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Youwillalways
havethepooramongyouJohn12v8
AREPORTABOUTPOVERTYINMALTA
MarioCardona
JesuitCentrefortheFaithandJustice
Malta
2010
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IwouldliketothankmyfriendsStephenBonniciandKirbyCaruanafor
theirinvaluablemeticulousandusefulfeedback,andtheirwholeheartedsupport.IwouldalsoliketothankthecoreteamoftheJesuitCentrefor
FaithandJusticefortheirfeedback.SpecialthanksgotoEdgarBusuttil
sjforconceivingthisprojectandbringingittofruition,andtoShadrack
Freebornforhiscooperationandgreathelp.Iwouldliketothankall
those professional people and volunteers from various entities for
participatinginthisproject.Finally,Iwouldliketothankthepoorpeople
whohavetakenusintotheircon0idenceandletusintotheirworld.Ihope
toreciprocatetheirnoblejesturebypublishingthisbook,inthehopethat
itwillcontributetowardsmoresocialjusticeforall.
Acknowledgements
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Part1
1.1 Introduction........................................................................................................071.2 AimsoftheResearch.......................................................................................09
1.3 TheResearchMethod......................................................................................15
Part2
2.1 De0iningPovertyinNumbers......................................................................21
2.2 WhoarethepoorinMalta?..........................................................................40
2.3 SwimmingUpstream:
Factorsthataggravatetheplightofthepoor........................................71
Part3
3.1 Handingoverthemicrophonetothepoorthemselves................. 119
References.....................................................................................................................157
ListofAbbreviations
Appo StatesocialWelfareAgency
CBO Comm unityBasedOraganisatio n
DSS DepartmentforSocialSecurity,thestateagency
administeringsocial welfarebene0itsandassistance
ETC EmploymentandTrainingCorporation,theState
employmentserviceagency
HA HousingAuthority,thestateagencyadministeringsocial
housingprogrammes
MCAST MaltaCollegeofArts,ScienceandTechnology
NSO NationalStatisticsOf 0ice,Malta
NGO NonGovernmentalOrganisation
OIWAS OrganisationfortheIntegrationandWelfare
ofAsylumSeekers
UNHCR UnitedNationsHighCommissionforRefugees
Contents
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AREPORTABOUTPOVERTYINMALTA|7
1.1Introduction
Becauseitisadistortionofbeingmorefullyhuman,soonerorlater
beingless human leadsthe oppressed tostruggleagainstthosewho
madethemso.Inorderforthisstruggletohavemeaning,theoppressed
mustnot,inseekingtoregaintheirhumanity(whichisawaytocreate
it),becometheoppressorsoftheoppressors,butratherrestorersofthe
humanityofboth.
PauloFreire(1990),p.21.
Then,whileteaching,Ilearntmanythings.Forexample,Ilearntthatthe
problemsofotherswerethesameasmine.Gettingoutofthemtogether
ispolitics.Gettingoutofthemonourownisavarice.
DonLorenzoMilaniinBorg,CardonaandCaruana,(2009),p.37.
InFebruary2008,theNationalFamilyCommissionpublishedastudy
entitled FamilyPovertyandSocialExclusionwithaspecialemphasison
Children.Inthesameyear,theEuropeanDocumentationandResearch
CentreoftheUniversityofMaltaandtheJeanMonnetEuropeanCentre
ofExcellencepublishedtheCivilSocietyProjectReport:TheFightagainst
poverty.Inthefollowingyear,inMarch2009,thePermanentCommittee
for Social Affairs ofthe Maltese Parliament publisheda reportabout
povertyin Maltaentitled Il-idmalejn l-inklujonisojalit4isseridma
kontral-faqar:It-tfall-aktarlijbatu.1Also,fromtimetotime,theNational
StatisticsOf0ice publishesnumericaldata regardingpoverty inMalta.2
1 Theactiontowardssocialinclusionmeansactionagainstpoverty:Childrenaretheoneswhosuf-fermost.
2 SeeforexampleNSONewsRelease09.06.2003.PovertyandSocialInequality.NSONewsRelease09.05.2007SurveyonIncomeandLivingConditions.NSONewsRelease15.05.2007InternationalDayofFamilies.
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Inspiredby thesevarious publications,we atthe Centre forFaithand
Justiceaskedourselves:WhoarethepoorinMalta?Whatdoesitmean
tobeintheirranks?Wheredotheylive?Whatkindoflifedotheylead?
Howdotheybehave?Whatisthelookontheirfacelike?Whoishelping
thesepeopletofacetheirproblemsandpossiblytoworktheirwayout
ofthem?Facedwiththesequestions,statisticaldataoftenprovidesvery
littleinformation.Sowe decidedtofollowuponthe previousresearch
byconductingaqualitativeresearchwhichwouldhelpusanswermore
adequatelythesequestions.Ourresearchisthus meanttocomplimenttheexcellentresearchdonesofarandtocontributetotheprocessofthe
eradicationofpovertyitself.Theresultofthisresearchisbeingpublished
inthisbookintheEuropeanYearfortheEradicationofPoverty.
1.2Aimsoftheresearch
NewsReleasenumber84/2009publishedonthe14thofMay2009bythe
NationalStatisticsOf0iceofMaltastatedthat,TheatriskofpovertyratefromSILC(EuropeanSurveyonIncomeandLivingCoditions)2007was
estimatedat14percent.Thisratestoodat13percentamongpersons
livinginhouseholdswithoutdependantchildrenand15percentamongst
thoselivingin households withdependant children.Personsliving in
single parent households were found to be most atriskofpoverty.1
Thesenumbersalready say much.Butwe wanted toknowmore and
soweembarkeduponaqualitativeresearchthatwouldhelpusanswer
someofourquestions.InthewordsofMaxineGreen,
Qualitative researchis concernedwithmeanings asthey appear
to,orareachievedby,personsinlivedsocialsituations...Thoseof
us in search of educational understanding are concerned, then,
with interpretations of particular kinds of human action in an
intersubjectiveworld.Whetherwearelookingthroughthelensesof
history,orsociology,orpsychology,weareattendingtobeingswho
areforeverincomplete,reachingouttomakesenseoftheactualities
oftheirlives.Wecancatchsomeof thatincompletenessthrough
participantobservation,orthroughcertainmodesoflistening,orthe
readingoffreewriting,orbypayingheedtothewaysinwhichpeople
moveandcreateimagesandplay.Theyallinvolveinterpretationbytheresearcherorstudent,fromparticularstandpointsandagainst
thebackgroundofaccumulatedmeanings.(Greene1997,p.175)
Ouraimwasthustointerviewpeoplewhocomeincontactwithpoor
peopleduringtheirfulltime,professionalorvoluntarywork.Wealso
wantedto interviewpoorpeoplethemselves. Theseinterviews would
1 NSONewsReleaseNo.84/2009.p.1
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helpustolookatpovertyfromvariouspointsofview.Wefeltthatwe
hadtogivespecialtreatmenttothe voiceofthe poorthemselvessince
thiswouldgiveusaninklingofwhatitmeanstoliveinpovertyfrom0irst
handexperience.
InMalta,atleastas far asweknow,wedo not seebeggarsinthe
streets.Wedonotcomeacrosspeoplesleepingonthewalkwaysunder
airconditioningventilatorsinWinterorongardenbenchesintheSummer.
Wedonthavesoupkitchens.Wedonotknowofanychildrenlivingin
cardboardboxesandsnif0ingglueinsidewastewaterundergroundducts.SowhoarethepeoplethattheNSOstatisticsinNewsRelease84/2009
aretalkingabout?Wewantedtomeetthepeoplewhomakeupthe14%
ofpeoplelivingatriskofpoverty.Wewantedtoseetheirface,lookin
theireyes,heartheirvoices.Wewantedtolistento theirvoices,their
vocabulary,theiranalysisofthesociety wearelivinginandofthesituation
theyareputtingupwith.
Andifthesepeopleweresohardto0ind,wherecouldwelookfor
them?Inthiswewereprimarilyhelpedbyparishpriests,headsofschool,
of0icialsfromgovernmentagenciesandof0icersorvolunteersfromNGOs
whichprovideservicestothepoor.Ultimatelywemanagedtospeakto
somepoorpeopleaswell.Throughaseriesofinterviewswithallofthese
generouspeoplewetriedtoanswerthefundamentalquestion:Whoare
thepoorinMaltatoday?
Andwhy didwe wantto know? TheItalian priest Lorenzo Milani
arguedthatobeyingthelawswasnotenough,neitherforhimnorforhis
studentsinhisschoolatBarbiana.
Asfor theirlivesassovereign young menand women tomorrow, I
cannottellmypupilsthattheonlywaytoreverethelawistoobeyit.I
canonlytellthemthattheyshouldholdmankindslawsinsuchesteem
astoobservethemwhentheyarefair(thatis,whentheyupholdthe
weak).Whentheyseethattheyarenotfair(thatis,whenthelaws
sanctionabuseofpowerbythestrong)theyshould0ighttochangethem.... tohavethe courageto tellthe youththatthey themselves
areallsovereignsthusobedienceisnolongeravirtuebutthemostdeceptiveoftemptationsthattheyshouldnotbelievetheycanuseitasashieldbeforemenorGod,thateachoneofthemneedstofeel
asthoughtheyaloneareresponsibleforall.Onthisunderstanding
humanitycouldsaythatinthiscenturyithasseenmoralprogress
sidebysidewithandcomparabletoitstechnicalprogress. (Milani
n.d.,pp.3738,p.51)2
Thus,ifthelawsthatgovernoursocietystillpermitthatpeoplelive
ininhumanecircumstances,wecannotjustshieldourselvesbyclaiming
thatwepaytaxestofundawelfarestate.Wheneverstatisticslaybare
thefactthatpovertyisarealityinourcountry,wecannotjustpointour
0ingerstotheadministratorsofthesocialwelfaresystem,orworsestill,
blamethepoorthemselves.Somehow,ashumanbeingsandasChristians,
wemustfeelresponsibleforthewellbeingofothers.Again,DonMilani
writesabouthisstudents,
Ihadtoteachthemwellhowacitizenreactstoinjustice.Howhehas
freedomofspeechandofthepress.HowaChristianreactsalsoto
thepriestandeventhebishopwhoerrs.Howeachonehastofeel
responsibleforeveryoneelse.
OnonewalloftheschoolwritteninlargelettersthereisICARE.ItisthemottoofprincipledyoungAmericans,anddif0iculttotranslateinourlanguage.ItistheexactoppositeofthefascistmottoIcouldntgiveatoss.(Milanin.d.,p.34)3
Untilevenonepersonislivingincircumstanceswhichdonot0ithis
orherhumandignity,somewhereaninjusticeisbeingperpetrated.Every
2 Englishtranslationtakenfromhttp://www.semisottolaneve.org/ssn/a/26987.htmlretrievedon04.01.10
3 Ibid .
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singlepersonlivinginpoverty,thatisincircumstanceswhichdonot0it
hisorherhumandignity,isanotherreasonwhyweshouldbemovedinto
action.Everybodyisresponsibleforeveryone.Indifferencetotheplight
ofthoseinneedissymptomaticofasocietywhichisitselfinhumanand
farfromreachingitshumanful0illment.InMilanisterms,indifferenceis
afascistattitude.
The problem with the poor in Malta is that very often they do
not have thetenacity tovoice theirneeds orto speakout aboutthe
injusticestheysuffer.WerememberedthatpassageintheGospelwheretheSyrophoenicianwomancameuptoJesus,pleadinghimtohealher
daughterwhowaspossessedbyanevilspirit.JesusansweredherthatI
wassentonlytothelostsheepofIsrael.Shegoesonpleadinginsistently,
annoyingalsothedisciples.Jesusagainanswers,Itisnotrighttotake
thechildrensbreadandtossittotheirdogs.Buteventhisreplydidnot
disheartenthewoman.Shekeptinsistingsaying,Yes,Lord,buteventhe
dogseatthecrumbsthatfallfromtheirmasterstable.Facedwiththis
callforjusticeJesusismovedandreplies,Woman,youhavegreatfaith!
Yourrequestisgranted.Matthewwindsuptheepisodewritingthat
herdaughterwashealedfromthatveryhour.(Matthew15:2128)We
wantedtohelpthepoor,notbyspeakingupforthem,butbyhelpingthem
tospeakupandtomaketheirvoiceheard.Wewantedtoofferourreaders
atextaboutpovertyinMaltawritteninthelanguageandvoiceofthepoor
themselves.Wewish thatthis bookenablesthe reader tounderstand
thatthereispovertyinMalta,thatthepoortooareentitledtohuman
ful0ilment,andthateverybodyisresponsibleinsomewayoranotherto
makehumanful0ilmentforallapossibility.Notonlyisthehumanisation
ofalltheonusofeveryoneinsociety,butuntilonepersonsuffersatthe
handsofothers,allareinsomewaydetractingourselvesfromobtaining
humanful0ilment.AsPauloFreirearguesinhisseminalworkPedagogyof
theOppressed,
Dehumanization,whichmarks notonlythose whosehumanity has
beenstolen,butalso(thoughinadifferentway)thosewhohavestolen
it,isadistortionofthevocationofbecomingmorefullyhuman.This
distortionoccurswithinhistory;butitis notanhistoricalvocation.
Indeed,toacceptdehumanizationasanhistoricalvocationwouldlead
eithertocynicismortotaldespair.Thestruggleforhumanization,for
theemancipationoflabour,fortheovercomingofalienation,forthe
af0irmationofmenaspersonswouldbemeaningless.Thisstruggleispossibleonlybecausedehumanization,althoughaconcretehistorical
fact, isnot agiven destiny but the resultof anunjust orderthat
engendersviolenceintheoppressors,whichinturndehumanizesthe
oppressed.(Freire199,pp.221)
In his last days in this world, Jesus was sitting at table with his
apostleswhenMary,oneofhishosts,broughtapintofexpensiveperfume
andpoureditonhisfeet.JudasIscariotcommented,Whywasntthis
perfumesoldandthemoneygiventothepoor?Itwasworthayears
wages.JohntheEvangelistisquicktoclarifythatJudasdidnotsaythis
becausehecaredaboutthepoorbutbecausehewasathief;askeeper
ofthemoneybag,heusedtohelphimselftowhatwasputintoit.Jesus
thenanswersJudasbysaying,Leaveheralone.Itwasmeantthatshe
shouldsavethisperfumeforthedayofmyburial.Youwillalwayshave
thepooramongyou,butyouwillnotalwayshaveme.(John12:18)
ThisremarkbyJesusaboutthepermanentpresenceofthepooramong
uschallengesourcomplacencyinthefaceofthesufferingofothers.It
remindsusthatourcommitmenttowardsthehumanisationofall,and
thustowardstheeradicationofpoverty,isanendlesstaskwhichwehave
totakeup.Aftertwothousandyears,Jesussremarkisamessageofhope
rather thandespair:we willattain our ownhumanisation by helping
othersobtainingtheirs.Itisourveryownbusinesstoworktobringabout
thosechangesinthesocial,politicalandeconomicorderwhichwilllead
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tomoresocialjusticeforall.Ourvocationashumanbeingsisnottogive
occasionalcharitytoquietenourconsciencebuttomakepossibleanew
socialorderthatwouldleadtothehumanisationofall.Thechallengeis
tocreatethepossibilityforeverybodytoliveadecentlife,contributing
tolifeinsocietyandobtainingsatisfactionandful0illmentfromit.Inthe
wordsofPauloFreire,
Truegenerosityconsistspreciselyin0ightingtodestroythecauses
whichnourishfalsecharity.Falsecharityconstrainsthefearfulandsubdued,the rejectsof life, to extend theirtrembling hands. Real
generosityliesinstrivingsothatthosehandswhetherofindividuals
orentirepeoplesneedbeextendedlessandlessinsupplication,so
thatmoreandmoretheybecomehumanhandswhichworkand,by
workingtransformtheworld.(Freire199,pp.2122)
ThusthestatementbyJesus,Youwillalwayshavethepooramong
you,isnotacynicalremarkbutachallengingstatement,thelayingdown
ofa lifelongmission:humaniseyourselves,eradicatepoverty!Wehope
thatthispublicationwillbeacontributiontowardsthatend.
1.3Theresearchmethod
Westartedoutourresearchbyinterviewingpeoplewhocomeinto
contactwiththepoor.Wechosetwolocalitiesfromtwodifferentregions
ontheislandofMalta.Onelocalityistraditionallyassociatedwithsocial
exclusionandpoverty.Theotherlocalityisa relativelynewurbanarea
whichlatelyhasstartedtoexperienceformsofsocialexclusionandpoverty
aswellbuthassofarescapedtheattentionofthemedia.Wedecidednot
todisclosethelocalities.Wewillsimplycallthembythepseudonyms
nuberandFiddien.Thisdecisionwasinspiredbythecommentsmadeby
acommunityworkerfromanNGOandbyavolunteerfromanotherNGO.
Bothtoldusthatthepeoplelivinginthelocalitywheretheirorganisation
isactive, suffer fromthe stigmawhichsocietyhasmarkedthem with.
Theyalsoarguedthatthemediaisreproducingthatsigmaevenfurther.
Wedonotwanttoperpetuatetheviciouscycle.Ouraimistomakepeople
awarethatpovertyinMaltaisareality.Wewantourreaderstolookat
thisphonomenonthroughtheeyesofthosegivingaservicetothepoor
andthroughtheeyesofthepoorthemselves.Disclosingthelocalitieswill
notcontributeanythinginthisregard.
The report of the Permanent Committee for Social Affairs of the
Maltese Parliamentpublished inMarch2009 stated verycategorically
that,InMaltawedonothaveabsolutepovertywherepeoplearedying
ofhungerordonothaveanymoney.Butfromscienti0iccalculationsweknowthatthereare57,38peoplelivinginrelativepoverty.(p.4)As
TaboneandAbela explain,thisassertionis based onthe premisethat
povertyisbasedmainlyonthenotionofNationalEquivalizedIncome,
whichisusedbytheNSOtocalculatewhoisaboveandwhoisbelowthe
povertyline.(AbelaandTabone2008,p.8)Westartedoutourresearch
with the premise that theassertion ofthe Permanent Committeefor
SocialAffairswastrue.However,astheresearchprogressedwebecame
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awarethatvariouscategoriesofMaltesepeople,aswellasanewcategory
ofpeoplemadeupmainlyofAfricanimmigrants,weresometimesliving
onthevergeofabsolutepoverty.Furthermorewebecameawarethatthe
mostextremeformsofpovertyamongtheMaltesepopulationarealsothe
mostinvisible.AsfortheAfricanimmigrants,weengagedtheservicesof
anAfricanimmigrantwhohelpedustocontactimmigrantsandinterview
them.Thus,ourinterviewsledusto
volunteersandprofessionalpeoplefrom two particularareaswho
workwithpoorpeople, volunteers and professional people who work with African
immigrants,
poorMaltesepeoplewholiveinthetwolocalitieswechoseforour
research,and
anumberofAfricanimmigrants.
Ourmainresearchtoolwassemistructuredinterviews.Inthewordsof
Marton,
Quiteobviouslytherearedifferentsourcesofinformationbymeansofwhichwemaygainanunderstandingofhowpeopleconceiveof
variousaspectsoftheirworld...Interviewinghasbeentheprimary
method of phenomenographicdata collection.What questions are
askedandhow weask questions, ofcourse,are highly importantaspects ofthemethod. For presentpurposes itwillsuf0ice tosaythatweusequestionsthatareasopenendedaspossibleinordertoletthesubjectschoosethedimensionsofthequestiontheywant
toanswer.Thedimensionstheychooseareanimportantsourceof
data because they reveal an aspect of the individuals relevance
structure.Furthermore,thoughwehaveasetofquestionsatthestart
oftheinterview,differentinterviewsmayfollowsomewhatdifferent
courses.(Marton1997,p.154)
We triedto geta good mix ofinterviewees from the two chosen
localitiesinordertogetasmanydifferentpointsofview,andas many
voicesaspossible.Thusweinterviewedfourparishpriests,
twoheadsofstateschools,
amayor,alocalcouncillor,andalocalcouncilexecutivesecretary,
acommunityworkeremployedbyanNGO,
acommunityworkeremployedbythestate,
threevolunteersfromthreedifferentCommunityBasedOrganisations
(CBOs)involvedmainlywithchildren, a parentvolunteer from an NGO for parents of children with a
disability,
twotradeunionists,
an of0icer from Appo thenational social welfare agency for
childrenandfamiliesinneed,1
anof0icerfromtheDepartmentforSocialSecurity,
twoof0icersfromtheEmploymentandTrainingCorporationMaltas
PublicEmploymentService,2
aspokespersonfromtheHousingAuthority,thestateagencywhich
buildsandmanagessocialhousingandpromoteshomeownership,
andalso
avolunteerandtwoprofessionalworkersfromthreedifferentNGOs
whichgive a service to African immigrantsboth during andafter
detention.
Finally,weinterviewed
sixAfricanimmigrantsfromfourdifferentAfricancountries,and
eightMaltesepeoplewhowereexpriencingdifferentformsofpoverty,
foureachfrombothlocalitieschosenfortheresearch.
1 www.appogg.gov.mtretrievedon04.01.2010
2 www.etc.gov.mtretrievedon04.01.2010
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Weidenti0iedtheAfricanimmigrantswiththehelpofanotherAfrican
immigrantwhowashelpingusintheresearchproject.TheMaltesepoor
inthetwolocalitieswereidenti0iedthroughhelpgivenbyheadsofschool,
parishpriestsandCBOs.Thesampleisvariedinitselfbutdoesnotclaim
toberepresentativeofallthepoorinMalta,orofthevariousformsand
extremesofpovertyontheisland.Particularlywehavetopointoutthat
ithasbeenverydif0icultforustocontactpoorpeoplewhowerereadyto
beinterviewed.Haditnotbeenforthehelpgivenbyaparishpriestand
hisstaffinonelocality,andvariousCBOsinthe otherlocality,itwouldhavebeenalmostimpossible.Wealsothinkthatthoughtheinterviews
inPartThreegiveagoodglimpseintotheworldofthepoor,theydonot
gofarenoughtopicturetheextremeformsofpovertywhichweknowdo
exist,ascanbecon0irmedbyprofessionalsandvoluteersactiveinNGOs,
CBOsandstateagencies.Thus,wethinkwehavebeenonlypartlyable
togiveavoicetothoseexperiencingtheworstformsofpovertyonthe
island.Hadwebeenabletodoso,wewouldhavebeeninapositionto
challengetheclaimmadebythePermanentCommitteeforSocialAffairs
oftheMalteseParliament,thatinMaltaweonlyhaverelativepoverty.We
wanttoclarifythis,notbecausewewouldbehappyifpeopleinMalta
werelivinginabsolutepoverty,butratherbecauseweknowitexistsand
sowantoursocietytodosomethingaboutitratherthanliveindenialor
becomplacentaboutit.
Weexplainedtoourinterviewees,boththosehelpingthepoorand
alsothepoorthemselves,thatweweregoingtousethedatainorderto
publishareportaimedathelpingpeoplerealisethatpovertyinMaltaisa
realityandthatwehavetodosomethingaboutit.Withgreatgenerosity,
mostpeopleacceptedtobeinterviewed.Mostoftheinterviewswiththe
poorwerecarriedoutafteraroundofinterviewswiththosewhowork
withpeopleexperiencingpoverty.Whilethe0irstroundofinterviews
helpedustolookattheworldofthepoorfromthepointofviewofthose
whocomeincontactwithpovertyduringtheirprofessionalorvoluntary
work,thesecondroundofinterviewshelpedustolookatpovertyfrom
thepointofviewofthepoorthemselves.
Puncharguesthat
Peoplecreatetheirworldsbymeansoflanguage,whichisbothcarrierandcreatorofaculturesepistemologicalcodes.Theinnocentviewof
languageasamediumforthetransparentrepresentationofexternalrealityisreplacedbyaviewoflanguageascentrallyimplicatedinthe
constructionofknowledgeinitsinevitablypoliticalcontext.(Punch1998,p.146)
Thusfromourinterviews,wetriedtoworkourwaytowardsasubjective
realityconstructedthroughthelanguageofthoserubbingshoulderswith
thepoorandofthepoorthemselves.Wededicatedthe0irstpartofthe
reporttoanalysethediscourseofpublicof0icials,peoplefromNGOsand
CBOs,parishpriestsandpeoplefromlocalcouncilsinordertotrytocome
upwithaviewofwhatmightpossiblybethesituationofthepoorinMalta.
Whatemergesisapicturethatcontainsobjectiveandsubjectivetruths
framedina languagethatissometimessympatheticto,andsometimes
prejudicedagainst thepoor andthoseat riskof poverty.Although we
stronglybelieveweshouldnotblamethepoorfortheirownplight,wedecidedthat unsympathetic judgementsfrom thoseworkingwith the
poorweretofeatureinourreportbecausesuchattitudesareanintegral
partofthewholepicture,andarethemselvesapartoftheproblem.Inthe
secondpartofthereport,weselectedpartsofourinterviewswiththe
poorinordertojuxtaposetheirworldviewswiththoseofthe0irstgroup
ofinterviewees.The0irstbatchofinterviewsrequiredalotofdatasorting,
codingandmemoinginordertoconstructdifferentpicturesofpoverty
inMaltaas experiencedby differentprofessionalsandvolunteers.The
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secondbatchofinterviewswastreatedverydifferently.Whilethedata
wasanalysed,wedecidedtoselectexcerptsfromthedifferentinterviews
inordertohaveaswideavarietyaspossibleofpersonalexperiences
of poverty. We refrained from commenting about them and decided
to publish the excerpts with minimal editing. The handling of these
interviewsinvolved thetranslation fromMalteseinto English of most
ofthemandtheselectionofwhatwethoughtwerethemostimportant
passagesineachinterview.Thetranslatedpassageswerethenpublished
asrawdatahopingthattheywouldrepresentasfaithfullyaspossibletheopinionsandworldvisionsoftheinterviewees.Greenstatesthat,
Research of this kind cannot be carried out by people who seethemselvesasdetached,neutralobserversconcernedwiththekinds
ofobservation,measurement,andpredictionthatarepresumedtobe
unbiased,unaffectedbytheinquirersvantagepointorlocationinthe
world.(Greene1997,p.175)
Thus,inevitably, ourselectionand ourchoice ofwords during the
translationworkwasin0luencedbythewayweexperiencedourcontact
withbothprofessionalandvolunteerworkersandalsoourcontactwith
thepoorthemselves;especiallythelatterwhichattimesamountedtoa
culturalshock.Ouranalysis,translationandselectionwasalsoin0luenced
byour own valuesas Christiancommitted toa kind ofsocial justiceingrainedin the Gospels. Theresult is hopefully a publication thatis
inevitablyin0luencedbyourownconsciousorunconsciousexperiences,
reactionsandvaluesbutwhichisalsoafaithfulchannelforthevoicesof
thoseinterviewed.
2.1De'iningpovertyinnumbers
1.Introduction
WhilequotingtheNSOsHouseholdBudgetarySurvey2000,thereport
publishedbythePermanentCommitteeforSocialAffairsoftheHouse
ofRepresentativesinMarch29statescategoricallythat,InMaltawe
donthaveabsolutepoverty,wherepersonsaredyingofhungerordont
haveanymoney,butitisscienti0icallyproventhat57,38personsarelivinginrelativepoverty.1TheNSOgoesintosomedetailastowhatit
meanstosaythatacertainamountofpeoplearelivingbelowthepoverty
line.AnNSOpublicationof27statesthat,Thedisposableincomewas
usedinordertomeasuretheequivalisedincomeofeverypersonwithin
ahousehold.Thepovertylinewasestablishedbycalculating60%ofthe
median equivalised income. Allpersonswhoseequivalisedincomefell
underthisthresholdwereconsideredtobeatriskofpoverty.2Thisisthe
samemethodologyusedbyEurostat,thoughinamethodologicalnoteina
Eurostatpublicationof29,theauthorstatesthatGiventheessentially
arbitrarynatureoftheretainedthreshold,andthefactthathavingan
income below this treshhold is neither a necessary nor a suf0icient
conditionofhavingalowstandardofliving,thisindicatorisreferredtoas
ameasureofpovertyrisk.Tooffsetthismarginofunreliability,Eurostat
hasaddedanewindicatorcalledmaterialdeprivation,whichshouldbe
followedbyindicatorsdescribingthehousingconditions.3
1 KumitatPermanentiDwarlAffarijietSojali.(29)Il-idmalejnl-inklujonisojalit4isseridmakontral-faqar:It-tfall-aktarlijbatu.Malta:KamratadDeputati.p.1
2 NSONewsRelease09.05.200775/2007SurveyonIncomeandLivingConditions,p.1
3 Eurostat,Statisticsinfocus46/2009(2009)Populationandsocialconditions.p.11
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2.The at-risk-of-poverty group: The view atthe turn ofthe new
millenniumandhalfwaythroughthe'irstdecade.
Withintheseparametersitisapttodrawastatisticalpictureofthe
Maltesesituation,howeverskeletalandasepticthatpicturemaybe.The
situationin 2wassuch thatNearly15.% of personsresidingin
privatehouseholdsarebelowtheatriskofpovertyline.4Abreakdown
ofthis0igurewillgiveusaclearerpictureofwhoarethepeoplewhoat
theturnofthemillenniummadeupMaltasatriskofpovertypopulation
segment.Proceedingbyage,thelargestcohortwasmadeupofpeoplewithintheto19yearsbracket,standingat35.7%withintheatriskof
povertysegment.Inrelationtothetotalpopulationoftheislands,this
translatesinto18%ofallpeoplewithinthe0to19yearsbracketfalling
withintheatriskofpovertygroup.5
As expected, poverty is intertwinedwith other variables and can
hardly beanalysed on its own. The same document relates poverty
to educational attainmentas well as to location. Unsurprisingly, The
povertyratewasfoundtodecreasewithanincreasingeducationlevel.In
fact,whiletheatriskofpovertyrateforpeoplewhoonlycompletedtheir
primaryschoolingstoodat17.5%and11.4%forthosewhocompleted
theirsecondaryeducation, therate fallsmarkedlyfor individualswho
hadcompletedpostsecondaryeducation,standingat3.9%,and1.6%for
individualswhohadcompletedtertiaryeducation.6
Followingacceptedpopularperceptions, thehighestrateof people
livingatriskofpovertywasfoundwithintheSouthernHarbourdistrict,
comprisingValletta,Floriana,Cottoneraandthetownsintheirimmediate
surroundings,withapercentageof20.7.Thiscanbeputinrelationtothe
4 NSONewsRelease09.06.200384/2003PovertyandSocialInequality,p.1
5 NSONewsRelease09.06.200384/2003PovertyandSocialInequality,p.2
6 NSONewsRelease09.06.200384/2003PovertyandSocialInequality,p.2
nexthighestpercentage,15.9%intheSouthEasterndistrict,andtothe
lowestpercentage,8.7%intheWesterndistrict.7
Table1:PovertyinMaltain2000
DistrictSouthernHarbour
DistrictSouthEastern
DistrictWesternDistrict
Percentageofthetotalpopulationlivingatrisk
ofpoverty20.7% 15.9% 8.7%
Source:NSONewsRelease09.06.20038/2003PovertyandSocialInequality,p.2,8
Whenrelatedtothevariableofdwellingtype,almost65%ofthose
atriskofpovertylivedinrentedhouses.Infact,35.6%ofthoseliving
in rented, furnished dwellings and 28.8% of those living in rented,
unfurnisheddwellingswereatriskofpoverty.
Themost shockingpercentagesare, however,relatedto household
type, uncovering a malaise that is af0licting Maltese contemporary
society.TheNSONewsReleasestatesthat18.5%ofhouseholdswithtwo
adultsandchildrenwereatriskofpoverty.Instarkcomparison,55%
ofsingleparenthouseholdswithatleastonedependentchildwereat
riskofpoverty. 8Atthispointonehastoclarifythefactthatthesingle
parentcategoryincludes separatedas wellas unmarriedparents. The
lattermightfallwithinanagerangethatincludes,butisnotexclusivelymadeupof,teenagemothersorfathers.Thus,thispercentagehastobe
interpretednotonlyinrelationtotheincidenceofteenagepregnancies,
butverymuchmoresoinrelationtothesituationoftheinstitutionofthe
familyunitincontemporaryMaltesesociety,aswellas tothechanging
scenariooffamilyvaluesinMalta.
7 NSONewsRelease09.06.200384/2003PovertyandSocialInequality,pp.2,8
8 NSONewsRelease09.06.200384/2003PovertyandSocialInequality,p.3
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TheSurveyofIncomeandLivingConditions(SILC)of2005revealed
that14.9%ofallpersonslivinginhouseholdsfellunderthepovertyline.
Whilethe percentage wasof 14.2for males, itwas slightlyhigher for
femalesandstoodat15.5%. 9Childrenwerethemostvulnerablegroup.
21.9%ofchildrenfrom0to16werelivingbelowthepovertyline.These
werefollowedbythecohortofpeopleaged65andover,16.3%ofwhom
wereatriskofpoverty. 10Thesamestudyrevealsthatthepercentageof
singleparenthouseholdswithatleastonedependentchildandfalling
belowthe povertyline stoodat 47.9%. Furthermore, 75.2% of thoseliving on socialbene0itslivedbelow thepovertyline.11Thisshowsa
slightimprovementonthe0iguresof2.However,ifweconsiderwork
intensity(WI),we0indthat47.8%ofhouseholdswithaWIequalto12
fellbelowthepovertyline.
Table2:PovertyinMaltain2005bycategory
CategoriesPercentagewithinthecategorylivingatriskofpoverty
Thegeneralpopulation 14.9%
Males 14.2%
Females 15.5%
Children16 21.9%
Theelderly65+ 16.3%
Singleparenthouseholdswithatleast1dependentchild
47.9%
Thoselivingonsocialbene0its 75.2%
9 NSONewsRelease09.05.200775/2007SurveyonIncomeandLivingConditions,p.1
10 NSONewsRelease09.05.200775/2007SurveyonIncomeandLivingConditions,p.2
11 NSONewsRelease15.05.200780/2007InternationalDayofFamilies,p.4
12 Thismeansthatnobodyinthatparticularhouseholdhadworkedduringtheyearunderconsideration.NSO News Release 15.05.2007 80/2007 International Day of Families, p.5
3.Theat-risk-of-povertygroup:Thepicturein2007
Eurostatdatafor the years2005, 2006 and 2007 showsthat the
percentageofpersonslivingbelowthepovertylinestoodataconstant
14%.13ThiscanbecomparedtotheEU27averageof16%forthesame
period.FemalesinMaltahada1%morechanceoffallingintheatrisk
ofpovertycategorythanmales,asagainstahigherrateof2%inthe
EU27group.Whilein2000,18.8%oftheMaltesepopulationaged0to19
waslivingbelowthepovertyline,intheyears2005,2006and2007,the
percentageofpeoplefromto15atriskofpovertystoodat18%.ThiswasequaltotheEU25averagefor2005and2006and1%lessthanthe
EUaveragefor2007.14Atthesametime,21%ofMaltesepeopleaged65
andoverwerelivingbelowthepovertylineinthethreeyearsfrom2005
to2007.Thiswas2%morethantheEU25andtheEU27averageforthe
samethreeyears.
4.Employment
AbelaandTabone(28)claimthatUnemploymentisperhapsthe
numberoneindicatorofpovertyandsocialexclusion.(Abela&Tabone,
2008,p.13)Asmightbeexpected,thereisastrongcorrelationbetween
the occurrence of poverty, sources of income and employment. The
2000 Household Budgetary Survey reveals that79.1% of thoseliving
in households whosemain source of income wasderivedfrom social
bene0itswerelivingbelowthepovertyline.Atthesametime,39.6%ofhouseholdswherenoonewasworkingfellwithintheatriskofpoverty
group.15However,itseemsthatinMalta,beinginemploymentoffersa
greatersecurityagainstthedangeroffallingbelowthepovertyline.While
13Eurostat.http://eurostat.ec.europa.eu/tgm/refreshTableAction.do?tab=table&plugin=1&init=1&pcode=tsisc3&language=enretrievedon25.05.2009.
14 Eurostat.http://eurostat.ec.europa.eu/tgm/refreshTableAction.do?tab=table&plugin=1&init=1&pcode=tsdsc23&language=enretrievedon25.05.2009.
15 NSONewsRelease09.06.200384/2003PovertyandSocialInequality,p.3.
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intheEU25group,thepercentageofpeopleinemploymentwhofellbelow
thepovertylinein2005,2006and2007was8%,inMaltathepercentage
was5in2005,and4in2006and2007. 16Atthesametime,thepercentage
ofunemployedpeopleintheEU27groupwhowereatriskofpovertyin
2007was42%.InthesameyearinMalta,itwas39%.17Thisseemsto
givecredencetoastatementmadebyanETChighof0icialduringoneof
ourinterviewsthatthebestwayoutofbene0its[andthereforeoutofthe
riskofpoverty]isto0indajob.Onewillhavetoenquireaboutthepeople
who,despitebeinginemployment,stilldonotmanagetoearnadecentliving.Thisquestionwillbediscussedbelow.
Statistics for the three years running from December 2000 to
December 2003 show that the average number of persons living in
jobless households amounted to 11%of the population.18 Across this
spanoftime,thenumberoffemaleslivinginhouseholdswherenobody
wasinemploymenthasbeeninvariablyhigherthanthenumberofmales.
Whileanaverageof10%ofmaleslivedinjoblesshouseholds,therewas
acorrespondingpercentageof12pointsforfemaleslivinginthe same
conditions. Childrenand adults inthe 45to 64age bracketwere also
theworsthit.Childrenaged0to14amountedto15%ofthoselivingin
joblesshouseholdsinDecember2000.Thepercentageroseto18.5%in
December2003.Similarly,while8.2%ofallchildrenaged0to17were
livinginjoblesshouseholdsinDecember2000,thenumberroseto10%
bythe endof 2003. Theother vulnerablegroup seemed toconsistof
thosewithinthe45to64agebracket.InDecember2000thisagegroup
madeup 47.7% of thoselivingin jobless households.The percentage
fell slightlyby December2003to 42.2%. Jobless householdsare not
evenlydistributedovertheMalteseterritory.In2003,31.9%ofjobless
16Eurostat.http://eurostat.ec.europa.eu/tgm/table.do?tab=table&init=1&language=en&pcode=tsdsc32&plugin=1retrievedon25.05.2009.
17 Eurostat,Statisticsinfocus46/2009(2009)Populationandsocialconditions.p.5
18 NSONewsRelease14.04.200461/2004JoblessHouseholdsinMalta.p.1
householdswerefoundintheNorthernHarbourDistrict,comprisingof
themostdenselypopulatedtownsoftheMalteseislands,includingQormi,
SliemaandBirkirkara.The second largestcohort ofjoblesshouseholds,
withapercentageof25.4%,wasfoundintheSouthernHarbourDistrict,
comprising,amongothers,Valletta,Cottonera,Paola,FguraandTarxien.
NSO statistics, basedon the Labour Force Surveys,provideus with
rawstatisticsrelatedtopeopleinemployment(15+)inMalta. 19Whilethe
numberofmalesinemploymentinthesecondquarterof2000was99,905,
thenumberroseto104,133inthesecondquarterof2005,risingslightlyto14,894inthesecondquarterof28,justbeforetheworld0inancial
crisisstartedhittinghard.Moresubstantialchangesoccurredwithregards
tofemalesinemployment.Whileinthesecondquarterof2000therewere
43,552womenaged0ifteenandoverwhowereingainfulemployment,the
numberroseto47,082inthesecondquarterof2005andagainto54,981
inthesecondquarterof2008.However,itisquitestrikingtonotethatin
thesecondquarterof2008thenumberofinactivewomenwasroughly
doubletheamountofinactivemen.The0irstnumbered116,251whilethe
secondstoodat58,368.Thenumberofinactivepeopleincludespeopleof
employmentage,andthe2:1ratiostronglysuggeststhatthenumberof
womenwhoeitherchoosetostayathometolookaftertheirchildrenor
elsearecompelledbythefamilysituationtostayathomeandlookafter
theirfamilyis stillveryhigh.At thesame time,theunemployedinthe
secondquarterof2008were6690menand3564women,totalling10,254
persons.In the fourth quarter of2008 the number ofthe unemployed
increasedto 10,790 persons, with an unemployment rateof 6.3%.20 It
transpiresthatinthesameperiod,morethanhalfoftheunemployedmales
hadbeenregisteringforworkformorethanayear,comparedto36%of
19 NSOstatisticsdatabase.www.nso.gov.mtretrievedon22.06.2009
20 NSONewsRelease20.05.200988/2009LabourForceSurvey:Q/2008,p.1,2
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womenwhowereinthesamesituation. 21Besides,itseemsthatwomen
seekingmore0lexibilityatworktocopewithfamilycommitmentswere
0indingithardertosettleforafulltimejob.Infact,0iguresrevealthat
inthesamequarterof2008,whilealmost96%ofmeninemployment
hadafulltimejob,only73.5%ofemployedwomenwereworkingon
afulltimebasis.Onthecontrary,whenitcomestofulltimejobswith
reducedhoursandparttimejobsastheirmainoccupation,womenwere
muchmore,bothinrawnumbersandpercentagewise.Infact,whileonly
about.3%ofmenwereworkingonafulltimejobwithreducedhours,therewere5.2%ofemployedwomeninthiscategory.Similarly,while
only3.8%ofemployedmenhadaparttimejobastheirmainoccupation,
totalling4,084males,therewere11,083womenwhosemainjobwason
aparttimebasis,amountingto21.3%ofemployedwomen.22Thisshows
thatMaltastillhasalongwaytogotowardsofferingwomen,enoughjob
0lexibilitythatwouldenablethemtotakeupfulltimejobs.Parttimejobs
beingmoreprecariousandunstablemakeswomenamorevulnerable
categoryofworkers.
InMay2009,thenumberofregisteredunemployedtotalled7266,up
by21%onMayofthepreviousyear.23
In 2003, 4716 persons availed themselves of contributory
unemploymentbene0itsamountingto 2,839,851. The following year
the number of unemployed who bene0ited from unemployment aid
spiralledto612,nettingatotalof3,213,299.Numbersstartdecreasingasfrom2005.Intheyear2007therewere4,481personswhoreceived
unemploymentbene0its,amountingto2,323,37.Similarly,thenumber
ofpersonswhoavailedthemselvesofnoncontributoryunemployment
bene0its in 23 amounted to 671, netting between them the sum
21 NSONewsRelease20.05.200988/2009LabourForceSurvey:Q/2008,p.9
22 NSONewsRelease20.05.200988/2009LabourForceSurvey:Q/2008,p.8
23 www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/29624/local/unemploymentplaguesgozoandthesouth.Retrievedon25.06.2009
of 16,962,613. The number spiralled to 6755 in 24, resulting in
noncontributory unemployment bene0its amounting to 18,86,89.
Numbers started dwindling the following year, reaching a total of
5854personsin27whoamongthembene0itedfrom17,342,647.24
Unemploymentdidnotseemtoprecludeeitherfrommarryingorhaving
children. However, the number of males who either married or had
childrenwhileinunemploymentwasverylimited.In2007,therewere
46unemployedmaleswhogotmarried,totalling1.9%ofallmaleswho
gotmarriedinthatyear.Thelargestgroupwithinthiscohortconsistedof19malesaged25to29.Inthesameyear209outof3871livebirthswere
borntounemployedfathers.Thismeansthat5.4%ofbabiesin2007were
borntounemployedfathers.25
Table3:Peoplereceivingcontributoryandnoncontributoryunemploymentbene'itsin2003,2004and2007
Personsreceiving
contributoryunemployment
bene0its
Amountofcontributorybene0itspaid
Personsreceivingnoncontributory
unemploymentbene0its
Amountofnoncontributory
unemploymentbene0its
2003 4716 2,839,851 6071 16,962,613
2004 6102 3,213,299 6755 18,86,89
2005 4995 2,544,87 6611 17,333,523
2006 5277 2,769,581 6200 17,915,5192007 4481 2,323,37 5854 17,342,647
Source:NSO(2008)SocialProtection:MaltaandtheEU2008.Data2003-2007.Malta:NSO.pp.3,5.
24NSO(2008)SocialProtection:MaltaandtheEU2008.Data2003-2007.Malta:NSO.pp.3,5.
25NSO(2008)DemographicReview2007.Malta:NSO.pp.29,53.
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5.Employment,EducationandHousing
The causes of poverty are often a complex combination of
circumstances.Employmentisjustone.Aswehavealreadyseen,asmall
percentageofpeopleinemployment,thoselivingonscantypaycheques,
fallbelow the povertyline, notwithstandingthe factthat theyhave a
fulltimejob.Itshouldnotbeverydif0iculttoshowthatthosewhoend
up0illingtheranksoflowlypaidjobsandoftheunemployedarethose
withthelowestlevelofeducationalachievement.AccordingtoEurostat,
in 2007, 16%of thosewhose highest level of educational attainmentwas preprimary, primary or lower secondary, were living below the
povertyline,comparedtotheEU25percentageof23.Asthelevelof
educationalattainmentincreases,sodoesthechanceoflivingabovethe
povertyline.Infact,7%ofpeoplewhohadbeentouppersecondaryor
postsecondaryeducationwerelivingbelowthepovertyline,compared
toEU25percentageof13. Similarly,inMalta,thepercentageofthose
whohadreceivedtertiaryeducationandwerelivingbelowthepoverty
linewas5%,comparedtoEU25percentageof7.Thus,bothinMaltaand
inEurope,themoreapersonisquali0ied,thelesschancehe/shehasof
livingbelowthepovertyline.26
In2005,26,121personsdeclaredtheywereilliterate. 27Thehighest
numberofilliteratesisfoundintheSouthernHarbourArea,whichaccording
tothesamecensuswasfoundtohavethehighestunemploymentrate.In
thisdistrict,7442peopledeclaredthemselvestobeilliterate,amounting
to10.2%ofthepopulation,comparedtotheNorthernDistrict,withthe
lowestrateofilliteracyat4.5%.Atthesametime,3117personsdeclared
tobeunemployedintheSouthernHarbourDistrict,amountingto4.57%
ofthe population ofthe district,in comparison to1104 unemployed
26 http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/tgm/table.do?tab=table&init=1&plugin=1&language=en&pcode=tsdsc420.Retrievedon25.06.2009.
27NSO(2007)CensusofPopulationAndHousing2005.Vol.1.Population.Malta:NSO.p.177
personsintheNorthernDistrictwiththelowestrateofunemployment
at2.4%.28ThisisfurthercorroboratedbystatisticsrelatedtoMay2009
wherethetoptenMalteselocalitieswiththehighestunemploymentrate
consistedofthreeGozitantownsandsevenMaltesetownsallfromthe
SouthernHarbourRegion.Bycontrast,fourof thesixlocalitiesmaking
uptheNorthernRegion,featuredamongthetenlocalitieswiththelowest
unemploymentrates.29
Statisticsrelatedtohousingfollowthesamepattern.Fromstatistics
tabled inParliament bythe Ministerfor SocialPolicyin June2009,ittranspires thatbetween 2004 and2008therewere3281requestsfor
socialaccommodation.Amongtheninelocalitiesregisteringthehighest
numberof requests foralternativesocial housing, onewill 0indthree
localitiesfromtheSouthernHarbourDistrict.Twoofthem,Vallettaand
Bormla,arefoundinthe0irstandthirdplacerespectively.30
6.Singleparenthouseholds
Thiscategorywas singled out for two reasons. Firstly, because in
publishedstatisticsthe0iguresrelatingto thiscategorystandoutfrom
therest. Secondly,becausewhatemergesfromthe statisticaldatahas
beencorroboratedbythedataobtainedfromtheinterviewsbothwith
peoplefromNGOsaswellaswithpeoplewhohaveexperiencedor are
experiencingpoverty.
Tobeginwith,wewilltakealookatthestatisticaldataof2003.In
theHouseholdBudgetarySurveyofthatyear,itemergesthat2.6%ofall
households weresingle parent households.Single motherhouseholds
amounted to 2.0% of the total number of households.31 The 2003
28NSO(2007)CensusofPopulationAndHousing2005.Vol.1.Population.Malta:NSO.p.197
29 www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/29624/local/unemploymentplaguesgozoandthesouth.Retrievedon25.06.2009
30 www.lorizzont.com/news.asp?newsitemid=54480.Retrievedon25.06.2009
31 NSONewsRelease196/2003.18.12.2003SingleMotherHouseholds,p.1
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documentfocusesonsinglemotherhouseholdsandrevealsthat43.8%
ofpersonslivinginsinglemotherhouseholdslivedundertheatriskof
povertyline, comparedto 14.4% of people living inother households
whowere living below the povertyline,comparedalsoto the 14.9%
0igureofpeoplelivingatriskofpovertyinallhouseholds.Thisdatais
corroboratedbyother0iguresthatshowhowin5%ofsinglemother
households,noonewasgainfullyoccupiedcomparedto29%inallother
households. There is again signi0icant difference between household
typeswhenthevariableis2gainfullyoccupiedpersonsinthehousehold.Whiletherewere31%ofhouseholdsatanationallevelin2003where
therewere2ormoregainfullyoccupiedmembers,therewereonly12%
ofsinglemotherhouseholdswhichhad2ormoremembersingainful
employment. Similarly, only 19% of people living in single mother
householdsweregainfullyoccupied,comparedto37%of peopleliving
inotherhouseholdswhowereingainfulemployment.32Therewasalso
ahigherchanceofsinglemotherhouseholdstoliveinarentedhouseor
inahousethatwasnotthepropertyofthefamilybutwasmadeavailable
freeofcharge.33
TheSILCof2005andtheCensuscarriedoutinthesameyearfocuson
singleparenthouseholdsratherthansinglemotherhouseholds.Thedata
showsthatthepercentageofsingleparenthouseholdshadgonedown
from2.6%ofallhouseholdsin2003to1.4ofhouseholdsin2005. 34But
theplightofsingleparenthouseholdsdidnotreallyimprove.TheSILC
showsthat47.9%ofpeoplelivinginsingleparenthouseholdswereliving
belowthepovertyline.Thispercentageincludes47.1%ofpersonsliving
insinglemotherhouseholds,whichcanbecomparedto43.8%forthe
32 NSONewsRelease196/2003.18.12.2003SingleMotherHouseholds,p.6
33 NSONewsRelease196/2003.18.12.2003SingleMotherHouseholds,p.8
34 NSONewsRelease80/2007.15.05.2007Internationaldayoffamilies,p.2
samecategoryin2003. 35Singleparenthouseholdshadthelowestaverage
disposableincomeforhouseholdswithoneormorechildren.36
TheCensusof2005givesusaglimpseofthedistributionofsingle
parenthouseholdsacrossthesixdistrictsoftheMalteseislands.Perhaps
unexpectedly, the region withthe highest percentage of single parent
householdsistheNorthernregion,whichwasfoundtobeoneofthemost
af0luent in relation to such variablesas employmentand educational
attainment.However,onehastoconsiderthefactthatstatisticsindicate
that thereis a verygreat probabilityfor single parent households toliveinrentedhouses.RightinthecentreoftheNorthernDistrict,one
0indsthemodernurbansprawlofBuibba/Qawrawhichmightattract
asigni0icantnumberofpersonswhoforvariousreasonsfeeltheneed
torentanapartment.Singleparenthouseholdsaccountedfor3.4%of
householdsintheNorthernDistrict.Insecondplacewe0indtheSouthern
Harbourregion,withapercentageof2.8%.37
Thepercentageofsingleparenthouseholdsfallingbelowthepoverty
linecontinuestoincreaseasyearsgoby.In27,the0igureincreasesto
54%ofsingleparenthouseholds.38Thismeansthatmorethanhalfthe
peoplelivinginsingleparenthouseholdshavedif0icultiesinmakingends
meet.ThispercentageisalsothehighestoneintheEU,comparedalsoto
theEU25percentageof34%forthesamecategory.39
Within the single parent category, one 0inds unmarriedmothers.
Thoughthe termsunmarried mothers andsingle parents are notalways interchangeable, one has to note that the number of births
occurringoutsidemarriageincreasedsteadily,from499in2001,to678
35 NSONewsRelease75/2007.09.05.2007Surveyonincomeandlivingconditions,p.4
36 NSONewsRelease75/2007.09.05.2007Surveyonincomeandlivingconditions,p.3
37 NSONewsRelease87/2008.15.05.2008Internationaldayoffamilies,p.2
38 NSONewsRelease84/2009.14.05.2009Internationaldayoffamilies,p.5
39 http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/tgm/refreshTableAction.do?tab=table&plugin=1&1init=1&pcode=tsdsc24&language=enretrievedon25.05.2009.
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in2003,to779in2005.In2007,25%ofallbirthsoccurringinMalta
wereto unmarriedmothers.Theseamountedto atotal of964 births.
Ofthese,353caseswereprobablydeclaredtohaveunknownfathers.40
Singleunmarriedparentsareentitledtoaspecialallowance.Government
expenditure on this allowance has increasedaccordingly. There were
14singleunmarriedparentsbene0itingfromthisallowancein23,
bene0itingfromatotalexpenditureof4,239,91.Thenumberincreased
to 1,813 single unmarriedparentsin 2005, sharing between theman
expenditure amounting to 6,563,765. In 27, the number of singleunmarriedparentscontinuedtospiralto2,346whoamongthembene0ited
from8,14,252.41 Adocumenttabledin parliamentin responsetoa
parliamentaryquestionrevealsthatthenumberofschoolgirlmothers
agedbetween13and15seekinghelpfromUnitGoa,aspecialised
unitwithintheDirectorateforEducationalServices,inthescholasticyear
2006/07was31,in2007/2008wentdownto22androseagainto28in
thescholasticyear2008/2009.42
Table4:Livebirthsoutsidemarriage2001-2007
2001 499
2002 569
2003 678
2004 744
2005 779
2006 8662007 964
Source:NSONewsRelease87/2008.15.05.2008Internationaldayoffamilies:2008,p.6
40 NSONewsRelease87/2008.15.05.2008Internationaldayoffamilies:2008,p.6IsayprobablybecausethesourceonlysaysthatNSOdidnotknowtheageofthefather,presumablybecausethemotherdeclaredunknownfatherstatusatthecivilregistrationof0ice.
41NSO(2008)SocialProtection:MaltaandtheEU2008.Data2003-2007.Malta:NSO.p.5.
42 http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/2971/local/28schoolgirlmothersreceiveassistance.Retrievedon01.07.2009.
7.Immigrants
StatisticsrelatedtoimmigrantsprovidedbytheNSOgo asfarback
as1995whenanumberofIraqiswereprobablystillinMaltafollowing
the 1991991 Persian GulfWar. Theyspoke a strange language, but
sometimes you could hardly tell anIraqifrom a Maltese. They even
joinedtheSundaycongregationsinourCatholicChurches.Theyattracted
alotofsympathyandreceivedgreathelpuntilmostofthemreceived
refugee status andwereresettled mainlyin NorthAmerica. Albanians
andothersfromotherEasternEuropeancountriesalsofoundtheirwaytoourislandsfollowingunrestintheBalkansinthesameperiod.43But
beingwhite,theymingledwiththelocalpopulation.TheNSOstatistics
highlightthefactthatanumberofforeignerswereseekingrefugeinour
country.Then,whenMaltajoinedtheEUin2004,thereseemedtobean
openingupofasouthnorthhuman0lowacrosstheMediterranean.Only
thatthistimetheincomerscouldnotbemissed.Theirskincolourgave
themup.ReferredtoinvariablyasAfricans,illegalimmigrants,irregular
immigrants, clandestine, orsimplyas blacks, theyseem tohave made
animpressionontheMaltesecollectivepsyche.Thenumberofpersons
grantedasyluminMaltafellfromahighofalmost700in1995to133in
2002.Thennumbersstartspirallingagainin2003,whenthenumberof
peoplegrantedasylumwentupto381.Inthenextfouryears,thenumber
stoodbetweenabout550and600eachyearuntilin2008itmorethan
doubled, reachinga number of 1416. In 2008, there were2775boat
people who reached our shores. They were not the only foreigners
stayingontheislandsirregularly,buttheywerethemostconspicuous
becauseofthecolouroftheirskin,whichmakesitimpossibleforthemto
camou0lagethemselvesamongtheMaltesepopulation.Fromthe0igures
43 TheBosnianWartookplacebetween1992and1995.Atthesametime,thedif0iculttransitionfromEnverHoxhasiron0istruletoWesternstyledemocracywastakingplaceinAlbania,aprocessthatsawcivilunrestin19911992andnationwideriotsin1997.
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intable6,itmayappearthatfortheperiod2228,slightlymore
thanhalfofthoseseekingasylum,wereeffectivelygrantedrefugeestatus
orsomeotherformofprotection. 44InDecember2008,therewere1895
immigrantsresidingmainlyattheopencentresinalFarandMarsaand
inothersmallresidencesinvariouslocalities. 45Therewerepresumably
otherswhohadmovedoutoftheopencentrestoliveinrenteddwellings.
Otherswerekeptindetentioncentresawaitingtobedeportedorwaiting
foradecisionregardingtheirapplicationforasylum.Itisnotpossible
fromthestatisticspublishedbyNSO,mainlybasedonstatisticsputatitsdisposalbytheCommissionerforRefugeesandbytheOrganisationfor
theIntegrationandWelfareofAsylumSeekers(OIWAS)todeterminehow
manyAfricanorotherimmigrantswerelivinginMaltainanyparticular
year. Whatis certainis thatthe Africanimmigrantswere theonesto
attractmostattention.
InJuly29Skop,theNationalPlatformofMalteseNongovernmental
DevelopmentOrganisations,issuedastatement46inreactiontoareport
publishedbythePermanentCommitteeforSocialAffairsoftheHouseof
RepresentativesinMarch2009,whichcategoricallydeniedtheexistence
ofabsolutepovertyinMalta.47SKOPstatedthat,Atthesametimethat
theparliamentarydebaterejectedtheexistenceof absolutepovertyin
Malta,a numberof socialactivistswereholdingmeetingswitha group
ofAfricanwomenresidinginthenorthofMaltaandcurrentlybene0itingfromhumanitarianprotection.Thisgroupofaround30women,allwith
children,lackbasicneedsincludingfoodandnappiesfortheirchildren.
44 NSONewsrelease109/200919.06.2009WorldRefugeeDay,pp.4.
45 NSONewsrelease109/200919.06.2009WorldRefugeeDay,pp.5.
46 KumitatPermanentiDwarlAffarijietSojali.(29)Il-idmalejnl-inklujonisojalit4isseridmakontral-faqar:It-tfall-aktarlijbatu.Malta:KamratadDeputati.p.1
47 KumitatPermanentiDwarlAffarijietSojali.(29)Il-idmalejnl-inklujonisojalit4isseridmakontral-faqar:It-tfall-aktarlijbatu.Malta:KamratadDeputati.p.1
Thisamountstoabsolutepovertybyanyde0inition.48
Table5:Personsgrantedrefugeestatusorsomeotherkindofprotection.
Year Numberofpersons
1995 698
1996 538
1997 448
1998 450
1999 378
2000 277
2001 244
2002 133
2003 381
2004 609
2005 546
2006 503
2007 630
2008 1416
Source:NSONewsrelease133/200520.06.2005WorldRefugeeDayp.2,
NSONewsrelease109/200919.06.2009WorldRefugeeDayp..
48 The Times of Malta (14.07.2009),L-Orizzont(14.07.2009)
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Table6:BoatsarrivinginMaltawithirregularimmigrants:2002-2008
Year No.of
boats
arriving
No.of
peopleon
board
Applications
0iledwiththeCommissionerfor
Refugeesduringthe
currentyear
No.ofpersons
grantedrefugee
statusorsome
otherkind
ofprotection
duringthe
currentyear
No.ofpersons
denied
refugeestatus
orsome
otherkind
ofprotection
duringthe
currentyear
2002 21 1686 350 133 2862003 12 502 455 381 187
2004 52 1388 995 609 259
2005 4 8 1822 1165 546 556
2006 5 7 1780 1261 503 542
2007 6 8 1702 1386 630 329
2008 84 2775 2608 1416 1281
Total 342 11655* 8220** 4218 3440***
Source:NSONewsrelease109/200919.06.2009WorldRefugeeDaypp.2,.
* ThenumberofpersonsarrivingbyboatdoesnotconstitutetheentiregroupofpersonsarrivingorstayinginMaltairregularly.Thereareotherswhoarrivethroughlegalmeansbutthenstaybeyondtheexpiryoftheirvisapermit.
** ThenumberofpersonsapplyingforprotectioncomesmainlybutnotexclusivelyfromAfricanboatpeople.Notallboatpeopleapplyforasylumorprotection.
***Wheninterpretingthesenumbersonehastokeepinmindthatwhilepresumablyanasylumseekerwill0ileanapplicationwiththeCommissionerforRefugeessoonafterarrival,his/herapplicationwilltakelongtoconclude.Thusanapplicationmightbe0iledinoneyearanddecideduponduringthefollowingyear.Thusbywayofexample,anumberofthepersonsgranted
asylumin28,willhave0iledtheirapplicationduring27,theactualyearoftheirarrivalontheMalteseislands.
8.Conclusion
Thesenumbersshouldbeenoughtoillustratethepointthatpoverty
inMaltadoesexistindifferentforms,af0lictingdifferentpeople,white
andblack,ofallages.Theyalsoshowthatpoverty,ortheriskoffalling
intopoverty, af0licts several thousandsof people living inthe Maltese
islands.Wemaynotseebeggarsinthestreetyet.Andifwearenotactive
incertainagenciesthatofferparticularservicestopoorpeople,wemight
still thinkthatthe poor inour country are a rare occurrance.These
statisticsdraw backthe curtain andexpose a reality which is mostly
hiddentothemajorityofthepopulation.Inthefollowingchapter,weare
goingtolookatpovertythroughtheeyesofserviceprovidersfromNGOs
andgovernmentagencies.
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2.2WhoarethepoorinMalta?Atypologyofthe
relativelyandnotsorelativelypo or1
1.Strugglingtomakeendsmeet
IfwetaketheEurostatmeasuretodrawthelinebetweenwhoispoor
andwhoisnot,thenaccesstomonetaryresourcesbecomestheyardstick.
InourinterviewswithemployeesandvolunteersfromNGOsandstate
agencies, wetriedto drawup atypologyof reasonswhypeoplemay
experiencepoverty.
A 0irst and almost obvious reason for 0inancial deprivation is
unemployment.Anotherreasonisexclusivedependenceonsocialsecurity
bene0its,mostlyintheformofcashhandoutsbytheDepartmentforSocial
Security.Moreworryingisthefactthatsometimesfamilieswherethere
isabreadwinnerinemploymentandhavedependentchildren,still0indit
hardtomakeendsmeet.
A constantworry ofthe persons who get into contact with those
experiencing poverty is the fact that sometimes families who have
meagre0inancialresources,donotmanagethemwellenough.Anumber
ofserviceprovidersweinterviewedsaidthatoftenthefamilyhassome
formof0inancialincomebutarguedthatthemembersofthefamilyspend
theavailablefundsaccordingtoasetofcriteriathattheintervieweesdid
notagreewith.Insuchcases,theintervieweestendedtoputtheblameon
thefamiliesthemselves.
Thentherewerecaseswhere,accordingtointerviewees,people0ind
themselvesinunfortunatecircumstancesnotoftheirownmaking.One
1 AngeleDeguara(2008)draftedasimilartypologyofcategoriesofpoorpeopleinMaltaandtheEU.HerresearchisbasedonMalteseandEuropeanpublicationsofvariouskinds.ThischaptercomplementsAngeleDeguarastypologybyresearchingmainlytheopinionofpersonswhohavelongstandingexperienceofworkwithpoorpeoplewithinstate,churchandvoluntarysectororganisationsandagencies.ThuswhileDeguarastypologyismorebasedonstatisticalresearchcarriedoutatMalteseandatEuropeanlevel,oursismoregroundedintheMalteseserviceprovidersexperienceofpoverty.
suchcaseiswherefamiliesfacesuddenhealthconditionsthatrequire
veryexpensivemedicalcare,whichisbeyondthe0inancialmeansofthe
family.
Sometimespeoplefallvictimstousury. Twoparishpriestspointed
outsuchoccurrencesofthisproblemintheirparish.Whileoneparish
priestspokeaboutitingenericterms,theotherparishpriestlinkedit
directlytotheplightofsinglemotherslivinginhisparish.Whenthese
people0indithardtopayrentoreventobuysomebasicneedsfromthe
grocers,theymayfallvictimtousurerslivingintheirblock.Thelattermaysometimesbeelderlywomenwhopryuponthesevulnerablepeople,
draggingthemintoaviciouscirclethatmakestheiralreadyprecarious
situationevenworse.
Fromtheinterviewscarriedout,thecategorythatemergedtobethe
mostvulnerablewasthatmadeupofsingleparentfamilies,something
that is glaringly visible through statistical records, which regularly
indicatethataroundhalfofallsingleparentfamiliesinMaltalivebelow
thepovertyline.
Anothervulnerablecategoryismadeupofpeoplewhohaveproblems
relatedtosubstanceabuseorcompulsivegambling.Sometimesitishard
totellif0inancialproblemsarethecauseofortheeffectofsubstance
abuseorgambling.Whatissureisthathavingasubstanceabuse,alcohol
or gambling problemmakesheavier0inancial demands on an already
depleted0inancialsupply,compoundingthe personalsituationof thesepeople.Whiledrugabusemaybe anundergroundaffair,alcoholabuse
andgamblingarenot.As foralcoholabuse,weencounteredadrunken
mansittinginaparishof0icewherewewereconductinganinterview
withaparishpriest.Onourwayout,weweretoldthathewasinthe
waitingroomwaitingfortheparishpriesttoaskhimforsomemoney.
Withregardstogambling,allfourparishpriestsinterviewedpointedtheir
0ingersatthemushroomingofgaminghallsinMaltaduetoaloopholein
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Malteselaw.2Oneparishpriesttoldus,Theseshopsinmyparishare
openingupinplaceswherethemostvulnerablepeoplelive.Aheadof
schoolmentionedabingohallthatoffersbingoalldaylonginthelocality.
Acommunityworkeractiveinthesamelocalitymentionedpeoplewho
spendalltheirmoneyatthelottoof0ice.Anotherparishpriestmentioned
agamblingshopnotveryfarfromhisparishchurchwherehesawold
ladiessquanderingtheirpensioncheque.A statementissuedinMarch
2009aboutgamblingshopsbytheParliamentarySelectCommitteefor
SocialAffairsmentionshow
amotherwith compulsive gambling disorderwaswalking in the
streetandaftermanagingtoavoidenteringtwogamblingoutlets,she
metyetanotheroutletandsuccumbedtothetemptation.Ithadto
beher0ifteenyearolddaughterwhodraggedheroutofthisoutlet
inordertostopherfromgamblingawayallthemoneyshegotfrom
socialbene0its,withtheconsequencethatthisfamilyhadtodowith
1forthewholemonth.
Thesamestatementaf0irmsthatthereexistsa strongrelationship
betweenusuryandcompulsivegamblingandthat70%ofthosewhofall
victimtousuryarecompulsivegamblers.(DOI12.3.29)
Finally, 0inanciallywise, there seemsto be an imminent danger of
usheringinanewcategoryofabsolutelypoorintheguiseofimmigrants
whoareinstructedtoleavetheopencentres.They0inditverydif0icult
to0indemploymentandareverypronetoendupinbleakconditions.3
Managing to aggregate themselves in small groups and renting 0lats
collectively, theyare slowly in0iltrating both of the localitieswe have
2 Thisproblemseemstohavebeenpartlyaddressedthroughamendmentsinthelawandalsoaclampdownbythepoliceforcewhichforcedsomeoftheseoutletstoclosedown,somepermanently.
3 SeeforexampleTheTimesofMalta(14.7.29),LOrizzont(14.7.29)
surveyed.Twoparishpriests,onefromeachlocality,havetoldusthat
immigrantssometimesturnupattheirof0icesaskingforclothingandfor
food.
2.Theunemployed
Longterm unemployment seems to be a very important issue in
nuber.Theheadteacherofthelocalprimaryschoolsaidthatsomefathers
are chronically unemployed and described them as fathers without
ajob,alwaysatthepub.Aparishpriestsaidthatsomeofthepeoplewhogobeggingformoneyathisof0icearepeoplewhoareinirregular
employment.4Arecurrentproblemrelatedtoemploymentseemstobe
thatsinglemotherswhoarecaringforveryyoungchildren0inditvery
hardtoaccesschildcarefacilities.Whentheydonothavefamilysupport
inthisregard,theyarepracticallyprecludedfromtakingonevenpart
timejobs,muchlesssofulltimejobs.Themayorofnubertoldusthat
inhislocality,therearevariousestablishmentswheremotherscan0ind
employment.Howeversincethereare nochildmindingfacilitiesin his
locality,itisonlythosemotherswhocanrelyonotherfamilymembers
forchildcare,whoareabletotakeupsuchajob.Similarly,acommunity
workerfromanNGOinthesamelocalitytoldusthatamongtheirclients
therearesingleparentswithsmallchildrenwhodonothavepersons
theycanrelyontotakecareoftheirchildren.TheheadofaFiddien
stateschool told us that,single parents who have a job and donothaveanybodywhocantakecareoftheirchildren,sometimessendtheir
childrentoschoolevenwhentheyaresick.
Acommunityworkerpointedouttousthatsomepeoplearevery
willingtoworkbutarepracticallyunemployablebecausetheyhavea
verylowlevelofeducation.Becauseofthis,theyonly0indunstablejobs,
unmotivatingjobs,orjobsontheminimumpay.AbelaandTabone(28)
4 Jadmu bla ktieb.
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declarethat,Theminimumwageisapovertywage.(p.42)Besides,at
timesitisnotworththetroubletogetajobontheminimumwage.A
parentwhotakesalltheavailablesocialbene0itswillbeearningjustafew
euroslessthantheminimumpay.Sotakingupajobwiththeminimum
pay,withallthe complicationsofhavingtocombinechildcarewiththe
worktimetable,isnotanincentiveenoughtoenticetheparenttotakeup
ajob.Thisargumenthasbeeninvariablyputforwardbyallthefourparish
priestswehaveinterviewed.AlocalcouncillorfromFiddiennotedthat,
thedifferencebetweentheminimumpayandsocialassistanceamountsonlytoabout4,asumtheycanmakeupforwithadaysworkthey
mightgetfromsomewhere.Themayorofnuberhintedthatthisresults
inamentalityofchronicdependenceonsocialservices.Thispointwill
bediscussedinfurtherdetailinthenextchapter.
Anothercategoryofpeoplewho0inditveryhardto0indajobare
thosewhoattheageoffortyandover0indthemselvesunemployed,the
victims of industrialrestructuringor relocationof industriesto other
countrieswherethereisanavailabilityofcheaperlabourandgenerally
lower production costs. An of0icial from the Department of Social
SecuritysingledoutexemployeesofthestateownedMaltaDrydocksand
Shipbuildingcompanieswhichhavebeensubjecttodrasticrestructuring
resultinginschemesforvoluntaryoptoutfromworkin recentyears,
aswellasexemployeesofvariousprivateforeignownedfactoriesinthe
manufacturingsectorwhichhavecloseddownor relocatedelsewhere.
Amongtheseworkers,therewereagoodnumberofhighlyskilledand
highlymotivatedworkersintheirlatefortiesand0iftieswho,inthewords
ofaFiddienlocalcouncillor,wouldbeconsideredtoooldtogetajob.The
EmploymentandTrainingCorporation(ETC)hassingledoutthiscategory
ofpeopleandisaddressingtheirneedsthroughtargetedaction.AnETC
of0icialwasoftheopinionthatthespecialschemesarenottargetedatthe
unemployedthemselvesbutratherattheemployerswhoseemreluctant
toemployolderpeoplebutwouldratherhireyoungerworkers.
Anothercategoryofpeoplewhoseaccesstotheworldofworkcomes
withlotsofstringsattachedarethedisabled.Themotherofadisabled
youngwomanwhohasbeenluckyenoughto0indafulltimejob,saidthat
notalldisabledpeopleareaslucky.Shesaidthatmostparentsofdisabled
childrenareverypreoccupiedthatwhentheypassawaytheirchildren
would not beindependentenough tosupport themselves. Anof0icial
fromAppoarguedthatthesamehappenstopeoplewhohavementalproblems,claimingthatemployersareveryreluctanttosupportpeople
whomighthaveextradif0icultiesto0itinmainstreamemployment.
3.Thehomelessandthoselivinginprecariousconditions
Relativepoverty,thetermusuallyusedinof0icialandparliamentary
circlesatnationalandEUlevels,isitselfauselesstermwhenitcomesto
de0inetheplightofpeoplewhosuddenly0indthemselvesevictedfrom
theirhomesandliterallythrownoutintothestreet,sometimestogether
withtheirchildren.Thereisnothingrelativeinthesituationofahomeless
personorfamily.
Whenwe asked theHousing Authorityto identifythose groups of
peoplewhoaremostlikelytoknockattheirdoors,thefollowingcategories
wereidenti0ied:
Singleparents Peoplewithmobilityproblems
Peoplewhohavetroublewiththeirneighbours
Peoplewhoaresharingahousewithotherpeople
Homelesspeople
Peoplesufferingdomesticviolence
Youngpeoplelivinginchildrenshomesandwhocomeofageand
havetomoveoutoftheinstitution
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Peoplelivingindangerousbuildings
Peoplelivinginsubstandardhousing
Peoplepayinghighrentfortheirpresentlodgings
Peoplefacingabankoracourtevictionorder
Thesecategorieswerenothandedtousinanyparticularorder,and
justhighlightanumberofvulnerablecategoriesofpeoplewhoduring
sometimeoftheirlifefeeltheneedtoaskforsocialaccommodationfrom
thestateagencyinchargeofthisservice.Mostofthesecategorieshavesurfacedthroughoutourresearchandwefoundthatmostofthemhaveto
faceverycomplexsituations,housingbeingjustonesideofthecoin.
Theheadofschoolofnuberstatedthatatthetimeoftheinterview,
therewerechildrenfromthreedifferentfamilieswhowerehomelessand
were0indingshelterinan institution.Thehousingsituationin Fiddien
seemstoberatherbleak.Manypeopleseemtobelivinginsubstandard
orevendangeroushousing.Aparishpriestfromnubersaidhowhehad
beeninhouseswhichdonothaveashower,whileacommunityworker
inthesamelocalityhadbeeninhomeswithouttilesbecausethefamily
doesnothavethemeans.
The head ofa nuber schoolspoke ofchildrenin the schoolwho
liveinfamilyclustersinhouseswhicharenotsubstandardbutwhich
areverycrowded.Similarly,aGirlGuideleaderfromFiddiensaidhow
sheknewofchildrenfromlargefamilieswholiveinanapartmentwithtwobedrooms.Aparishpriestfromthesamelocalityspokeofsmall
apartments,(consistingof)tworoomsandatoilet.
TheworstsituationinrelationtohousinginFiddienislinkedtosingle
mothers.AmemberofthestaffofthelocalcouncilofFiddienrevealed
howheknewofsinglemotherswhoarenotrelatedinanywaytoeach
other,whodecidetosharea0latbetweenthembecausetheycouldnot
affordtorentseparateapartmentsfortheirrespectivefamilies.Aparish
priestfromFiddiencon0irmedtheoccurrence.Hetoldusoftwomothers
whobetween themhad sevenchildren,whoshared a0lat.. The 0latis
extremelynoisy.Oneofthesemothershaschangedhomethreetimesin
threeweeks.
AcommunityworkerwithanNGOwhichamongotherthingsprovides
sheltertohomelesspeople,toldusthatmanypeoplewhoseekhelpfrom
herorganisationaremostlyadultsbetween30and40yearsofagewhohad
justpassedthroughaprocessofseparationwherebythecourtassignsthe
maritalhometotheotherpartner.Shealsoknewofanumberofsquattersinnuberwhohaveinheritedthehousewheretheirparentshadbeen
squatters.Suchhousesbelongtolandlordswhohaveneverturnedupto
claimbacktheirproperty.
Acommunityworkerfromthesamelocalityarguesthat,Thepeople
ofnubersomehowresignthemselvestothefactthattheywillnever
ownahouse,andthinkthatthehomemustinevitablybeprovidedby
thegovernment.Whilethiscommunityworkerwas hintingat asense
of helplessness in disenfranchisedpeople,a person fromthe Housing
Authorityblamedthis onthe welfarestatemodel ofthe 1970s saying
that,Ibelieveitisaquestionofmentality,stillcomingfromtheolden
timeswheretheGovernmentprovidedeverything.
Finally,itisimportanttonotethatourresearchwascarriedoutat
atimewhenthenew rent lawsapproved byParliament in2009 had
stillnotcomeintoforce.WeaskedtheHousingAuthorityiftheywere
envisagingnewhardshipsasaresultofthenewlawswhichweretaking
thelidofftenanciesthathadbeensecuredfordecadesbytheoldrent
laws.However,theAuthoritydidnotseeminapositiontoforeseeany
problematicoutcomes.TheHousingAuthorityspokespersonsimplysaid
that,ThenewrentlawpassedthroughallthestagesfromParliament.
Itis uptothe MinistertodecidewhentheLawwillcomeinto force.
Governmentwillmakesurethatthosewhoreallyneedassistancewillbe
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helped.Thespokespersonseemedquitecon0identthatGovernment,a
verygenericentity,willbeabletocomeupwithsolutionstoproblemsas
theyarise.
4.Dealingwithsicknessandwithdisability
A Parish priest fromnuber expressedhow families in his parish
passedthroughhardshipwhentheyhadtospendlotsofmoneytocure
illnesses,sometimesevenborrowingmoneyforthepurpose.Acommunity
workerfromnubersaidthatsometimespeoplewithpsychologicalandemotionalproblemsknockathisNGOsdoorforassistance.AGirlGuide
fromFiddiensaidthatwhenparentshavementalillnessproblems,the
childrentendtosuffer.Apersonfromthestateagencyforsocialwelfare
services, Appo, lamented the fact that people with mental health
problems0inditveryhardto0indajobbecauseemployerswouldnotgive
themachance.
Sometimesitisamemberofthefamilyitself,whoin0lictssuffering
on other members of the family. Domestic violence is largely an
undergroundaffairandisveryslowlycomingintothepublicdomain.A
womanweinterviewed,speakingabouttheverybitterrelationshipshe
hadwithaviolentman,waslostforwordswhendescribingthehorrifying
experiencesshehadgonethrough.Itwas,Ithink,theworsttimeofmy
life.Hereducedmeto...nottomisery...Idontthinktheresawordto
describethestateIwasreducedto.Anof0icerfromAppo,saidthattheyofferanemergencyshelterforpeoplesufferingfromdomesticviolence.
Itsanemergencyshelter.Wekeepthemthereforuptothreemonths
andthentheyhavetomove.
Onadifferentlevel,whenchildrenwithspecialneedsareborninto
afamily,theybringwiththemspecialchallenges.Aheadofschoolfrom
Fiddientoldusthatsometimesparents0inditverydif0iculttocometo
gripswiththesituationandpassthroughaprolongedphaseofdenial.
Aparishpriesttoldusthataspecialneedschildmightmeanagreater
0inancialstrainonthefamily.However,hesaidthatthefamilieswithsimilar
childreninhisparisharepeoplewhostrivehardandsomehowmanage
tocopewiththeirsituation;theydontfeeltheneedtoaskfor0inancial
help.Thisseemstobecorroboratedbywhataparentofadisabledgrown
upfromaselfhelpgrouptoldus:Myhusbandhasalwaysworkedvery
hard, fromone workplaceto another. AndI remainedat home.There
weretimeswhenthechildrendidnotseehimbeforelateevening.Hehas
enduredalot,to thisveryday,eventhoughourchildrenaregrownupsnow.However,shepromptlypointsoutherfearsforthefuture.Youll
startthinkingaboutthefuture.OnlyGodknowswhenthetimewillcome.
Butsometimesweaskourselves,whatwillbecomeofherwhenweare
notaroundanymore?Myotherchildrensaytheywilltakecareofher...
Whenwearenotaroundanymore?Mydaughterisindependent,shehas
ajob,Idontneedtobenearherallthetime,sheisabletogoshopping,
shegoestoworkeveryday,shehasafulltimejob.Butothers...
5.ParentsandGuardians:caringfortheyoung
Eurostatstatisticsfortheyears2527 5showthatfamilieswith
childrenhave a slightlymore chance of falling belowthe povertyline
thanhouseholds without dependentchildren. However,the particular
category of families having three or moredependent children have a
muchhigherchanceoffallingintotheatriskofpovertycategory.Wehavefoundthatfamiliesmayencountervarious0inancialproblemsthat
precludebothadultsandchildrenwithinthehouseholdfromaccessing
basicmaterialandeducationalneeds.
AheadofschoolatFiddientoldusthatsomeparents0inditdif0icult
tobuyuniforms,topayforeducationaloutingsoreventogiveadecent
packedlunchtotheirchildren.AGirlGuidefromFiddiendeclaredthat,
5 http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.euretrievedon25.05.2009.
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wehavechildrenwho,whenitcomestobuyingauniform,forexample,
theybuyasecondhandone.Orwho,whenwehaveacampingactivity,we
sponsorpartoftheexpenses.AScoutleaderfromthesamelocalitytold
usthatsomedonotaffordtopaythemembershipfeefortheirchildren.
Inthecaseofsinglemothersthesituationseemstobecomemoredif0icult
asweshallseeinthenextsection.
Sometimes,thetaskofcaringforchildrenbecomesevenmoredif0icult
whenoneoftheparentshasproblemsofhisorherown.Aparishpriest
fromnubersaidthathemetmotherswhohavetoraisetheirchildrenontheirownbecausethehusbandhaddrugoralcoholrelatedproblems.
Similarly,anotherparishpriestfromnuberspokeofafamilywhere
themotherhastoraiseherkidsonherownbecauseherhusbandisin
prison.
Tooffsetthe0inancialburdenofraisingafamilyorforsuchreasonsas
personalful0ilment,moremothersareaccessingemployment.Yetthisis
hamperedbythelackofchildcarefacilities.Someemployersoffertheir
ownchildcarefacilities.AnEmploymentandTrainingCorporation(ETC)
of0icialhighlightedthefactthatsuchfacilitiescanbefoundatETCitself,
Mater DeiHospital,the University of Malta, theMalta Collegeof Arts,
ScienceandTechnology(MCAST),aswellasinsomeprivateinstitutions.
The ETC had also soughtEU0inancial aid inorder totraina number
of childcarers to sustain the development of childcareprovision. The
corporationalsooffersasmallsubsidyof1.16perchildperhourforparentswhomakeuseofprivatechildcarefacilitiesinordertoattend
training courses offered by ETC. The of0icial argued, however, that
childcareservicesaremostlyprovidedbyprivateserviceprovidersand
thereforecomeataheftyfee.Thisstemsfromthefactthattheratioof
childrenpercarerasestablishedbylawisverylowandtheserviceis
thusveryhighinlabourcosts.Inthecaseoflowerincomefamilies,it
wouldnotmakeeconomicsenseforthewifetogoouttoworksinceasthe
ETCof0icialargued,Whyshouldthemothergetajobandthenpay8%
ofherwageinchildcare?Thegovernmentgivesabout1inrebates
on childcare expenseson presentation of 0iscalreceipts. However, this
doesnotinanywaycomparetotheactualexpensesofsendingoneortwo
childrentochildcare.
TheETCof0icialinterviewedhighlightedthefactthatgovernmentis
alsousingteleworkingsystemsinordertoenableparents,mostlymothers,
to workfrom home.One particulargovernment customer service, the
SocialPolicyInformationCentre(SPIC),isoperatedwhollyontelework.Conversely,itistakingtheprivatesectoralongtimetotakeupthispath.
Thus,itseemsthat,asmoremothersareaccessingtheworldofwork,
andinthe absenceof affordablechildcarefacilities,grandparentshave
cometoplayamajorroleinearlychildhoodcare.Themayorofnuber
speaksofgrandparentsandtheextendedfamilyastheonlypossiblemeans
toenable mothers toaccess employment. But theETC of0icial argued
thatinthefutureeventhisoptionwillcomeunderthreat.Uptillnow
grandparentsaresteppingin aschildcarers.But nowthegrandparents
aretheythemselvesinemployment,bothofthem.Whoisgoingtotake
careofthechildrennow?Ithinkthisproblemstillhastobeaddressed.
Aheadofschoolfromnubersaidthatinthecaseofseparationofthe
parents,the grandmother maybe asked togivea helpinghand.On the
otherhand,aparishpriestfromnuberarguedthat,sometimesitisthe
grandmotherherselfwhotakestheinitiative.Inhisownwords,sometimesgrandmothersfeelthattheirdaughtersarenottakingpropercareoftheir
children,suchaswhentheirdaughteriscohabitingwithamanwhoisnot
thefatherofthechildrenandthusfeelsthatthechildrenshouldnotremain
inthathouse,orelsewhentheirdaughterhasanumberofchildren,even
0iveormore,fromdifferentfathers,andisnotevenmarried.Andsothey
decidetotakethecareofthechildrenintheirownhands.
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6.Theplightofsingleparents
As shown through statistical data in the previous chapter, single
parentsareaveryvulnerablecategory.Havingtocopeontheirownwith
theupbringingofthechildrenandatthesametimetryingtosecurethe
0inancialmeanstodosoisnoeasyfeat.AEurostatpublication 6statesthat,
ThemainfactorsaffectingchildpovertylevelsintheEUarethelabour
market situationof theirparents andthe effectivenessof government
intervention through income support and the provision of enabling
servicessuchaschildcare.Thisisparticularlyevidentinthecaseofloneparents,whofaceariskofpovertyof46%.
StatisticsmadepublicbytheMinisterofSocialPolicy(TheTimesof
Malta,8.1.9)con0irmedthetrendshighlightedinthepreviouschapter
indicatingthatsingleparenthouseholds(mainlysinglemothers)wereon
theincrease.MinisterDallistatedthatMorethanhalfofmotherswho
givebirthwhenunder20yearsoldclaimthatthefatherisunknown...
39%ofmothersagedbetween20and24alsoclaimunknownfathers...
TherateofbirthsoutsidemarriagebyMaltesemothershasincreasedat
analarmingrateinaveryshortspanoftime,from12.9%in2002to25%
in2008.Oneineveryfourbirthsisfromyoungmothersunder20and
53%oftheseregistertheirbabyasfatherunknown.Wewilldealwith
thephenomenonofunknownfathersatalaterstage,butrawnumbers
show that the model of fathermotherchildren family, although still
verystrong,ishardlytobetakenforgrantedastheonlyfamilymodelin
Maltesesociety.
Thisworryingpicturehasbeencon0irmedbypeopleworkinginthe
communitiesorinstateagenciesoperatinginthe0ieldofsocialservices.
Themayorof nuberlamentsthatinhislocalitythereareyounggirls
whobecomepregnantataverytenderageandthenspendtherestof
theirlivesdependent onsocial bene0its. Similarly,a spokespersonfor
6 Wolf,P.,(2009)Populationandsocialconditions.Eurostat.Statisticsinfocus.46/2009.
theHousingAuthoritytoldusthat,Mostpeoplewhoseekalternative
accommodationaresingleparentsandpersonswhoshareaccommodation
withothers.Anof0icialfromAppodeclaredthatsingleparentswerea
majorcategoryofpeoplewhosoughthelpfromthem.Hesaidthatsingle
parentsmayhaveeithergonethroughseparationorelsehadneverbeen
married.Ineithercasetheyhad0inancialdif0iculties,especiallythose
wholiveonsocialassistance;andbecauseyouresingleitsmoredif0icult
foryouto0indajob,youdonthaveanyonetocareforyourkids.
AparishpriestfromFiddientoldusthatmanysinglemothersinhisparishdependsolelyonsocialbene0its.Peoplefallingwithinthiscategory,
asarguedinthepreviouschapter,arealmostbyde0initionpeopleliving
belowthepovertythreshold.The0inancialandsocialsituationisfurther
aggravatedwhenthesinglemotherisateenager.A communityworker
fromnuberinvolvedinofferingsheltertohomelesspeoplesaidthat,
herorganisationdealswithsinglemothers,whoarecommonlyaged14
or15.Aparishpriestfromnubersaidthatteenagepregnanciesincrease
duringcertainfestivalscelebratedinhisparish,includingnewyearseve
celebrations.
Asthesinglemotherorfatherstruggletomakeendsmeet,allthe
members of their family tend to suffer consequences. Sometimes, as
arguedbyaheadofschoolfromFiddien,aworkingsingleparentmay
havenoonetolookafterasickchildwhilesheorheisatwork.Very
oftentheemployerwillnotbe0lexibleenoughtoaccommodatesingleparentsspecialrequirements.Thus,thelatteraremorepronetosenda
sickchildtoschool.Asingleparenthasnolesshighhopesforherorhis
childrenthananyotherparent.However,thesometimesmeagre0inancial
meansprecludetheparentfrominvestingintheinformaleducationand
socializationofhisorherchildren.AScoutleaderandaGirlGuide,both
describedhowsometimestheyhavetomakeallowancesforchildrenfrom
poorsingleparentfamilies.Bywayofillustration,theScoutleadertoldus
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how,wehavetwofamilieswherethemotheriscaringfortwochildrenon
herown.Poorsoulyoudonotblameher.Sheisstrugglinginallpossible
waysinordertokeepupwiththeirdemands.Thetwochildrenarebetween
tenandtwenty.Itsverydemanding.Veryoftenwehavetohelpher,even
0inancially.Forexample,wemadenewscarfs.Wehad togivethemthe
scarfforfree,eventhoughtheycostusmoney.However,bothactivists
werealsoconcernedthatsometimestheirgroupsareusedasarespite
servicebysingleparents.Whilebothvehementlystressedthepointthat
theirorganisationnotababysittingservice,theScoutleaderwasquicktoaddthat,oneshouldalsounderstandotherpoeplessituations.Even
Isometimesamtiredoflookingaftermydaughter.SoIunderstandthese
people.SometimesmywifegoesshoppingandIstaywithourdaughter.
Theresthetwoofusstrugglingwithher.Butwhenyourealoneyoudont
haveanybodytorelyon.Soyouneedtounderstandthesepeople.They,
too,havetheirownneeds.Butontheotherhandchildrenshouldnotbear
thebruntofthesituation,forwhateverreason.Youmadethem,youmust
takecareofthem.Itsyourresponsibility.
Forasingleparentto0indajobisnoteasy.Asanof0icerfromAppo
argued,theoddsareheavilyagainstthesingleparent.Hesaidthatthisis
especiallysointhecaseofmotherswhohadjustpassedfromaseparation
process,whichhadturnedparticularlybitterwithrecoursetothelaw
courtsratherthantoanamicableprocessagreedbetweenthetwoparts.
Whenthishappens,0inancialproblemsmaybecomeacutefortheparentwhohascustodyofthechildren,usuallybutnotexclusivelythemother.
TheAppoof0icerarguedthattostartwith,courtandlegalfeesarenever
ending.Sometimesfatherswilltrytoavoidpayingmaintenancetotheir
wives.Attimesthefathergivesuphisjobsothathewouldevadepaying
maintenancemoney.Anof0icialfromETCcon0irmedtheseoccurrences
andsaidthateverysooftenseparatedfathersgiveuptheirjobandtry
toworkinunof0icialnondeclaredjobsinordertobypasscourtorders
regardingmaintenancefees.Ontheemotionalside,amotherorafather
whohavejustbeengiventhecustodyoftheirchildrenafteraseparation
processwouldsuddenly0indthemselveshavingtocopeverymuchon
theirownwiththeupbringingoftheirchildrenandwiththebehavioural
problemstheymighthaveas a consequenceof theirowndif0icultyin
copingwithsuchadrasticdisturbanceintheirfamilylife.Financially,the
sing