“There has been no news whatsoever regarding the case of Lassana Cisse, who was killed in a drive-by shooting in Hal-Far on 6 April, and that in itself is worrying,” the director of the Foundation for Shelter and Support to Migrants, Ahmed Bugre, has told The Malta Independent on Sunday.

Lassana Cisse, a 42-year-old from Ivorian, was brutally killed on 6 April as he was walking along a road between Birzebbuga and the Hal Far Open Centre, where he would visit friends to see that they were adjusting to life in Malta. Two other men, a 22-year-old from Guinea and a Gambian 28-year-old, were also shot, but have since recovered.

Bugre said that the lack of news almost a month later was troubling, adding that migrants were unsure whether they should be afraid or what they should say to someone. He noted that many migrants living in Hal Far found it ‘difficult’ to walk down that street.

“This is people’s fear being manifested,” he said.

“It is unacceptable that nothing concrete has been said by the authorities in terms of publicly owning the issue, or even a minister specifying that the matter is being looked into,” he said.

“It is a very serious crime against an innocent person unless proven otherwise. There is nothing, as far as we know, to indicate that Lassana had any conflict or issue with anyone. That is worrying and very, very concerning because it is like life goes on, but it shouldn’t be that way.”

“It is not just that justice has to be seen to be done – the process of investigation and the seriousness of the case have to be seen and brought to the fore.”

Asked who, in cases such as this where the victim has no family on the island, represents people like Lassana to keep authorities on their toes, Bugre said that it is mostly NGOs and community groups who take on this responsibility.

NGOs such as the foundation he leads step in to follow up on cases such as these, but Bugre said that it was becoming difficult to deal with the Maltese authorities, which consider them to be troublemakers.

He said that it was worrying that there was no national mechanism or system in place to protect the rights of persons within minority or vulnerable groups who are aggrieved by a certain matter.

Asked what such a system should consist of, Bugre said that the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality should at least provide a desk or office, where people from minority groups could seek help and be taken seriously.

“I do not think it exists for Maltese people either; but the Maltese have friends and family who can apply pressure – but who do migrants have?

“Were it not for people like us, who have lived here for a long time and keep on talking and creating enemies, then there would be nobody.”