PL thanks US for helping Malta on migrants

The Labour Party in a statement today thanked the United States for taking more refugees from Malta, saying this was a gesture of solidarity which needed to be followed by other countries which spoke a lot about solidarity but hardly practised it.

Party spokesmen George Vella and Luciano Busuttil augured that the migrants would find a good future in the United States.

They said that this humanitarian and noble gesture by the United States also conveyed the political message that the United States was, unilaterally, putting into practice the friendship and reciprocal respect existing between the two countries. In this way it was helping to ease the burden which Malta was carrying because of a growing number of refugees coming to Malta.

They pointed out that the United States was also working with Malta to counter organised crime, drug trafficking and search and rescue, among other areas.

Special appreciation was due to Ambassador Molly Bordonaro, who over the years had shown consistent interest and commitment to help Malta in the case of the migrants.

The United States has been taking several several groups of migrants from Malta. The Times on Wednesday also announced that France will be taking 80 immigrants from Malta.

Contacted by timesofmalta.com, Dr Vella said this was the third time that the US was taking migrants from Malta. He said he also appreciated the fact that France had also said it would take 80 migrants, pointing out, however, that EU countries, in contrast to the US, had a duty to share the burden with Malta.