Detainees at the Hal Far and Safi compounds staged a day-long protest yesterday and the tense situation was defused after the Armed Forces allowed five of their representatives to speak to the media.

No one was injured during the protests.

The first incident took place at the Hal Far compound at about 9.30am when around 80 immigrants broke out of the compound to stage a protest near the roundabout at the airport’s entrance.

They streamed out of the main gate, waving placards and posters that more or less had one common message “give us freedom”.

The protesters waited for the media to arrive and by that time a sizeable police and army contingent had gathered at the scene. Sources said the detainees offered no resistance and they were escorted back to the compound on foot.

An AFM helicopter was seen hovering low over the compound to follow anyone who might have attempted to escape. The majority, however, simply waited for their fellow detainees to return, although some took to the rooftops, waving and shouting at the media.

The immigrants were eventually ushered into the compound but there were some tense moments when the overzealous immigrants tried to approach the media that had gathered on a roundabout on the main road adjacent to the compound.

The immigrants showed no aggressiveness and merely wanted direct contact with newspaper and television reporters. However, no sooner was the incident over that reports filtered through saying that another protest was being staged at the Safi barracks.

The media rushed to the site and they were met with similar scenes at around 10.30am. Some soldiers at Safi barracks said that immigrants had torn down a fence that had just been repaired. The protest was peaceful, with all the detainees asking to speak with journalists. This newspaper and a few other media reporters relayed a message back to the immigrants saying that we were willing to speak to one of them on condition that the other protestors returned to their quarters.

The situation was resolved some four hours later. However a lot of negotiating had to be done by Lt Colonel David Gatt and his officers in order to defuse the situation. After a lot of discussion, the AFM came back to us and said that all immigrants wanted to stay outside to speak to the journalists, a demand flatly turned down by the media representatives present. Eventually, five detainees were chosen (to represent the different nationalities in the compound).

The AFM were thoroughly professional throughout and did use any truncheons, shields or even helmets at any time. They employed dialogue throughout and did not inflame the situation in any way. They allowed the immigrants to protest, but they stopped them from overstepping any lines.

At about 2.45 pm, the protestors went back to their accommodation blocks, after which the media put questions to five young men – one each from Ghana, Liberia, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Sudan.

None of them was over the age of 30 and the youngest was 20 years old. The men said that their only concern was freedom. “One year and six months is just too much. We understand that our case must be processed, but it is just too long and the conditions are not good. Some of us have been detained for eight months without even being granted an interview for refugee or humanitarian status.”

He said that he and others were not willing to return to their countries of origin at present. “There are civil wars in Liberia, Sudan and many other places. The people of Eritrea and Ethiopia are politically oppressed. All we want is to be free. That is why we came to Europe,” he pleaded.

One of them said that many detainees wanted to head into mainland Europe. “But others want to stay in Malta. We want to work, we want to be treated as human beings. I did not get on a boat and risk my life for nothing. I want to make a life for myself,” he said.

The men also complained about the food, saying that it was not of good enough standard.

“When the soldiers used to cook for us we were happy, they cooked good food for us. But the stuff they are getting now from outside is not good and we are not eating it,” he said.

He said that the soldiers at Safi treated them well.

“But the environment is not good and neither is the food. Those are basic things that we need. We have no medical care here either and sometimes we have to wait for two months before we are taken to hospital. We are not criminals,” he said.

The five agreed that life would be much easier within the compound if they had something to do. “A pack of cards, a decent football pitch and above all, Maltese language lessons are some of the things we ask for. We want to learn your language, we want to speak to you in your language, it is very important,” he added.

The five men also agreed that they would even be happy taking up government jobs, such as street cleaning or fixing pavements for payment.

“At least we would get some money, do something productive and alleviate the boredom. Our day is a bit of football and television. Period, all day, every day,” another immigrant added.

TMID also asked about tensions within the camp due to nationality.

“You see us here in front of you, five men from different countries and with different beliefs, yet we are united in our quest for freedom,” one of the immigrants said.

Asked to give a message to the people of Malta, they said: “The people of Malta are nice, they are friendly, beautiful people, even the soldiers that are with us here. Most of us are just visitors passing by,” he said. He added: “Life is so sweet. Yet it is nothing without freedom,” he said.

The five men, on behalf of all detainees, appealed for the people of Malta to put pressure on the government to change the detention laws and introduced a faster processing time for asylum seekers.