More refugees head for the United States

31 refugees from Eritrea and Somalia have left Malta for resettlement in the United States, raising the number of refugees resettled in the US from Malta to 571.

The refugees will be resettled in several different cities across the U.S.

Ambassador Douglas Kmiec hosted a reception for the refugees at his residence . He said that the Refugee Resettlement programme represented a small contribution by the people of the United States to help alleviate the world's suffering. This programme was a success thanks to the collaboration of the Malta Government and the hard work of the staff at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the International Organization for Migration and the people of the United States of America.

"It is hard to imagine a responsible programme dealing with migrants without UNHCR, IOM and dedicated non-governmental organizations like the Jesuit Refugee Service and the Emigrants Commission," the ambassador said.