Agnes Mudembo is no ordinary woman. A mother of three currently following a Bachelors’ Degree in Nursing on Full Time basis at the University of Malta at 42 years old is already something admirable. As a nursing student myself, I’ve met Agnes online during lectures for the past couple of months and I can say that she is a respectful, caring and dedicated woman who is eagerly studying for a better and more satisfying career. But as an extremely empathic and sensitive woman, through her eyes I could easily feel a lot of internalised pain. So through wham we sat down and attempted to uncover what was wrong. That was when we discovered that the source of her pain has to do with Identity Malta and its unjust waiting for family unification approval.
Agnes explained that back in October 2019 she received refugee status due to the threat of harm in her own country, and just two months later she applied for permission to fly her children over, as entitled to do. See, Agnes has 3 children: 2 girls and a boy, who are still living in her home country, but unfortunately, her youngest doesn’t even know her. She had to leave her country when her daughter was just one year old. This July her daughter turns 7.
Upon applying for family unification with Identity Malta almost two years ago, Agnes and her husband were asked to show proof that the residence they are living in can accommodate her whole family, so for this reason they moved into a bigger flat right away. However, since then, they have been paying higher rent monthly to no avail, as their application has not yet been accepted.
Agnes admits that all this waiting has been affecting her a lot. She has not been with her children for 6 years now, and the thought of her children being so far from her especially due to the current COVID-19 situation is tearing her apart. She constantly finds herself worrying about what could happen to them while they are alone.
Agnes deserves to know the truth. Two years for either an acceptance or denial is way too much. In my opinion, this long waiting game by Identity Malta is unjust. Her future depends on Identity Malta ‘s decision. She is working for a better future for herself and her family, and as a future nurse she can provide our country with much needed dedicated healthcare service. But she needs to know whether or not her application is going to be approved, as if not, she will have no option other than to go back to her country and leave her family’s future “in God’s hands”.
Through this article we would like to appeal to Identity Malta for compassion and empathy towards Agnes’s case and other cases like hers. Agnes needs answers fast. If need be we offer to facilitate communication between Identity Malta and herself, so as to help her understand how best to proceed. As a country we cannot state that we want to encourage foreigners to come work here and yet make it hard for them to have their families unified, as this causes unnecessary suffering. We invite Identity Malta to communicate with us on this case with Agnes’s permission by sending us an email on [email protected].
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Claire Galea is a mum of three currently reading for a Degree in Nursing at the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Malta, as a mature student. She is keen about holistic patient-centered care as well as public education about health-related subjects, which she frequently writes about on Wham as a Content Writer and Website Editor.
Claire is also passionate about spreading awareness on the negative effects that domestic abuse leaves on its victims’ mental, emotional, social and physical wellbeing. She is the author of two downloadable ebooks, namely Heal Your Life Forever and 5 Simple Steps To Creating The Life Of Your Dreams.
Click here to check out Claire’s full bio as well as a list of all her Wham published articles
