The migrant who last month was forced to leave Malta after 13 years living here is seeking to return as a legal worker, according to one of the two lawyers who facilitated his voluntary repatriation back to Ghana in February.

Kusi Dismark is aiming to obtain the correct paperwork to enable him to return to the Maltese islands as a documented legal immigrant worker, Dr Adrian Sciberras of Sciberras Advocates told The Malta Independent on Sunday.

“The plan is to have Dismark eventually return to Malta in a legal way, so he can continue his life on our island,” Sciberras told this newsroom.

Dismark lived in Malta for 13 years before he “willingly agreed to repatriation” instead of facing regular deportation procedures; Dr. Sciberras did not wish to delve further into the conditions under which his client opted to “voluntarily return” to his home country.

Dismark was reunited with his mother after over a decade. Sciberras said that both of them are safe in Ghana before highlighting that diplomatic relations existing between the Maltese and Ghanaian High Commissions helped in expediting this process.

Dismark was detained on 21 January 2024 on the basis of a removal order that was issued in January 2011, 13 years ago, after initially arriving on the Maltese islands as an undocumented migrant. In these 13 years, he had opened a barber shop in Hamrun and had settled down well within the community. He had taken a hairdressing course at MCAST and in 2019, he opened his own hair salon in Ħamrun, which he named “Adamfo Pa” – this translates to “good friend” in his native Twi language.

After being arrested by police while giving a customer a haircut, he was taken to the Safi detention centre, leaving the doors to his self-made salon wide open and his client’s trim unfinished. During his stay in Malta,

Speaking to the Times of Malta on 11 February 2024 when he was detained, Dismark remarked that he was “terrified” and “not mentally prepared to return” as sudden deportation loomed in spite of the life he had built for himself here on the Maltese islands.

In 2023, the International Protection Agency issued 2,065 decisions – only 15% of these cases (a total of 313) were granted refugee status or subsidiary protection, while 10 persons were given Temporary Humanitarian Protection. This compares to a recognition rate of just 6% in 2022 and 8% in 2021, according to statistics provided by UNHCR Malta.

Given Dismark’s circumstances of arrival to the Maltese islands over a decade ago, he did not have the legal protection that is granted to refugees or asylum seekers, despite initially requesting asylum on landing. Sciberras clarified that had he been granted this protection, “he would have not been deported.” As a stateless person in Malta, he was given the right to work in the country and paid taxes and social security contributions, but was barred access to free education and healthcare services.

Clarifying the living situation for stateless persons in the Maltese islands, Sciberras explained that even though these persons “are given ‘temporary’ documents to be able to work, these documents cannot be considered as residence cards.”

“They remain stateless because of the country’s inability to repatriate them for various reasons including lack of diplomatic ties of the original country, or inability to procure travel documents. Some stateless persons that arrive to Malta do not give the full truthful picture or give conflicting versions of their origin and nationality, so that makes it more difficult for the authorities to do their work.” Sciberras said.

A day after the news of Dismark’s repatriation emerged, long-term migrants organised a protest, calling for more stability in their lives on the Maltese islands. The migrants vocalized their frustrations that despite being part of Malta’s economic success, they continue to be marginalised and discriminated against, while living “in constant fear” and uncertainty. They shared that many of them fear that their documents shall one day be withdrawn “for no valid reason”, leaving them potentially facing deportation, exploitation, and an unpredictable turn of events.

Furthermore, these migrants highlighted that they are still vulnerable to facing these realities, even though they have worked side-by-side with Maltese colleagues, filled gaps in labour, and “have contributed to a welfare system that [they] can never be beneficiaries of.”

Collectively, the migrants requested that the government introduces a residence permit for anyone who has been working and living in Malta “for a substantial amount of time”, such as a scheme similar to the withdrawn Specific Residence Authorisation (SRA) or maybe the possibility to be able to apply for a Single Work Permit. They argued that such a measure would give them the stability and legal recognition “to those who have long been integral parts of Malta’s society and economy.”

In this light, Sciberras suggested that “perhaps the time has come for a scheme like this or similar to it to be reopened so that a person like Kusi can be regularised. There are hundreds of so-called ‘failed asylum seekers’.” The SRA was opened by authorities so that they “could address a number of people who were, say, in limbo like Kusi,” before it was stopped. This resulted in a situation where “no further application was being accepted under the SRA” by the end of 2020.

When asked whether long-term migrants such as Dismark should be granted more protection on the Maltese islands, such as legal status, and if such a proposal could be beneficial for the country’s economic model, Sciberras said: “Whilst I dedicate substantial amount of my time working on immigration matters and help with their regularisation or appeals at the respective Immigration Boards, I personally do not agree that migrants who seek better pastures simply come here undocumented.”

He said that “there are ways and means of how to come here as a legal migrant and become an economic worker.” While stating that “Malta does need such people” and that it’s important to protect persons in distress, “There are rules to abide with.”

“If I decide to go to live in a different country, I will first make an informed decision and register myself in the country where I want to take up prospective residence, I do not go without ‘papers’,” he said.

Sciberras concluded his point by posing a question – particularly the many people “writing on social media that we should accept all migrants.” He asked: “If you find an unwanted guest in your back garden, would you let him in your home and feed him?”. Answering his own question, Sciberras said that his initial response to this would come from the human aspect.

“I would accept this person temporarily until such time that he can find his way to continue his journey or go back home,” he said. “This is how the law stands at the moment.”