Monday, July 05, 2010
The group consists of 71 adults and 22 children from Somalia, Sudan, Eritrea, Iraq and Liberia. They will be relocated to 3 towns in France as part of the intra-EU Relocation from Malta (EUREMA) project. The project aims to relocate refugees from Malta to other EU member states.
The refugees had arrived in Malta by boat and had spent up to 5 years in Malta either living in open centres, or private accommodations.
The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) provided a 5-hour orientation class before departure to help the refugees develop realistic expectations of their new lives in France. Upon arrival, they will be sheltered in reception centres for a maximum of 6 months and given housing support, medical care and employment services, during their transition period to self-sufficiency.
They will also be undergoing a year-long integration programme, including language and cultural orientation training.
EUREMA is the largest intra-European resettlement operation with IOM support so far.