Rats and cramped conditions: life inside the Ħal Far open centre

Concerns about poor hygiene, sever overcrowding and rat and cockroach infestations were all flagged in a report about the “extremely challenging” conditions at an open centre in Ħal Far. The account by the European Council on Refugees and Exiles, published earlier this year, paints a bleak picture of living conditions in the island’s main hosting centre for asylum seekers. It sheds light on life inside the centre which was wrecked by a riot on Sunday night. A visit to the centre the morning after Sunday’s riot exposed urine-soaked passageways between housing units, and garbage and vermin throughout the complex.  [attach id=782412 type="video"]A desolate-looking centre on Monday morning, hours after the riots. Video: Ivan Martin [/attach] The report also says that the location of most centres, in a remote area of Malta, left migrants isolated. According to NGOs regularly visiting the centres, the situation has not improved for years and the living conditions in the reception centres remain deplorable, especially in Ħal Far. Residents complain that the units they sleep in are inadequately insulated, leaving them hot in the summer and cold in winter. The report criticised the poor...