VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – Members of the Syrian community in Malta told Foreign Minister Ian Borg about their concerns over calls being made across Europe for Syrian migrants to be repatriated now that there has been regime change in their country.
The Syrian Solidarity Association in Malta said that during a meeting with the minister, it discussed European asylum policies and their impact on Syrians in Malta.
Malta earlier this month joined several other European countries in suspending the processing of asylum applications for Syrians after the downfall of president Bashar al-Assad. Out of the 600 asylum requests last year, 119 were from Syrian nationals – the highest of all the countries.
The Syrian delegation in their meeting with Borg expressed concerns about the prospect of returning Syrians to Syria in the current circumstances.
They underlined the strong family, economic, and social ties that many Syrians in Malta have, the contribution of the Syrian community to Maltese society and how many Syrian children were born in Malta and are part of the Maltese social fabric.
The delegation also raised problems about a lack of official documents for many Syrians in Malta and called for easier access to such documents for Syrians in Malta through diplomatic cooperation.
The delegation expressed its gratitude to the Maltese people for their continued support and urged the Maltese government to maintain its ‘open policies’ towards the Syrian community.
– Photo Ministry for Foreign Affairs Malta –
(ITALPRESS).
