labour market test.

 
A protest was held last month appealing for the government to change its stand. Photo: Steve Zammit Lupi

Mr Ofosu came to Malta eight years, forced out of Ghana because of extreme poverty, Dr Bugri said. He worked for a number of years, but after he lost his job he was faced with a number of demands from the authorities, including documentation he could never provide.

Last year, Mr Ofosu was handed a one-year suspended sentence by magistrate Charmaine Galea after pleading guilty to causing damage to a St Paul's Bay apartment.
Forcing people to live in constant fear is inhumane and for some, a death sentence


Looming in a world of indecision, and driven to despair amid rising rents, many migrants are now resorting to drastic measures, Dr Bugri warned, adding there had been a rise in admissions to Mount Carmel.

"Frederick's death has sent shockwaves among the migrant community, especially in Marsa. It will traumatise those that aren't stable."

Maria Pisani, director of Integra Foundation underlined the ticking bomb.

"Where individuals had some semblance of stability and security, they have now been thrown into chaos, and live in constant fear that they may be returned to the country that they fled."

Dr Pisani said the case of Malians who were detained for three months before being released last week, demonstrated the complexity of return.

"Not everyone can access documents, and so they are being condemned to this limbo - a state of foreboding and fear."

"We simply cannot allow this to continue to happen. Forcing people to live in constant fear is inhumane and for some, a death sentence."

Earlier this month, Times of Malta, Malta Today and The Malta Independent a took a joint stand to call on the government to review Malta's arbitrary system of Temporary Humanitarian Protection, which they said has effectively put the lives of hundreds of migrants in limbo.

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