As I write, online news portals report that a 43-year-old man, in Malta, originally from Cameroon, has been placed under probation after admitting to theft of food from a supermarket for 18 times during the months of November and December. He explained that he was injured at his workplace and, as a result, had no income to feed his family, including his two young children. Is this how we treat third country nationals injured at their workplace, nowadays?
Some of you may also remember the case of another third country national who was injured on a building construction site, in Malta, some 4 years ago. In what was considered as a disgusting and obscene case, the injured man was transported away from the site and dumped some distance away from the site of the accident. Those responsible were identified and criminal action taken.
These are two, possibly rare, examples, as to what goes on far away from the television cameras. They are exceptions as, silently, various solidarity initiatives are continuously supported throughout the year, even though at times we may get the impression that solidarity is seasonal, restricted to the month of December, close to Christmas Day. The public celebration of solidarity on Boxing Day is however, a realisation that solidarity is not sufficiently present during the rest of the year.
How could one otherwise explain that there is need for soup kitchens and food banks, that we still have a substantial number of homeless persons as well as a health system which requires that it be continuously supplemented by charity? Or that a father needs to steal food to feed his family in the year 2025?
Caritas has been doing a splendid job every Christmas Day for the past ten years through its organisation of a Christmas lunch for the lonely and those who do not have the means to celebrate Christmas with dignity. Christmas Day is, however, just one day of the year. There are 364 other days during the year when dignity is not so much in celebration. Initiatives such as the Franciscan soup kitchen in Valletta do their best to plug these 364 gaps. For the Franciscan soup kitchen in Valletta, the agenda is deeper than the soup bowl. It is the restoration of human dignity and respect: so that every day is Christmas Day.
These initiatives signify one basic fact: the welfare state does not reach all corners in our society. Essentially our welfare system is the one-size-fits all solidarity arm of the state which needs to be continuously supplemented to ensure that, as much as is reasonably possible, everyone has the opportunity to be treated with dignity and respected as a human person. The welfare state needs to be personalised in order to bridge the existent gaps. These gaps are currently being bridged by the Community Chest Fund as well as by non-governmental organisations, primarily the Church, but also by a number of NGOs active in the social field. These in turn are financed through charity.
L-Istrina on Boxing Day, the Franciscan soup kitchen initiative in Valletta, the Siġġiewi Dar tal-Providenza, Hospice Malta, Puttinu Cares and food banks are some of the very worthy charitable initiatives which over the years have bridged parts of the gap and reached many of the neglected corners of social needs in Malta.
L-Istrina on Boxing Day funds the Community Chest Fund, now incorporated as a foundation. The Community Chest Fund, under the direction of the Presidency of the Republic, throughout the year addresses gaps in the health service, primarily through funding expensive medication and supplementing the assistance received from the state by those seeking medical treatment abroad.
Around 12 months ago it was announced by Health Minister Jo Etienne Abela that government was preparing the way to take over from the Community Chest Fund Foundation the complete funding of cancer treatment. This is an extremely positive development, as our health should not be dependent on charity. Direct and complete funding by government is long overdue. The Community Chest Fund Foundation would thus be able to focus on other social assistance initiatives filling in other gaps of the welfare state.
It is right to supplement the welfare state in the short term. However, in the longer term, the welfare state should be tweaked in order that its reach is extended to the neglected corners which are identified from time to time, beyond its current one-size fits all approach. This would ensure that solidarity filters through and finds its way to where it is needed. So that each day would feel like Christmas Day.