Forty refugees from Eritrea and Somalia left Malta to start a new life in America this week as part of the US Embassy’s permanent refugee resettlement programme.

Since the embassy began its programme in May 2008, 540 refugees have been resettled in the US. The latest group of refugees will be resettled in different cities.

“The programme represents a small contribution by the people of the US to help alleviate the world’s suffering. We all have a role we can play to help those in need if we act with the courage in our hearts,” US Ambassador Douglas Kmiec said during a reception he hosted at his residence to welcome the refugees to their new lives in America.

Once they arrive in the US, each refugee will be assigned a sponsor agency providing initial services such as housing, food, clothing, referral to medical care, employment services and other support during a transition period lasting up to two years to ensure integration and assimilation.

He praised the Maltese, such as lawyer Yanika Bugeja, who stood up to defend the rights of a migrant against inappropriate comments, “demonstrating the ability of all of us to make a difference, one day, and one incident at a time”.

Prof. Kmiec recited a portion of the poem by Emma Lazarus, inscribed at the base of the Statue of Liberty in New York harbour, welcoming new immigrants to the US: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…”

These words, he said, represented the best qualities of the US. He urged the refugees to embrace their new home, learn and respect its ways and enrich modern American history with their own culture, faith and tradition.

The programme is a collaboration between the government, the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the International Organisation for Migration and the people of the US.