Search and Rescue Is the Search That

Search and Rescue is the search that is done to provide aid to the people who are feeling distressed or any sort of obvious danger. The general field of SAR encompasses many sub-fields that are generally acknowledged by the sort of terrain over which the search has been conducted. The types of terrain include ground search and rescue, which also includes the use of dogs for search and rescue. This is a kind of search and rescue that is done in the urban settings.

Other kinds include the mountain rescue, combat search and rescue that is done on the battlefield and finally the air-sea rescue that is done over water. In this paper, particular importance will be given with respect to the last kind of SAR. In Malta, the responsibility of SAR pertaining to search and rescue comes under the Armed Forces of Malta. This is conducted by the maritime patrol aircraft, vessels that are coordinated and helicopters with control and command by the Rescue Coordination Center (SAR Training Center, 2004).

In intimate collaboration with the U.S. Coast Guard, the AFM also operates an SAR Training Center where International Students are trained for Maritime SAR Mission Coordination and Planning (SAR Seamanship Reference Manual, 2000). Till now, over 30 students from around 15 countries, which includes Cameroon, Albania, Kenya, Equatorial Guinea and Croatia have attended this course. It has also been reported that Malta is holding talks with Libya so that both the countries could make the SAR cooperation among each other better (MaltaMedia News, 2000).

The issue of illegal immigration through the Mediterranean Sea has been an issue that has been considered many times and this is because this sea and the Member States have been used by many illegal immigrants to find their way through Europe, even though they are always aware of the legal implications of this act. According to most of the reports, the Migratory flow has been of a mixed nature.

This means that there are some people who are genuinely seeking asylum; meanwhile the others only want to move out of Africa to Europe in search for better jobs, but do so illegally. These facts have acknowledged by the migratory flow that has been experienced by Malta since the year 2002. Most of these migrants are illegal who have applied or are applying for international protection. Given these statistics, the asylum recognition rate has risen up to about 50% or more.

A lot of pressure, which is more or less disproportionate and substantial, has been placed on the Maltese authorities because of illegal migration. The pressure is both in terms of asylum determination and reception. On the other hand, these challenges have been addressed, the primary points of concern that the Maltese authorities hold are in terms of long-term accommodation and integration of those who have been acknowledged as beneficiaries of international protection, but who do not spend on these illegal migrants (Arteaga, 2007).

At more than one occasion, the Maltese government has complained to the European Union about these illegal migrants but they have not been given any satisfying solution or assistance for this problem. The Armed Forces of Malta that are carrying out SAR have been detaining these illegal migrants in many refugee camps in Malta. Most of these refugee camps are located near Albert Town and Hal Far.

It has been reported that most of the people from Africa and Middle East who try to migrate illegally throw their passports in the Mediterranean Sea and this is what makes it very hard and laborious for the authorities to verify their identity. Almost half of these people do not have the right to stay in Malta, because they are illegal, but they do so.

Apart from being illegal migrants, some of these people have also caused problems for the people living in the neighborhood and especially at Birzebbuga and Marsa. The situation has calmed down as years have passed and now there are almost 5,000 people who are seeking asylum or have attained asylum. On the other hand, there are also some people who have been denied this status.

It should also be noted that there are many illegal immigrants who are living in Malta with expired visas and most of these people belong to the East European and non-EU countries and Asia. The Maltese authorities are also concerned about this situation. A function of the SAR is to identify the security problems that a country might be facing, and another function is to devise ways through which these problems can be solved.

This is called the self-management competence; the skills that an authority or a company should devise to benefit themselves. The mission of SAR at the moment is to focus on the operations that relate to the illegal immigrants and to control this illegal immigration. The focus from thorough surveillance and control of the maritime border has been shifted now.

The shift of priority is self-explanatory of the fact that there has been an exponential increase in the number of people who have migrated to Europe from North Africa and other places. It should be noted here that it is only one of the security issues that have now caught the attention of the European Union at the external borders.

Apart from the flow of illegal migrants, there has also been a lot of movement pertaining to the goods and vessels that needs to be controlled so that the risks of criminal activity, tax fraud, environmental damage, and terrorism and phytosanitary concerns at the border are reduced or prevented. This implies that the strategies of self-management competency have only begun.

There is a need for an assessment of the most up-to-date JSAR techniques and protocols between different countries so that the problem of illegal immigration and other security issues can be solved. Organizations are present all over the SAR spectrum and that makes sure that the joint.