Three migrants return home under new assistance programme

Three Sudanese migrants left Malta this week to return to their country under a new Assisted Voluntary Return programme, called DAR, co-funded by the European Commission.

The aim of DAR is to ensure that a migrant's return home is sustainable and the individual will be able to make a living in his own country. For this purpose counselling and some training is provided before departure (currently a business start-up course is being run at the Marsa Open Centre) and re-integration assistance is given when they return. Re-integration is being handled by the IOM (International Organization for Migration) office in the receiving country.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement expressed its gratitude to the Ambassador of Sudan in Tripoli for his cooperation in this project and to the British authorities, both in Malta and the UK, for their advice and assistance to the project team.

Another immigrant, from Ghana, is scheduled to leave Malta though Project DAR, towards the middle of this month.

"It is expected that these departures will encourage a number of other immigrants to do likewise; some are merely waiting for the feedback from these first returnees before taking the plunge" the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.