Byron Camilleri’s callousness – Kevin Cassar
A hard-working single mother of a seven-year-old boy has been put through hell. Identity Malta decided to deport her child because her annual income was only €12,480. Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri was asked about this heart-wrenching case. Without flinching he declared: “We don’t want people to migrate here and live in poverty.” Showing absolutely no emotion, he added: “We have regulations which must be obeyed.” Khatia Pipia had been living in Malta since 2019. She was employed on a full-time basis as a waitress with Strike Ltd. When COVID struck and restrictions were implemented, Pipia’s income dropped. Pipia’s seven-year-old joined his mother in May 2021. She applied for him to live and attend school in Malta. Identity Malta refused her application on the grounds that she wasn’t earning enough. To allow her son to stay, Pipia needed to earn the equivalent of a median wage of €15,354 and an additional 20 per cent for her son. In desperation, Pipia took her case to the Immigration Appeals Board. The board turned down her appeal and decided to deport her son. Pipia’s employer testified that she had been employed since 2019 on a full-time basis on an indefinite contract...