Illegal immigrants attend physical education classes

The Peace Laboratory of Hal Far will be marking World Refugee Day on Monday with a presentation of certificates to illegal immigrants who participated in physical education or sports activities over the past months.

The illegal immigrants have been trained for the past 10 months by volunteer Hosam Hanna Abbas Fares, who holds a degree in physical education and whose stay in Malta was sponsored by the universities of London and Cairo.

Peace Lab. director Fr Dionysius Mintoff said that while the Lab. was always against detention, it never considered it a good idea to have refugees roaming aimlessly in the streets as this could lead to problems.

"Putting labour in the cycle is not in itself a solution. The work-eat-sleep routine rids the body of its soul," he said.

It was with this in mind that the Peace Lab. sought the assistance of universities abroad to provide the immigrants with a volunteer instructor providing physical education.

Immigrants were also provided with workshops in English, drama and woodwork.

Fr Mintoff said that with respect to this year's theme of courage for World Refugee Day, it took courage to leave one's country and set out to find a better future but it took even more courage to persevere in working for this goal.