On Human Rights Day
Times of Malta reported in this article that migrant women have been moved from the Dar il-Liedna centre in Fgura to the men’s centre in Hal Far. The reason behind this move was that the women’s centre was becoming overcrowded, and so a ‘temporary’ move was needed until space could be made available again in Dar il-Liedna or elsewhere. Security measures have been set in place in Hal Far: In order to cater for this temporary arrangement, a boundary wall was constructed separating the men’s compound from the women’s compound, floodlights installed for extra security at night, and female security guards had also been deployed. It all seems planned out and under control, right down to the women’s own ‘private sanitary facilities’, but one basic and essential action was forgotten: the women themselves '[were not] told why they needed to move to the area in Hal Far'. Why weren’t they told? They had every right to know - more of a right than anyone else, in fact. Perhap...