Show of solidarity with the Jesuits

African men played table soccer and cooked traditional food as Maltese students washed cars while hundreds of people mingled at St Aloysius College yesterday in a show of solidarity with the Jesuit Community.

Past and present students, together with parents felt compelled to organise a "solidarity and tolerance fest" three weeks after seven vehicles belonging to the Jesuits were torched inside the school grounds.

Though the perpetrators have not been traced yet, the police believe the attack was connected to the Jesuits' work with refugees.

"We know the majority of Maltese are against what we do with refugees but we are determined to continue working for the respect of human dignity. Nothing will stop us," the rector, Fr Patrick Magro said.

The losses sustained in the March 13 arson attack were substantial. Two of the seven vans will cost over Lm16,000 to replace and one of the burnt vehicles was packed with musical equipment worth over Lm2,000. The equipment was used during Mass.

Parents of students were quick to come to the rescue and some even offered their vehicles to the community while several people offered donations during yesterday's event.

Fr Magro said it was unfortunate that the Jesuits' work among refugees field was riddled with misconceptions. "A lot of people tell us we want to bring immigrants to Malta, when this is clearly not the case," he said.

The rector underlined the need for education about the plight of refugees in order for the public not to reach the wrong conclusions - and this was why the Jesuits introduced initiatives such as the Arrupe programme.

While thanking those present, Fr Magro stressed the need for solidarity with refugees.

Speaking to The Times, refugee Tesfamichael Baraki admitted that the xenophobic sentiment has worsened in the three years he has been in Malta.

"Being a Christian, I feel I have to accept a person who is in need. I was sorry I had to leave my country. I'm qualified in agriculture, I wanted to make a career there, but I had to flee because of the war."

The 35-year old Eritrean added: "In reality though, for many asylum seekers, Malta is not a destination. I landed on a boat with 60 people - only four of us remain in Malta".

Still, Mr Baraki said he was touched with the support and solidarity shown by several hundreds yesterday. Fr Paul Pace, director of the Jesuit Refugee Service, explained the uphill struggle his organisation faced in light of the number of irregular immigrants.

Were the detainees at the detention camps right in criticising NGOs for failing to see to their needs?

"We are doing our utmost. We have a full-time social worker who has to go around nine different centres with 1,500 detainees, each of whom has problems. We have two volunteer doctors and an English language teacher. But sometimes it takes us months to get the green light to access the detention camps," Fr Pace said, in a frustrated tone.