Illegal immigrants' children enrich education

The majority of asylum seekers and refugees are women and children. Stripped of the protection of their governments, homes and families, they are particularly vulnerable.

The Peace Lab stresses that the welfare of refugee children is one of our chief concerns. We believe it is vital that they are given the benefit of mainstream education.

Asylum procedures should take account of this fact when dealing with refugee children. There should be no segregation of refugee children for education purposes. They should be taught in mainstream schools.

With a new academic year and a new school roll of hundreds of child-ren, the prospect of 50 new pupils, many of them traumatised by war or hunger, and lacking language skills should be a daunting one.

But our education department and its staff may look at it as a challenge - and an opportunity to put their Catholic ideals and beliefs into practice. A particular school may be chosen with a new scheme to help in this direction.

It will be a privilege for the school to be able to live out its faith and to have the chance to behave with chairty. Both the indigenous and the refugee children may benefit.

Many countries will be represented among the newcomers including Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Iraq, Pakistan, Algeria, Morocco. Many of the children who arrive know very little English and many of them will have received little or no formal education.

As soon as they are admitted to our schools they should be assessed for their competence in language and then we do everything we can to hurry them through so they can join mainstream classes and learn to socialise.

We believe that once they mingle with their peers, their language skills develop very quickly and after a few months the original refugee children will become completely fluent and will be able to help with the new arrivals.

But while we are delighted with their progress we are strong believers that we will be equally thrilled with the impact the newcomers will have on the school as a whole.

Here in Malta our experience of other African cultures is relatively limited and our pupils will gain immeasurably from the beliefs and cultures of these youngsters.

They will be exposed to some pretty formidable talent too. Recently I read the biography of Elis Suferi's hat-trick for the school football team winning them a first-every place in the Glasgow schools championship. Elis lived in a fostering family after being dumped alone in Glasgow off the back of a lorry.

Little is known about his background except that his father was dead and that his mother had him smuggled out to save his life after his home had been bombed twice. He was a surprisingly well-adjusted boy, despite the traumas, and his football skills have earned him a superstar status in the sports planet.

From what I can gather from TES magazine, after years of having little or no opportunity to learn, the newcomers in British schools have thrown themselves into their studies with dedication and enthusiasm. Many are top of their classes, and as they begin to work their way up through the school they are considering applying for university.

A very happy and rewarding challenge to put their Chistian ideals into practice.

Fr Mintoff is the the founder and director of the John XXIII Peace Lab, Hal Far