 I come from Malta, a nation in the centre of the Mediterranean Sea. I am living proof of the strength that comes from the diversity of cultures and the movement of peoples connected across regions. However, the expanding diversity of our global societies is being portrayed with growing hostility, pointing the finger of blame at the migrant who is considered the newcomer, the stranger, the outsider. According to data from IOM, for 2016, over 4,600 people have been reported dead or missing in the region. When I was Minister, I met a seven-year-old Syrian boy named Mohammed, who was a survivor who had seen his entire family drown in the Mediterranean in October 2013. The child was saved by a 30-year-old Syrian man who might have drowned himself but did all he could to save Mohammed's life. The smile on little Mohammed's face when he was reconnected with his uncle stays with me to this day. The international community must not allow a generation of people to be abandoned, lost in an environment of unrest and open to the threat of radicalisation. I see it. Two parts are opening up for us. One leads deeper into alienation and despair, back to a past we thought we had outgrown. The other leads us forward with a message of hope. I refuse to accept that this period of anxious uncertainty will define our future. I have too much faith in humanity. Malta recognises that we must act to implement effective and efficient measures which acknowledge the concerns of individuals and communities in Europe and uphold the human dignity of migrants and refugees.