Schoolgirls get to know what diversity is about

Girls from Marija Regina Junior Lyceum yesterday heard how a refugee from Sierra Leone and a Maltese with a physical disability struggle to interact and have their rights recognised in society.

Mary Camara, a refugee from Sierra Leone, and Ramona Cassar, a 22-year-old girl with cerebral palsy, told the schoolgirls attending a seminar to find out why society discriminated against people of different races as well as people with a disability who are so-called "abnormal".

The seminar was part of a school outreach programme of the campaign Diversity Strengthens, organised by the Jesuit Refugee Service and the National Commission Persons with Disability (KNPD).

The campaign aims at giving students opportunities to interact with people from different ethnic backgrounds and to come to recognise such differences as strength.

The girls were addressed by the UNHCR's Malta legal consultant Neil Falzon, JRS Assistant Director Katrine Camilleri and André Callus, from the Graffitti Movement.

The students wanted to know what was meant by discrimination and how this concept was different from racism. A girl asked why refugees come to Malta and what they expect to find when they leave their countries of origin.

"Do you leave in a group or do you make plans to meet your family members once you arrive at the destination?" asked another.

Answering the questions, Ms Camara said refugees leave their country because they want to save their own lives and that of their children. "Refugees simply leave their country. Often they do not know where they are heading and only want to find a safe place where to live," she said.

Speaking of equal opportunities for disabled persons, Ms Cassar said that beside the problems of lack of accessibility in public places - such as a lack of ramps for wheelchairs and no toilets for disabled people - people like herself encountered other less obvious problems.

"When a person with disability applies for a job, employers often discard the application when they realise the applicant has a disability," Ms Cassar said.

After the discussion, the students played djembes, traditional African drums, and tested food from another culture.