The comments made by George Abela, President of Malta, and Archbishop Paul Cremona where they drew similar parallels between the shipwreck arrival of St Paul and the illegal arrival of refugees is beyond comprehension and an insult to all Maltese in Malta and abroad.

If I may, I would like to point out the difference even from my far distant home Australia.

First of all, the Maltese have always been forward in coming to give a hand to anyone in distress regardless of skin colour or religious status and they will continue to do so. I was in Malta for the summer of 2008 and I failed to see the similarity with St Paul. What I observed were a lot of healthy black young men dressed in expensive cloths, fancy caps worn back to front and more jewellery than any Maltese women would wear at any given village festa. Oh, yes, did I mention the mobile phones?

Both the President and the Archbishop, along with the so-called leaders of this tiny island, are overlooking the long-term effect of these people invading Malta. It has been reported that the figures show that last year more illegal refugees came to Malta and remained than the number of Maltese babies born in Malta to Maltese couples.

The President must keep in mind that illegal immigrants are a political issue and it should be left to the Maltese people. The Archbishop must remember that Malta is not a Papal state.

One thing we all can say about St Paul and that is that he did not overstay his welcome.

That is the difference.