President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca speaking yesterday.

The President said yesterday she was convinced that “out of terror, we will emerge stronger”.

Speaking to diplomats at the traditional New Year greetings ceremony, President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca said the unprecedented terrorist attacks in Paris were an assault on freedom and democracy.

However, the aftermath of these horrible events should not be a clash of cultures.

“I am convinced that out of terror, we will emerge stronger. Let us stand up and make sure that we will not allow our democracy to be weakened by extremists coming from wherever they come.

“May this year be a year that can be remembered and celebrated in time for our strong commitment to establish ongoing peaceful dialogue between peoples of different cultures,” Ms Coleiro Preca said.

Earlier in her speech she noted that bloodshed continued to spill in neighbouring Libya, Syria and Iraq, with conflicts giving rise to the emergence of the Islamic State.

“Of particular significance are the biblical numbers of displaced people fleeing these war-torn countries, mostly women and children, who have either found refuge in Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan or crossed borders to Libya to proceed with their journey towards Europe,” she said.

Malta’s plight, together with Mediterranean countries like Italy and Greece, should be heard by the international community, so that these trips do not become a tragic end to many hopes and lives.

“This human devastation is further compounded by the fact that those who survive the ordeal are faced by poverty.

“Migrants’ poverty is also increased by racist discourses which render them as the perceived threat to jobs,” Ms Coleiro Preca said.

Moreover, marginalisation and being a grossly underpaid – and possibly even an unpaid – reserve workforce, bred further poverty, she added.

In a bid to change the lives of these persecuted migrants, people needed to realise why had left their country, Ms Coleiro Preca said.

Meanwhile, the rivalry between the two parliaments in Libya increased the tension to the already chaotic situation in the country, paving the way for more migrants to cross the Mediterranean for a safer place.

Malta had every interest to see neighbouring Libya regain its political stability through democratic ways that would safeguard freedom and restore constitutional governance for all, the President said.