Mid-Dlam ghad-Dawl, the organisation working with prisoners and former inmates, is working with other groups in an EU-sponsored project aimed at finding the causes of hate crimes and reducing them as much as possible.

Fr Mark Montebello, who runs the organisation, said the programme was being led by London Probation and organisations from Holland, Germany, Northern Ireland and Bulgaria were taking part. It is supported by the AGIS programme from the Directorate General Justice, Freedom and Security.

Jackie Nink Pflug, the American woman who was shot in the head during the 1985 Egypt Air hijack in Malta that ended in a bloodbath after the aircraft was stormed by Egyptian commandos, has been brought over to Malta by Mid-Dlam ghad-Dawl in connection with Xarabank, as part of this initiative.

Fr Montebello said there was a degree of hate crime in Malta which often tended to be disguised beneath other crimes. "We have a degree of crime related to hate, race and political creed. We had a lot of the latter in the 1980s but have far fewer of this now. But crimes such as arson may often have hate as a motive," he said.

Ms Pflug said she wanted to convey a message of hope and courage.

Xarabank presenter Peppi Azzopardi said: "When one understands what she went through, being on a hijacked plane, being selected to be shot, seeing two others being shot before you, and waiting for a number of hours for your turn, before being shot and thrown on the tarmac, and surviving the traumatic experience, one begins to understand that hope should reign over despair in all circumstances".