Editorial

There is poverty that is so manifest, as is the case in South East Asia following the Boxing Day catastrophe, that one is automatically moved by one's natural instinct to help, materially or otherwise.

But then there is also that type of poverty the existence of which one would not readily acknowledge. And, yet, poverty does exist in our country and it is on a level with other European countries. Malta reflects the EU situation: 14.9 per cent of the Maltese population (and 20.6 per cent of children) are at risk of poverty as opposed to the EU's 15 per cent (21 per cent of children).

It depends how one defines poverty. In our world, the poor may be the ignorant, the voiceless, those that lack "connections". But even being unable to afford to eat out or have a weekend holiday once a year has been quoted as a sign of poverty. The report on Family Poverty And Social Exclusion, presented by the National Commission for the Family, attempted to obtain a clear picture on the situation of poverty and social exclusion in Malta. The very title gives an indication of where and how the wind blew.

"The study indicates how we can prevent poverty. Some measures can be introduced without a lot of financial expenditure by making optimum use of existing services," Fr Charles Tabone, one of the compilers, said. In other words, our social assistance must be more carefully tailored, monitored and delivered. We must not make mistakes or we will help those who least need the help while leaving the more indigent beyond the pale of mercy.

It is a well-observed fact of reality that the real poor are loath to part with their dignity and feel stigmatised by their situation, preferring to conceal it rather than asking for help.

The breaking up of families can mean poverty at least on one side. Children can be abandoned or miss close following by a set of caring parents. Lost jobs may not always be easily replaced. Re-training of the not-so-young may not land good jobs or indeed any job at all: perhaps very specific re-training is required with assurance of a job. And, also, poor health may mean less gainful work.

The survey compares poor not with rich but with non-poor, the term non-poor referring to a position above the poverty-line. Being non-poor does not necessarily mean being comfortable or rich.

Long-term health problems are significantly more frequent among the poor, with 28.1 per cent as opposed to 22.3 per cent; as is illiteracy - 11 per cent of the adult poor are illiterate compared with 5.2 per cent among non-poor.

The old questions about the chicken and the egg may be asked here; whether poverty brought health problems or health problems brought poverty, whether ignorance was a result or a cause, whether a kind of spiritual lethargy came before or after the hatching. Probably both chicken and egg need each other and travel together.

If you take unemployment, for example, you can easily understand that the unconnected will find it more difficult to land a new job than the person who knows people in high places.

Family Minister Dolores Cristina said the statistics will help the government draw up new policies to address these realities. Her dream, to eventually set up a national plan for the family, is most certainly the right way towards tackling poverty head-on. That and a more far-reaching education of both hearts and minds.