Work Goes On With Malta Refugees

Wednesday September 2

^{The Rev Kim Hurst in the Out of Africa... Into Malta foodbank}

The ongoing crisis caused by people attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea into Europe, which has generated so many headlines, distressing pictures and political rows  this year, is something the Mediterranean island of Malta is well-accustomed to.

St Andrew’s Church, the joint Church of Scotland and Methodist church based in the Maltese capital Valetta, has provided help to the migrants and refugees arriving on the island for over 10 years, and since 2010 has run the ‘Out of Africa… into Malta’ project – a project supported by the Church of Scotland Guild in its most recent three-year cycle.

The church’s minister, the Rev Kim Hurst, says: “We are partners with a charity called MOAS (Migrant Offshore Aid Station) which is actually out there on the ocean saving lives.

“Few of the recent migrants have come to Malta, just those requiring medical treatment and the dead. It was a very moving experience to be part of the funeral service for the migrants who died in the disaster in April. The 24 coffins of the young men who lost their lives each represented so many more, for whom there was no coffin and the one white coffin of a young boy stood out as a timely reminder that it is not just adults but young people and children who lose their lives in these troubled waters.”

However, the work goes on with the people who have reached the island, who the church supports with finance, with education and food aid.

Peter Lloyd, church treasurer and chairman of the charity’s Malta Microfinance offshoot, says: “Our Blue Door English language class resumes at the start of October and there are between 70 and 80 students taking part.

“The vast majority, around 80% of the students are male and come from Somalia and Sudan. Since Malta Microfinance began in September 2013 funded by the Guild, we have helped 26 people move out of sub-standard accommodation into flats; helped eight attend technical college and two of them are already planning their own businesses.

“We have already helped 12 start their own businesses and in every case, none of these borrowers would have been able to get a loan from a regular bank.

“The foodbank we started recently is feeding around five or six families a week, as food is provided in detention centres but when people get their own flats they might need help for a while.

“Being able to speak English in Malta is essential to finding work and integrating into society.”

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