Immigrants donate gloves, scarves

Immigrants residing at the Peace Laboratory, in Hal Far, have donated 100 gloves and 100 scarves, which they knitted, to the elderly at the St Vincent de Paul Residence.

The presentation was made yesterday to coincide with the celebrations marking the fifth anniversary since the Peace Lab opened its doors to shelter asylum seekers after the government and the Church called on organisations to provide a home for them.

Peace Lab director Fr Dionysius Mintoff OFM said: "We opened our doors to Eritrean immigrants who arrived in Malta in 2002 and since then we provided shelter to immigrants that needed a place where to stay. Now the immigrants themselves feel it is time to give back a little of what they received from the Maltese community".

Five years ago, the refugees were locked inside detention centres and now they are part of the Maltese community. The immigrants' gift is an act of love. They worked on the gloves and scarves for hours after work, he said.

The Peace Lab helps the immigrants to integrate further in society by organising lectures about local culture, teaches them languages and helps them find a job. There are a lot of employers who have shown willingness to employ immigrants, Fr Mintoff said.