DOCUMENTARY

Hangar of Hal Far

Refugees stranded in Malta.
Photos by Martin Edström

At a makeshift mosque, the Muslim men of the hangar gather for prayer on paper, cardboard and blankets serving as prayer mats.

M alta. An old World War II hangar,

rusted to the core -- but now
home to about two hundred
refugees. They live here. They fled their
African homelands to find a new life in
series of images that documents the lives
of these people, stranded in the middle of
the Mediterranean.

Martin Edström is an award-winning

Europe, and landed on the barren rock of Swedish photographer, specialising both
Malta. in documentary and travel photography.
Due to international regulations, His documentary portfolio includes
many of them get stuck here for years. stories on HIV/AIDS, climate change, third
Some never leave. They keep praying world relief, and the Peruvian Amazon.
beneath the hanger gate, at the very His portfolio, weblog and contact details
border of Europe. Hangar of Hal Far is a are online: martinedstrom.se

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Inside the pink folder this man keeps his identity. His original papers are worthless. The ID for temporary residency in Malta limits everything but staying in place. Like
the rest of the refugees in Hal Far, without asylum, his home will, for now, be the hangar. He has been here for years.

The hangar is a World War II relic left behind by the British, now home to about two hundred men. Most of the men in the hangar are from Somalia, all of them escaping to
Malta through Libya and by boat over the Mediterranean.

Independent World report January/February 2010 39

The concrete yard outside the hangar. It is Christmas time, and whatever sun there is keeps one warm. Inside, there is nothing to keep warm but blankets.

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In 2009, about 15,000 refugees landed in Malta. Thirty-five of them live in this bunkhouse beside the hangar.

In the hangar, the men play on a ruled grid of their own, games being what they have instead of a job.

Independent World report January/February 2010 41

Placed by the toilets, a couple of camping stoves serve food for all the men living in the hangar.

In between irregular food deliveries from the authorities, men are left on their own to gather what they can. With impossible odds of getting jobs, most go hungry in wait-
ing for asylum into Europe.

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Eighteen-year-old Said, went to Sweden for a couple of months. He was shipped back. As his first point of entry into Europe was Malta, it is here he must seek asylum.

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