­Compassion is not enough

Bridget Ezukuse, a surviving migrant, told The Sunday Times (August 19) how she lost Celestine, her 32-year-old husband and father of her unborn child. She was one of 68 immigrants rescued from a dinghy that had left Libya a week earlier. Her frustration and loneliness were expressed in the words: “I’m all alone now... I have nowhere to go and nowhere to stay”.

Iyahen Sunday, who was on the same dinghy, also lost his 22-year-old wife, who died just when the group was finally rescued. He also expressed his frustration in similar words: “I don’t have anybody else in this whole world. I don’t know where to start. They rescued me from the dead, but I wish I died with my wife”, he exclaimed, painfully.

Here they are now, on our island. Now starts our responsibility. These two broken families who met with tragedy are at the mercy of justice.

Life ahead of them seems completely devastating and meaningless. How are we, as a nation to respond to such situations?

How heartening it was to learn that Police Sgt Major Charles Galea, who manages Lyster Barracks in Ħal Far, reassured Ezukuse that she would receive all the necessary help to secure her welfare and that of her unborn child. These are the good Samaritans who are ready to go that extra mile to help the helpless.

Let us offer a helping hand to these unfortunate brothers and sisters. Let us not allow these moments of grace to pass by. Every problem we face as a nation is an opportunity for us to show the rest of the world that we care, that we practise what we preach.

Once these people landed on our island, it is our responsibility to see to their needs and offer them hope of a bright future. “These people are not prisoners and we do our utmost to ensure we give them their dignity,” Sgt Major Galea remarked.

Compassion is not enough. Let their new beginning start here, in Malta. Let us be the ones who are able to put a smile back on their faces. We send so much money abroad to help the poor and the miserable in faraway lands.

So many volunteers go to the missions to help those in need. Can’t we afford to offer a little bit of help for these people who happen to land in Malta?

Let us therefore, as a nation, irrespective of which party we belong to or which religion we practise, show one and all that these poor souls are precious human beings created in the image and likeness of God and therefore, deserve our love and support.