Malta resettlement

yes,
yesterday the news finally became official: Germany is going to take up 100 refugees from Malta in 2010, mostly from Somalian, Eritean and Sudanese people. I´m really happy to hear Germany is finally showing a little more responsibility towards this issue.
I think of all the young people I have met, desperately hoping for a better life, not really getting a life outside their camps and how hard is was to try to encourage them for patience, keeping on hoping and in the meantime getting as much education as possible when you don´t really know yourself what will happen.
It might be a drop on a hot stone, or rather a cup of water. But it hopefully makes a positive difference for these 100.

In the meantime Frontex warned Malta to advertise too much on resettlement as this would be "exploited by organised crime in Libya to market Malta as the destination to send asylum seekers and irregular immigrants."
Ok, its surely neccessary to be aware of the structures of organised crime who are exploiting the hopes for a better life and will to survive of many people. But first of all we are only talking about resettlement of people who have a protection status which means they are coming from countries which are either war-torn and/or where political persecution is on the daily agenda.
So the choice to leave is not just made upon the information of possible destination countries but also on a will to survive.

The will to survive will find its way.

Organised crime in Libya was also able to flourish, because the EU build up its border control structures, where Frontex is part of, in a way that people are not able to enter the EU regularly and seek asylum and protection.

Moreover, people don´t just get their information from smugglers quoting Maltese government on advertising resettlement programmes. People have networks, use the internet, have friends or relatives who´ve been resettled, etc.

It´s not just a "problem" to be dealt with, or naive victims who´ve been misinformed. WE are people with each individial and collective stories making our choices mostly based on a will to survive and live dignified lives.

People will find their way.