timesofmalta.com

The mother on death row

Judy Toner Norton, Dublin, Ireland — Fri, 17 May 2013 00:08:00 +0200

I consider it a matter of urgency to inform readers about the plight of Asia Bibi, a mother of five and a Pakistani Christian. In 2009, Asia Bibi was tried and subsequently found guilty for the crime of blasphemy, the punishment for which is death by hanging. For the last four years, this woman has been held in solitary confinement without access to fresh water, light, heat or a toilet. She lives a meagre existence in Sheikhupura prison, Lahore, in the Punjab Province of Pakistan. She is the first woman in this century to be found guilty of this crime and there is a reward of Fatwa, not only on her head but on those of her family, who have been forced to flee from their village. There were only two people who tried to help Asia Bibi throughout her trial (the Muslim governor of the Punjab and Pakistan’s Christian Minister for Minorities) both of whom have been assassinated. I am trying to bring to light the plight of this woman and her troubles have been highlighted by the book Blasphemy, written by Anne Isabelle Tollet, published in 2011. The royalties from this book have been donated to her family. Pope Benedict XVI and Hillary Clinton have spoken up for her, but her story was...

The more things change...

Patricia Falzon, Attard — Fri, 17 May 2013 00:07:00 +0200

I thought things would start to change at Mater Dei, as promised by Joseph Muscat. I know it is early days yet, but still I would have thought we would see some kind of difference. Definitely not so when a disabled, diabetic 83-year-old and her 87-year-old husband had to wait five hours to be seen by one of the doctors. And they had an appointment!

Bizarre fees

Liam Power, St Paul’s Bay — Fri, 17 May 2013 00:05:00 +0200

Why is it that my wife can go to Dr G. with a serious chest infection and be charged €7, while I go to a podiatrist, Mr Anonymous, and get charged €20 to have a small piece of my big toenail removed? Does it, I wonder, have anything to do with honesty, or should I stake a claim for inclusion in the Guinness Book of Records?

In defence of pornography

Allan Gatt, Birkirkara — Sat, 18 May 2013 00:01:00 +0200

Helena Dalli has criticised a recent gang-rape verdict which described the rape of a 14-year old girl as “an act of foolishness.” While she over-emphasises the tender age of the girl, she draws attention away from that of the boys, who were also minors at the time of the rape. The minister then states that “the problem needs to be addressed at a much deeper level, especially at that of prevention,” but continues to sabotage her own argument by condemning pornography, claiming (but without quoting any source material) that there are various “studies that make the link between pornography and rape.” As a reformed and repentant addict of pornography, I believe the honourable minister has no idea what she’s talking about. Our culture, with its asynchronicity between theory and reality, its political inpetitude and its inability to confront the subject of sex without extremes of high-handedness or childishness, ought to be thankful that pornography exists at all. Pubescent kids are raging tornados of hormones, and without pornography providing that escape hatch for all that explosive and concussive lust, there could be so much raping going on that it would reach epidemic...

Company’s commitment

Michael J Mallia, Human Resources Director, Michael Debono Ltd, Żebbuġ — Fri, 17 May 2013 00:09:00 +0200

I write in reference to the piece by John Cassar White in the Business section of May 9 titled Valuing Mothers’ Role At The Place Of Work. A number of ideas were put forward related to enhancing the situation of working mothers. This company’s mission statement reads as follows: “At Michael Debono Ltd we seek to ensure the optimum ownership experience for our customers while achieving sustainable growth, enhancing quality of life of all our personnel and simultaneously respecting the environment and society as a whole.” As part of our commitment towards our personnel we introduced a scheme whereby female employees who become pregnant are assigned work at home on full pay for the first two years after their baby’s birth, thereby enabling mother and child to spend these vital first two years together. The scheme involves work reassignment and reorganisation in the particular unit where the mother works, plus the use of technology. To date one mother has completed the two years and returned to work and another two are currently at home following births some months ago.

Two-star rating for potato video

Jonathan Deeley, Sliema — Sat, 18 May 2013 00:01:00 +0200

My initial reaction when watching the now infamous video about the Maltese potato farmer and his family was that it was a satirical work. I have no particular axe to grind with a family who live and breathe potatoes from “dawn to dusk”, however I would venture to ask what the film hoped to achieve? On the one hand it is a rural idyll, almost Hardyesque, of an extended family toiling away in a very small field for limited financial gain. On the other hand it exposes a grossly unprofitable and inefficient way of producing food. I have farming friends in England who are capable of cultivating hundreds of hectares with one set of machinery. Even allowing for the small field sizes in Malta it is still clear that “progress” in Maltese potato production has been minimal. As for taste: Maltese potatoes are superb, so isn’t it a great shame that the best ones are exported? There are enough top quality restaurants on Malta more than capable of adding them to their menus. Finally, many people have commented upon the farmer’s limited command of the English language. Frankly they have a point but whether this is a reflection of his own lack of opportunity or a failing of the education system...

Stadium toilets

Alexandra Vella, San Ġwann — Fri, 17 May 2013 00:06:00 +0200

As a regular at the National Stadium, I would like to put a suggestion to the MFA. Would it be too much to ask that the public ‘toilets’ have an attendant as from the coming season? I invite any of the top officials to visit these places during the football season, especially when large crowds are attracted. We are all paying spectators and I’am sure that we deserve better than what we are faced with week in week out.

Anniversary of Blessed who helped the poor

Emily Barbaro-Sant, Mosta — Fri, 17 May 2013 00:10:00 +0200

Last month, the Society of St Vincent de Paul in France commemorated three anniversaries – namely 200 years since the birth of its founder Frederick Ozanam, 180 years since its foundation and 160 years since his death – by organising various conferences and a Mass at the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris. Malta was represented by president Joseph Attard and John Gauci Maistrè. The society is found in 148 countries with 800,000 members from all over the world. The society knows its foundation in Malta in 1850 to Rev. Dr Paolo Pullicino while Mgr Isidor Formosa was its spiritual director for 40 years. The Council in Malta commemorated the three anniversaries with a concelebrated Mass at St John’s Co-Cathedral on Saturday April 25, led by Archbishop Mgr Paul Cremona, while concelebrating with him were Archbishop Emeritus Mgr Joseph Mercieca and Fr Stefan Galea. A group of altar boys from the parish of Mosta assisted during Mass. St Paul Choral Society, under director and organist Hugo Agius Muscat, offered their services. Frederick Ozanam founded the Society of St Vincent de Paul when he was still a university student of 20 years. Together with a small group of colleagues, he wanted...

What clique?

Eddy Privitera, Mosta — Fri, 17 May 2013 00:06:00 +0200

Before writing his letter New Clique Is Formed (May 9), Joseph Zarb should have consulted a good dictionary about the meaning of the word “clique”. Mr Zarb believes that all those people appointed by the Government on boards and authorities are “the new clique”, which has supposedly emerged since March 9. Hence we now have quite a number of “Nationalists” and non-political people forming part of a supposedly “new PL clique”.

Absentee ballot systems

Robert Zammit, London, United Kingdom — Fri, 17 May 2013 00:01:00 +0200

There is something remarkably inefficient about flying people from one side of Europe to the other for them to cast their ballot in a general election. Especially when there are valid questions about who is eligible to vote in the first place. And yet, that is exactly the situation come election time. This year was no different. At the start of the year a group of us started an online petition, asking our elected representatives to think about absentee ballot systems. The petition garnered 1,000 votes in less than two weeks. That was swiftly followed by all three parties putting absentee ballot systems on their electoral manifesto. Our Facebook group looked at the cost of flying potential voters in, possible weaknesses in the current system, and what alternatives we could propose. In the process, some of us also questioned whether we were still eligible to vote in the first place – in spite of the voting documents waiting for us back home. We identified two key questions. First, whether the current system of flying people to Malta is adequate, and whether it does indeed make voting as easy as possible – within acceptable, though undeniably subjective, limits. The second question...

Simon Busuttil is definitely no copycat

Josephine Vella, Birkirkara — Sat, 18 May 2013 00:01:00 +0200

Labour sympathisers, including leading columnist Lino Spiteri, referred to the Nationalist statute amendment to have two deputy leaders as copying or imitating the Labour Party. If there is a party that, over the years, has copied, it is precisely the PL. Labour copied the Nationalist Party in its organisational and tactical strategies. The double deputy leader system does not belong to the PL. It is a system used in other European countries. It is very much in line with the Team PN idea as proposed by Busuttil. Although “there is no reason why a good thing should not be copied”, Busuttil does not need to emulate anyone or anything to be successful. He was original when, for instance, when former Prime Minister Eddie Fenech Adami tasked him with informing the public on EU matters. An articulate speaker, he succeeded in persuading the people to vote Yes to Europe, with advantages far outweighing any disadvantages. In MEP elections he won resounding support, substantially surpassing that of any other candidate, including Prime Minister Joseph Muscat. With all humility he does not need to copy any winning formula. Together with his team he has the potential to move forward with...

Brave children of the war

Joe Bugeja, Mellieħa — Fri, 17 May 2013 00:02:00 +0200

At every historical commemoration, the media lauds the valour of those adult personnel involved in wartime events. Various military regiments, both Maltese and British, well deserved such praise. The cohorts of children who bravely survived the tribulations of their times were never mentioned. Children born in the early 1930s faced the rigours of the worst time in history. Their lives were in constant jeopardy of imminent death. They faced the atrocities of poverty, bombardment and starvation. Daily they struggled to survive. Many were the sons and daughters of broken marriages and of illegitimate ‘fathers’ who were posted abroad and never heard of again. Others were imprisoned in orphanages. Many endured exile to foreign lands. They were all doomed to destruction. Nobody was fit enough to survive. Their sufferings affected their health, their education, their freedom… Their health mirrored their pallid faces, lean stature, Belsen-like bodies and physical deformities. Lack of sleep and nightly air-raid interruptions played havoc with their erratic upbringing. They faced ravishes of contagious diseases. They succumbed to inadequate nutrition. All their life they carried the marks...

Managing pain management

Charles A. Gauci, Sannat — Sat, 18 May 2013 00:01:00 +0200

If my experience in running a large pain management clinic in London for many years is anything to go by, Fibromyalgia sufferers in Malta face an uphill struggle in their battle to get any form of official recognition. Despite the fact that in 2003, the Chief Medical Officer in the UK issued a letter recognising the condition as a definite medical entity, patients there still face prejudice due to an inherent scepticism in both the medical and legal professions. I would not put too much faith in the decisions reached by NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence). A number of individuals appointed to the various subcommittees set up by this body to issue guidelines came with their own personal agendas. The debacle surrounding the back pain guidelines, issued a couple of years ago and greeted with universal derision, is a case in point. A more suitable acronym for NICE would surely be the National Institute for Clinical Economy, as that seems to be the sole purpose for its creation!

The state of education

Richard Micallef, Mġarr — Fri, 17 May 2013 00:03:00 +0200

I have been mulling about whether to pen this letter or a few years but the article that appeared on May 6 regarding the education system persuaded me to take the plunge. My opinion has not been formed through academic research and is not founded on some sophisticated data gathering system. It is a layman’s conclusion after years of working with young waterpolo players. Our education system does not educate children and young adults. Our schools are factories where children are trained to pass exams at the expense of real learning. Carmel Borg’s observations, based on his undoubted academic expertise, match my layman’s conclusions. Our schools produce students who achieve an A grade in geography but who do not know what is the capital city of Lithuania, a fellow EU member state. Likewise we have Matsec grade A students in history who have no idea of the effects of the French revolution on modern history, or in some cases that it ever even took place. Simply because it does not form part of their curriculum. As for the study of languages, the less said the better. I have often come across youngsters who have an A in Italian O Level but cannot string a sentence together. The same...

Boiler Wharf permit and development

Gerald Duke, Senglea — Fri, 17 May 2013 00:04:00 +0200

Times of Malta reported on the illegal development at Boiler Wharf and the retrospective approval of the Malta Environment and Planning Authority. Should we be surprised? Of equal if not greater importance to residents of Senglea is a planning review of Boiler Wharf published in March. Again there was no public consultation except from those of us who discovered the deadline through social media. The purpose of the review was to widen permitted development zoning options by adding leisure, tourism retail, cultural uses and related services to existing commercial, industrial, dock areas and passenger terminal use. In other words anything goes. Concern was expressed in representations about the increased traffic flow as there is only one road to this site along Senglea Waterfront. The common response of the planning authority in the published documents was “... among the mitigation measures that may be required are, amending the proposed development, traffic management schemes and alternative means of access to the site”. I have attempted to persuade Senglea council to take up this issue but they appear unable to grasp the consequences of increased use of Boiler Wharf on the traffic...

Elderly care

Carmen Micallef, Valletta — Sat, 18 May 2013 00:01:00 +0200

I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to the geriatrics consultant at St Vincent De Paule Residence, doctors, nursing officers, nurses and staff at St Joseph Wards 15 and 16. Their invaluable and unceasing dedication and care towards my dearest mother during her time was greatly appreciated by all my family. Sadly, Maria Muscat passed away last week.