triton square in malta’s capital city, valletta as you’ve

(driven by the voice driven by the voice of its readersof its readers)The Voice of the Maltese

Fortnightly magazine for the DiasporaFortnightly magazine for the DiasporaIssue220 January 28, 2020

fritzphotography

Triton square in Malta’s capitalcity, Valletta as you’ve never seenit before as it hosted FAIRYLANDIN THE CITY in the festive season(See: Making arts, culture accessibleto all on page 4)

2 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday January 28, 2020

Australia Day is celebrated in manyways by those that came to Aus-tralia. Together with the original in-

habitants, they formed a formidable nation.The Maltese first arrived way back in the1830s. In 1883, Maltese nationals started tocome to Australia in organised groups.

Therefore the Maltese are proud to havegiven their contribution. On Australia Dayone not only remembers and celebrates butalso says thank you to the country that gavethe Maltese their second home.

A solemn symbolic celebration is heldevery year organised so well by the MalteseCommunity Council of NSW at theWaratah Room, Holroyd Function Centreat Merrylands. This year’s function was at-tended by a number of dignitaries fromState, Federal and Local Governments, aclear indication of the respect authoritieshave for the Maltese.Fr Tarcisio Micallef MSSP opened the pro-

gramme with a prayer, while the Presidentof the MCC Emanuel Camilleri spoke about

w h a tA u s -t r a l i a

Day means for him. The keynote speechwas delivered by 17-year-old student RubyVella. She spoke eloquently about her ances-try and her love of Malta. (Report in moredetail in the next issue of The Voice).The recipients of the Order of Australia at-

tending were presented to the assembly bySusan Templeman, Federal Member forMacquarie. Also present were Julie FinnMP and Councillors from Parramatta andCumberland Local Councils. There are 38persons from NSW who had been duly ho-

noured in the Order of Australia; more wereannounced this year.The afternoon was energised by the enter-

tainment provided by the delightful singerNatasha Vella and the always dependableMCA Choir under the direction of MarisaPrevitera. The selection of the music was

ideal for the occasion. Cr Steve Christou, the

Mayor of Cumberland Co-uncil wrapped up the eventby giving credit to the Mal-tese and their contributionto the city of Cumberland(formerly Holroyd).

Both the MulticulturalNSW and CumberlandCity Council were ac-knowledged for the assis-tance in the presentation ofthis event.

Australia Day… the Maltese wayHolders of the Order of Australia from NSW who were present at the Australia Day commemoration (from left): Prof Stephen Gatt, Susan

Templeman MP, Lino Vella, Doris Atanasio, Lawrence Dimech, Nancy Serg-Borg, George Bartolo and Charles Mifsud

The organising committee (from left): AntoineMangion Master of Ceremonies. George BartoloOAM (Treasurer), Emanuel Camilleri (President),Cumberland Mayor Cr S. Christou and Miriam

The Maltese Cultural Association ChoirA section of the crowd that attended the Austalia Day commemoration

Keynote speaker Ruby Vella

Two Maltese from NSW named onAustralia Day 2020 Honours list

Tuesday January 28, 2020 The Voice of the Maltese 3

Two prominent members of the Mal-tese community in NSW, MarkCaruana OAM from Marayong

NSW and Patrick Joseph Bartolo OAMfrom Tonngabbie NSW have been namedby the Governor-General and Chancellorof the Order of Australia, His ExcellencyGeneral the Honourable David Hurley ACDSC (Retd), in the list of 1,099 recipientsof the Order of Australia Honours on Aus-tralia Day 2020.

According to the Awards Secretariat,Mark and Patrick are the only two Maltese

born recipients featured in the list of hon-ours that includes, five appointed Com-panions of the Order (AC), 59 appointedOfficers of the Order (AO), 224 appointedMembers of the Order (AM), and 549awardees of the Medals (OAM).

Announcing the list, David Hurley saidthat the people recognised on this day are,“Dedicated, committed, selfless” and that“they are outstanding and exemplify thebest of Australia.”

On behalf of the Maltese community,The Voice of the Maltese in particular con-gratulates Mark and Patrick for this hon-our. Both are true quiet achievers Mark Caruana OAM is a well know Mal-

tese community historian. He was featuredin our Personality of the Month feature forMay 2018. He is co-founder of the LaValette Social Centre and former President.

He also served as Vice President of theMaltese Community Council of NSWuntil recently. He worked with the Depart-ment of Education and Training and Im-migration and Ethnic Affairs dealing inethnic affairs where he was highly re-garded.

Patrick Joseph Bartolo OAM is the offi-cial photographer of this magazine and theMCC of NSW and acting conductor withthe MCA Choir. He is a member of theMaltese Community Council of NSW andthe Maltese Sub-Branch of the RSL.

Patrick is also a musician involved with

entertaining various age groups and co-or-dinates music for various churches. He isa member of the Maltese CommunityCouncil of NSW and the Maltese Sub-Branch of the RSL.

There are others with Maltese soundingnames that appear on the honours list butwho have not declared their ancestry or in-volvement with the Maltese community.They include, Joanna Geraldine Agiusfrom South Australia, Antonio Arrigo fromBunyip Victoria, Judith Ann Sammut fromDoncaster Victoria, Joseph F. Buhagiarfrom Yass, and Damian J Demarco fromNSW and Michael Said from Victoria.

There could still be others with connec-tions to the Maltese community. If anyreaders know these people, they are kindlyrequested to let us know on [email protected].

Two Maltese from NSW named onAustralia Day 2020 Honours list

Mark Caruana OAM

Patrick Bartolo OAM

In Malta, the occasion of Australia Day wasvery special as H.E. Ms Julienne Hince,whose term of office as the High Commis-

sioner for Australia in Malta, comes to an end thisweek, welcomed the guests on board the Catama-ran Saint John Paul II, largest commercial cata-maran operating in the Mediterranean and thesecond largest in the world that was built in Tas-mania at the Virtu Passenger Terminal. She offered sincere thanks to the Portelli Family

and Virtu Ferries for hosting the reception on theship that was attended by the President of Malta,HE Dr George Vella and his wife Miriam, and thenew Minister for European & Foreign AffairsEvarist Bartolo.

Also present was the Speaker, Dr Anġlu Farru-gia, a number of other Government Ministers,members of the Opposition, members of theDiplomatic Corps and other guests, including therepresentative of The Voice magazine.

*Continued on page 13

Australia Day commemorationin Malta a specialone for HC Hince

Australian High Commissioner Ms Juliene Hince addressing thecommemoration with (from left): Foreign Minister Evarist Bartolo,Mrs Miriam Vella and her husband President George Vella


Dealing with the Bank of Valletta in the last yearhas caused a lot of sleepless nights to the Mal-

tese living in Australia. They had trusted this bankwith their money, especially those who visit the is-land often and therefore avail themselves of itsservice while holidaying or doing business inMalta. The Voice of the Maltese keeps receiving numer-

ous complaints, some we publish, while others areforwarded to the appropriate destination. According to some of the complaints reaching us,

what is most worrying is the inconsistency of someof the replies from BOV. It appears that one sectiondoes not know what the other is doing.

You would be told that you account has beenclosed, and then you are told that it is not, or thatyour money has been refunded, but it is not re-ceived. All this leads to the complainants concluding that

communication with the bank is abysmal. The cus-tomer care section is a disgrace. The Maltese-Aus-tralian clients are still of the opinion that the BOVhas a responsibility and a duty of caring towards itscustomers

When Bank of Valletta was contacted it insistedthat the upgrade to its IT system that wascarried out at the end of December was “asuccess”, this despite customers complain-ing they still experienced various prob-lems.

On complaints by customers not gettingthrough to the bank’s helpline, the bank’sspokesperson admitted that the number ofcalls going through had increased duringthat period of transition, and said that thebank was in the process of recruiting morepeople to beef up the customer care service.

“The numbers have shot up, and we areaware that some people are not gettingthrough. We are working on resolving that,”the spokesperson said. Meanwhile, in astatement, the bank’s chief technology offi-cer Joseph Aguis said the upgrade was nota straightforward one for a minor system.

“It involved the decommissioning ofmajor banking systems and replacing themwithin a new state-of-the-art core bankingIT system,” Mr Aguis said.

Lejla Mġarrijaorganised by Horsley Park Community Social Group

For the Maltese Community & FriendsSaturday March 7 at Mandavilla Function Centre

Horsley Drive, Horsley Park Entertainment provided by: Heartbeat

Cost $65.00pp: includes Maltese antipasto, 3-course meal, beer, wine, soft drinks, tea and coffee and more.

Bookings call: Theresa Quattromani 0402 178-781, Josephine Borg 0402 040 954,Come and join us for a fun time.

The proceeds of the evening with go to The Cancer Council

Abysmal system – BOV replies

Throughout 2019 Valletta took ad-vantage of the publicity it gener-ated in 2018 when it was named

as the European Capital of Culture, andstrengthened its claim as one of the mostbeautiful cities in Europe. Malta’s capital stepped up this tag dur-

ing the most wonderful time of the year,last Christmas, and the first days of theNew Year when the Triton square hostedFAIRYLAND IN THE CITY (pictured)that comprised Christmas Markets, a Ferris wheel and an Ice Skating rink. Most probably Valletta had never seen that many people for such a long stretch

of time, and though that activity is now over, Valletta keeps attracting locals andtourists alike.

The Valletta Cultural Agency is determined to keep the momentum goingthroughout 2020 by launching a cultural programme of over 40 large culturalevents with the participation of about 300 artists (240 Maltese) who would beoffered the chance to express their talent. This would be an investment of over€3 million.A calendar of events has been drawn that is intended to continue strengthening

Valletta’s cultural identity. In the meantime, infrastructure upgrading continues to be regenerated in the

city with the ultimate aim being that arts and culture become accessible to all.

Community Radio Station3WRB, call sign 97.4FMStereo has shut down. Its last

air date was on January 16. Thismeans that the Maltese Communityin Melbourne and surrounds havetherefore lost four hours of broad-casting in the Maltese language.Other ethnic communities broad-casting from this station are also af-fected.

Ray Anastasi the co-ordinatorbrought his Wednesday and Thurs-day teams of broadcasters together for the last Maltesebroadcast.

Besides the usual “thank you” that goes with the last

show and the history of the pro-grammes that started way back inOctober 14, 1990 in a rat-infestedcontainer, as stated on the night, noclear reason was given for the clo-sure.

It is still unclear why the stationhas closed down though it is be-lieved that the government has cutdown on its grants, so a lack offunding may have made the stationfinancially nonviable. So, was thestation in financial trouble even

after the last radiothon? It is believed that the Maltesecommunity had promised about $3,000 via the phones. Perhaps the community deserves an explanation.

Another blow for Melbourne’s Maltese community

Making arts, culture accessible to all

Caption to Front page:


A. As your wife is not working and she isover 60 years of age she has met a condi-tion of release. She can therefore with-draw any amount that she wants from hersuperannuation tax-free and pay it onyour mortgage. It can be beneficial if shedoes that now prior to going back into theworkforce. This will give you peace of mind of hav-ing no mortgage at your age, and alsoonce she is back in the workforce if shestarts to make further contributions intothis super fund she will then not be ableto make any lump sum withdrawals untilage 65.Q. I am 59 years of age and my wife is58. I work full time and my superan-nuation is around $85,000. My wife isretired and her superannuation isaround $15,000. I was self-employedand had purchased an investmentproperty which is worth around$650,000 and this was to be our futureretirement income. We are renting itout at $450 per week. Are we doing theright thing?A. There is nothing wrong in having an in-vestment property. However in your case,when you do retire you will most probablyqualify for a very small part age pension, if

any, based on yourassets. Would therental income andanother $500 permonth from your su-perannuation besufficient to live on?

You cannot sell aportion of the prop-erty if you needed$30,000 to go over-seas. If the prop-erty was sold andthe proceeds in-vested in superan-nuation betweenyou and your wife,you would create more liquidity for your-selves and more income in retirement.

This is approximately $750,000 to$800,000 in super between you andaround $40,000 p.a. tax free income andaccess to lump sum withdrawals if re-quired.Q. I have a term deposit maturing. Theinterest that I am now being offered isvery little. My son asked if I could lendhim the $100,000 and he would pay methe same interest as the bank will.Should I do this or not?

This is a monthly service offered by The Voice of theMaltese in which Marie Louise Muscat from the

Fiducian Financial Services helps our readers under-stand the complexities associated with financial planning.If you need more advice send an email to Marie Louisevia: [email protected].

A. You can definitely lend your son thismoney. However I would get him to signan agreement stating that you have lenthim this money just for everyone’s peaceof mind. Centrelink will continue to treatthis money as your asset. Just make surethat your son would be able to pay you itback if you needed the money urgently. Q. My husband and I are both age pen-sion age and still working. We are plan-ning to reduce our working hours tothree days a week. By doing this wewill still not qualify for a part age pen-sion because of our assets. We are in the process of putting a pool

in our backyard and we were quotedaround $50,000. These expenses willdrop our assets below the asset test lim-its and we believe entitle us to a smallpart age pension. Are we able to dothis??A. Prior to applying for the age pensionone should always see whether they needrenovations or home improvements made.By doing this prior to applying for theage pension you will be reducing your as-sets and at the same time fixing up yourhome to suit your needs. You should keep receipts of major ex-

penses just in case Centrelink asks youfor them, but you can definitely proceedwith these renovations and home im-provements.Q. I have just received an inheritancefrom my aunt’s estate. This was a thirdshare from the sale of her residentialhome. My share is $330,000. My auntpassed away 18 months ago. Howmuch tax would I have to pay on thesefunds once I receive them?A. As these funds are from the sale ofyour aunt’s residential home, and as shehas passed away less than two years ago,her estate would not have any capitalgains tax to pay and therefore you wouldreceive your share of the inheritance fromthis property in full.

Q. I am 67 years old and on the age pension. My wife is61 years old and has just recently lost her job. She has ap-plied for new start allowance. We still have an outstandingmortgage of $170,000. My wife has a superannuation fundof $230,000. Is she able to withdraw money from super-annuation to pay this mortgage as we are struggling tokeep up the repayments now that she has lost her job?

Q&AQ&A


Ivan was born in Malta and lived withparents at Raħal Ġdid and thereafter atFgura. He went to school at De La Salle

College, Cottonera. Afterwards he attended6th Form at the New Lyceum in Msida,working with the Public Registry at the Computer Centre atSwatar.

He entered the University of Malta reading Electrical Engineer-ing, majoring in telecommunications and computer system engi-neering.

He was elected a member of the Kunsill tal-Istudenti Universi-tarji (KSU) – the university student council. Work experience fol-lowed at the Bormla dockyard,with TeleMalta Corporationand the professional audioequipment maker Willi StüderAG in Switzerland.

He graduated B.Elec.Eng.(Hons.) and was appointed asengineer with TeleMalta, re-sponsible initially for phone linemaintenance and planning until joining the IT department of thecompany, eventually appointed Head of Planning.

He also completed a part-time Masters research degree M.Phil.in multimedia telecommunications.

During this time, he took up part time teaching and lecturing insubjects tied to telecommunications and computer networks: attechnical colleges in Kordin for courses by City & Guilds of Lon-don Institute, with the University of Malta and the CommonwealthTelecommunications Organisation.

In 1995, Ivan married Margaret, a pharmacist from Birkirkara,at San Lawrenz in Gozo and went to live in Żejtun.After leaving TeleMalta, he joined Vodafone Malta, managing a

group of engineers and technicians providing several popular mo-bile phone services, such as text and multimedia messaging, voicemail, mobile Internet and others.

Ivan was a youth leader with the Kerŷgma Movement at Rabat.He joined the sports arm of Kerŷgma, playing volleyball in the na-tional league and participating in several volleyball marathons asfundaising for Id-Dar tal-Provvidenza at Siġġiewi which takescare of people with disabilities. For a short period of time, he formed part of the Maltese national

volleyball team, one of his best experiences being representing hishome country at the Small Nations Games held in Andorra in1991.He played tennis for many years, a sport he still loves today. He

also played soccer with the engineers’ team at University, the LijaLions team in the MAFA Division 4 and 3 leagues, and with theVodafone Malta team in the ISA league.

Ivan was director then coordinator of Mid-Dlam għad-Dawl(MDD), working with prisoners and their families. He helped set

up Victim Support (Malta), an independent organisation workingwith victims of crime. Finally, he became one of the founders of the Daritama Foundation

which encompassed MDD, a community radio station Radju Kot-toner as well as an educational scheme for disadvantaged children.

In 2005, Ivan moved to Sydney with Margaret, to take up a po-sition as IT Infrastructure Architect with Vodafone Australia, and

worked amongst others on alarge IT project spread overthree countries.

For many years, Ivan volun-teered with Youth Off TheStreets (YOTS), at events forkids in a disadvantaged part ofWestern Sydney, and lookingfor kids sleeping rough in the

back alleys, and sometimes the main roads, of central Sydney.He was given the Circle of Courage award by YOTS in 2013 and

the Quiet Achiever award by Maltese Welfare (NSW) Inc. in 2017.For six years he was an Official Visitor on behalf of the NSW

Government in the maximum-security Parklea Correctional Cen-tre, fielding inquiries and complaints by inmates and staff and pur-suing their resolution.

In Australia, Ivan and Margaret have gone camping with acamper-trailer and a 4WD in all the states and territories of Aus-tralia, including Tasmania.

Ivan started teaching Maltese in 2013, first with the MalteseLanguage School of NSW, then on a private tuition basis with thebrand Dwejret il-Malti, teaching from absolute beginners up toHSC level, to individuals and groups, face-to-face at La ValetteSocial Centre (LVSC) in Blacktown, the biggest Maltese club inNSW, or online as required.

Ivan writes the column Perspettiva (Perspective) in Maltese onthe fortnightly digital magazine, The Voice of the Maltese for thediaspora, an English version of which may be found in his blog athttps://ivancauchi.blogspot.com. He tackles cultural, social, po-litical, religious, technological, business and other topics.

He is the La Valette SC treasurer and helps its subcommitteeMAYC (Maltese-Australians’ Youth Committee), in their effortsto keep the Maltese culture alive with 2nd and 3rd generation Mal-tese descendents.

Ivan provides IT consultancy on a part-time basis from his ex-tensive experience. He does this through his company FalconICT.His main focus today is being a stay-at-home dad for twins Eliana

and Matias, aged three and a half, that he and Margaret have beenblessed with. They live in Blacktown in Western Sydney.

Our choice for the first month ofthe New Year is our columnist

Ivan Cauchi. This 51-year-old bornin Malta to Gozitan parents hasbeen leading a full and colourfullife. The vast experience he hasgained from his various paid andvoluntary occupations in Malta andAustralia has helped him to con-tribute in many ways to the Maltesecommunity.

PERSONALITYOF THE MONTH

Ivan Cauchi

OF THE MONTH

Engineering, sports, jail and nappiesIvan Cauchi, with his No. 1priority nowadays, his family


Something magical happens each time you enter these citywalls. Architectural excellence captivates your visual senses,

as every step leads to a landmark of historical value. Walls and pavements that line the grid of narrow streets whisper secrets

and mystics to passersby, whilst the air fills up with modernart, live music, and an array of celebrations. The Unesco World

Heritage Site could perhaps best be described as a placewhere history meets the present; where every explorer can

find something they love. How will your Valletta story unfold?

Chas. Mangion from Melboirne writes:

It gives me great pleasure and fills mewith a great sense of patriotism towardsmy country of origin, Malta, when I

read articles such as the latest one by AndyBusuttil in the last issue of The Voice of theMaltese magazine, entitled, ‘For the loveof home’. I have been living and rearing a family in

Australia since the early fifties. I havegiven this continent around 70 siblings withkids of my own, grandchildren and greatgrandchildren. Like Andy I have never for-gotten my roots and this is something thatI also have tried to instil in each and everymember of the family.

Though I am not that well versed in theMaltese language when it comes to writing,I can still hold my own when I speak thelingo that my parents taught me in thelovely island of Malta, in particular when Ivisited there every other year to meet therest of my relatives and the friends I stillhave at Bormla.

There are still many Maltesers like me inAustralia, especially in Melbourne who feelas I do about our country of origin, and whenI read articles such as Andy Busuttil’s andall that The Voice offers to us readers everyfortnight to show the progress Malta hasmade in all sectors brings out the best in me.

It is good that people like Andy who hasthis gift of writing try their best to remindus of those far off days in Malta. Many ofus who during our youth, a few years afterthe end of the war years had been deprivedof the luxurious were still a happy lot. Ifanything, we grew even faster and had thechance to become creative.

When my father decided that the familycould have a better future in Australia andagainst the advice of other relatives broughtus to Australia, we had a tough time to startwith. It wasn’t easy to settle but by using theskills we had learned and the schooling inMalta we could get by. Eventually we man-aged to earn the respect of the Australian en-trepreneurs and the authorities andestablished ourselves as first class citizens.

We have made a success of our “adven-ture” but we will never forget our roots.Thank you Andy for bring all this up.Thank you for the memories!


Have your say/Xi trid tghid?

fortnightly magazinefortnightly magazine

The Voice of the Malteseis is a bi-lingual (in Englishand Maltese) fortnightly mag-azine that specifically targetsall Maltese living abroad with

emphasis on the Australianand Maltese scenes.

e magazine can also be read inflipbook format online. A pdf copy

is also sent via email on request. If you require a printed copy we

can also oblige.Editors: Malta: Joseph CutajarAustralia:

Lawrence Dimech: MOM,OAM, JP

email address:[email protected]

fortnightly magazinefortnightly magazine

Letters for publication in The Voicemagazine, either in Maltese or Englishshould include name, e-mail addressand residence of the writer, and be e-mailed to: [email protected].

Now you can alsojoin us on facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/thevoice-ofthemaltese

Your letters/ L-ittri tagħkom ...

Thank you for the memories

For issues concerning:Ageing and disability - communityservices -education - environ-ment - health - housing - planning- Police - transport - water

State Member for ProspectDr Hugh McDermott MP

P: (02) 9756 4766 E: [email protected]/679 The Horsley Dr, Smithfield NSW 2164

A confession from deepinside Andy’s heart

Augustine J Borg from Cecil Hills, NSWwrites:

Andy Busuttil’s poignant and emotionalexpression of the deep abiding love he

holds for his homeland, was revealed in theJanuary 14 edition of ‘The Voice of theMaltese’. The two-page confession allowsno questions at to its veracity. His confes-sion comes from deep inside his heart; thesame place where his ethereal music seemsto come from.I had to stop reading several times, as rec-

ollections, now more than eighty-years-old,awoke quickly, fresh and quite undimmed,all trying to overwhelm me by waves ofsadness and sweet emotions that I did noth-ing to subdue.

Even as I write, I can still see his nannu,and mine, one smoking his pipe and theother, a ‘home-made’ cigarette of dubiouscontents, and their wives, always busy, al-ways there, ready to spoon out endless lovewith their minestra.

Thank you, dear friend Andy. I’m sureyou’ve stirred up similar feelings in allyour readers, and I’m also sure that, just asyou maintain, we all hate the very thoughtof losing them.

Minkejja li ngħix bogħod minn art twe-lidi, Malta, qalbi tibqa’ Maltija u

ngħożż dak kollu li hu Malti u nieħu gost unifraħ bil-ġid li tipprovdi lill-ġens Malti.

Għalhekk f’isem il-Maltin li jgħixu barranħoss li għandi nifraħ lill-Prim Ministru l-ġdid, Robert Abela u nawguri lilu kif ukolllill-bqija tal-kabinett il-ġdid l-isbaħ xewqat.Nawguralhom li bi tmexxija għaqlija jis-soktaw isaħħu lill-pajjiż li għalkemm żgħirimma hu l-għira ta’ nazzjonijiet kbar. Nawgura wkoll li l-Maltin li jgħixu hemm

li jibqgħu magħquda biex is-suċċess linbeda jkompli

Awguri lill-Prim Ministrul-ġdid ta’ Malta tagħna

Paul Debono minn Fairfield NSW jikteb:


Matthew Fenech from Horsley Park, a farmerof Maltese descent but born in Sydney hasbeen named as runner up in the 2019 NSW

Farmer of the Year Award. Adam Marshall MP, Minis-ter for Agriculture in NSW, presented him with a final-ist trophy. It was a great achievement to be amongst the top three

farmers chosen by the judges as finalists. The judgingpanel included senior members of the Department ofPrimary Industries, NSW Farmers Association TheLand Newspaper and Safe Work Australia.

The finalists met at an informal dinner the night be-fore the announcement. This was a chance to get toknow each other and talk about their farming back-grounds. The other finalists were from different partsof NSW. Matthew was the only finalist representingWestern Sydney, an urban farm and a poultry farm.

Matthew Fenech is a third generation poultry farmerlocated in a peri urban area that has undergone tremen-dous demographic change since his grandparents es-tablished the business in the 1960s.

Surviving and thriving in a changing landscape hasseen Matthew embrace new technology and ap-proaches as he grows and diversifies the operationswhile still proudly maintaining the company’s smallfamily business roots and values.

Matthew is the son of Joseph and Marion (neeGrima). His father was born in Mosta, Malta. Hisgrandad on his mother’s side, Charlie, was born inMellieħa. Mathew's grandparents, Charlie and RoseGrima, are well known in Horsley Park where they es-tablished an egg farm in the 1960s.

He is married to Pauline (nee Calleja). They havethree children: Isabelle, James and Luke. Pauline de-scribes her husband Matthew as the quintessentialquiet achiever. His ability to embrace diversificationand ongoing investment of time and training into em-powering and retaining staff has turned a humble eggfarm into an award-winning wholesale and retail busi-ness.

The Fenech Family Farm is located at 53-65 FerrersRd, Horsley Park, 2175 where they sell fresh farm eggsand other produce direct to the public.

‘Maltese’ 2019 Farmer of the Year runner-up

Matthew Fenech receiving the finalisttrophy from the Minister for Agriculturein NSW Adam Marshall MP


A version of this series inEnglish may be found inthe author's blog at: https://ivancauchi.blogspot.com

Perspettiva kitba ta’IVAN CAUCHI

Ħafna mill-qarrejjax’aktarx semgħu jewqed isegwu l-aħbari-

jiet dwar virus ġdid li ġieskopert fiċ-Ċina f’dawn l-aħħar jiem. Huwa perikolużgħax iwassal għall-pnewmonja u diġà kkawża mijiet ta’ infez-zjonijiet u wkoll xi mwiet1. Hemm x’juri li qed jingħadda minnbniedem għall-ieħor, u għalhekk jista’ jikber f’epidemija.

Il-kelma ‘virus’ ilni nismagħha minnmeta kont tifel, l-iktar meta nkun invi-stat minn tabib għal xi riħ, u jinformalill-ġenituri tiegħi li kont ‘laqqatt virus’.Kont nimmaġina lil virus bħala xi speċita’ annimal żgħir ħafna, forsi xi nemusażgħira, li kien itir minn annimal għall-ieħor, jew bniedem għall-ieħor, biex itihkedda.

Kont sorpriż nitgħallem iktar ‘il qud-diem li l-virus, għalkemm ħlieqa, mhixstrettament meqjusa ħajja, għaxm’għandhiex wieħed mill-attributi ew-lenin assoċjati mal-ħlejjaq ħajjin, jiġi-fieri dik li tirriproduċi ruħha waħedha. Fil-fatt, il-virus l-ewwel tinfetta xi ċel-

lula barranija b’xi mod, iddeffes il-ġenomu li jiddefinixxu l-istruttura ul-funzjonijiet tagħha (magħmul mill-RNA – ribonucleic acid jew mid-DNA– deoxyribonucleic acid) fiċ-cellula,imbagħad tirreplika fiċ-ċellula li tkunqed isservi ta’ lukanda.

Il-kelma ‘coronavirus’ smajtha għall-ewwel darba fil-kuntest tal-infezzjoniSARS (Severe Actute Respiratory Syn-drome) li hija marda tal-pulmun liwkoll kienet tfaċċat fiċ-Ċina fl-2003.

Il-kelma ‘corona’ hija waħda Latina litfisser kuruna jew raġġiera, tirreferi għad-dehra tal-proteini b’forma ta’ labar li jkunu mdawrin kompleta-ment madwar iċ-ċellula tal-virus, appuntu qishom ‘kuruna’.Dawn il-proteini jintużaw biex jinfettaw liċ-ċellula barranija.L-infezzjoni tas-SARS kien taqbeż minn mammalu jismu civet,

annimal li narah jixbaħ mhux ħażin lill-possum. Ir-rata ta’ fatalitàhija stmata li hija ta’ 9-12% tat-8,000 infezzjonijiet li seħħew.Is-SARS ma kinetx l-ewwel coronavirus li ġiet skoperta. B’kol-

lox hemm sebgħa li ġew misjuba fil-bniedem, l-ewwel waħda fis-sittinijiet, u huma waħda mill-ġnus ta’ virus li jikkawżaw l-irjeħatfin-nies. Eżempji oħra ta’ coronavirus nstabu f’annimali oħra, Forsi tiftakru wkoll il-MERS (Middle Eastern Respiratory Syn-

drome) li oriġinat fl-Arabja Sawdija fl-2012, u infettat lil xi 2,000ruħ b’fatalità ta’ 30%.Din il-virus il-ġdid jidher li oriġinat fil-belt ta’ Wuhan, f’suq tal-

ħut fiċ-ċentru tal-pajjiż, us’issa nxtered f’xi pajjiżioħra fl-Asja, bħall-Ġappun,il-Korea t’Isfel u t-Tajlandjafost l-oħrajn. Diversi pajjiżiqegħdin għassa għad-dħul

tiegħu fil-pajjiż. Barra l-Asja, ġew ikkonfermati infezzjonijiet fl-Awstralja, l-Is-

tati Uniti u Franza, kollha b’konnessjoni ma’ Wuhan.

Għalkemm hemm tħassib dwar l-implikazzjonijiet ta’ dan kollu,sakemm qed jinkiteb dan l-artiklu kienet għadha ma ġietx iddik-jarata emerġenza tas-saħħa pubblika mill-Organizzazzjoni Dinjijatas-Saħħa (WHO – World Health Organisation), għalkemm dinid-dikjarazzjoni qed tiġi kkunsidrata.Niftakar il-pandemonju li kien qam meta kienu tfaċċaw is-SARS

u l-MERS, u wisq nibża li ġej żmien ieħor ta’ stejjer ta’ preokku-pazzjoni, biex inżiduhom ma’ dawk fuq in-nirien mifruxa mal-kontinent Awstraljan li ilhom jaħarqu x-xhur.Alla magħna!

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Coronavirus

Referenzi1. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-51185836, retrieved21/1/2019

Id-dinja għandha għax tinkwieta bil-coronavirus? Residenti Ċiniżi qrib is-suq tal-ħut ta’ Huana lebsin il-maskri bħala protezzjoni kontra dan il-virus


Malta hija miżgħuda bistatwi, kemm dawkfil-knejjes, dawk li

joħorġuhom barra b’purċissjonif’kull belt meta tasal il-festa tal-qaddisin patruni tal-post, uwkoll fin-niċeċ li nsibu fit-triqatMaltin u Għawdxin. Tradiz-zjonalment dawn ikunu xogħolta’ artisti/statwarji ta’ ħilaMaltin. Fost dawn insibu lilĠerolamo ‘Ġlormu’ Dingli

Ġlormu wieled l-Imqabba fl-1910 iżda għex u ħadem ir-Rabat Malta. Minħabba f’hekkħafna kienu jaħsbu li hu Rabti.Huwa mar ir-Rabat ta’ etàżgħira u rritorna, jew ħaduhlura lejn raħal twelidu l-Imqabba għall-funeral tiegħufejn ukol indifen. Miet f’Mejjutal-1994, fl-età ta’ 83 sena.

Huwa daħal fix-xena tal-artiMaltija f’nofs is-seklu għoxrinu ħadem bosta statwi fil-kar-tapesta u xogħol dekorattiv.

Jaffaxxinawni ħafna l-istatwiżgħar tiegħu, speċjalment diktal-Kunċizzjoni f’Wied Gerżuma (limiti tar-Rabat). Histatwa ta’ ħlewwa kbira. Wiċċ il-Madonna huwa meravilja.Personalment inqis din l-istatwa bħala l-aqwa xogħol ta’Ġlormu Dingli. Statwa oħra tiegħu hija dik ta’ Santa Katarina f’Tad-Daħla

(limiti tar-Rabat). Din hija kopja tajba fil-minjatura ta’ SantaKatarina taż-Żurrieq. Hemm ukoll dik ta’ San Martin tal-Baħrija, xogħol ieħor ta’ Ġlormu Dingli.

Hu għandu wkoll xogħlijiet oħrajn fir-Rabat, fosthom ta’San Patrizju (li hemm f’niċċa inti u dieħel mill-Oratorju fil-Knisja San Pawl), u l-istatwa li turi lil San Domenico Savio(li kien hemm fl-Iskola tas-Subien tar-Rabat u li llum tinsabkif wieħed jidħol fl-iskola l-ġdida fi Triq il-Kulleġġ u tidher

minn barraxħin wieħedjitla’ t-taraġ.)

Ma’ dawn in-semmi wkolli l - m i n j a t u r isbieħ ta’ qad-disin fil-KnisjaSan FranġiskKonventwalifir-Rabat li jin-tramaw fuq l-altari fil-jiemtal-Festa tal-Madonna tas-Saħħa.

Għal ĠlormuDingli r-Rabatkien id-darnaturali tiegħujoqgħod fi TriqI n g u a n e zħdejn Il-

Verdala. Xogħlu proprja kienta’ infermier fir-Rabat stessf’Santu Spirtu meta kien għadusptar. Illum il-post huwu ċ-Ċentru tal-Arkivji Nazzjonali.Anke f’dan il-qasam ta’ infer-mier Ġlormu, kien iddedikat ukien jieħu kura kbira tal-paz-jenti li kollha kienu jispiċċawħbieb kbar tiegħu.

L-istudjow tiegħu kien kamrafuq il-bejt tad-dar tiegħu stess.Hemm kien iħalli x-xogħlijietjinxfu u wara jdaħħalhomġewwa u jpoġġihom f’xi kamra. Mid-dar tiegħu Ġlormu ħareġ

diversi xogħlijiet tal-arti sbieħ,fosthom l-istatwa kapulavur‘Il-Bewsa ta’ Ġuda’ li żżejjen is-sett vari tal-Ġimgħa l-Kbira tal-Mosta. Bl-istess suġġett insibustatwa oħra f’Ħaż-Żebbuġ uoħra f’Ħal Luqa.

Bejn l-1976 u s-sena ta’ wara,fuq inizjattiva ta’ Dun AntonVella, il-kappillan ta’ dak iż-żmien, Ġlormu Dingli ħadem l-istatwa ta’ Marija Addolorata

għal raħal twelidu l-Imqabba. Ħadem ukoll l-istatwa tad-Duluri għan-Naxxar u oħra għall-Imsida.

Huwa beda l-istudji tiegħu tal-arti ta’ etá żgħira fl-iskolatal-Arti tal-Gvern. Tgħallem mas-surmast Anton Micallef,li wkoll għallem ħafna artisti ta’ dak iż-żmien. Il-ħila tiegħukienet tispikka fix-xogħol tal- kartapesta, dak dekorattiv uwkoll fix-xogħol ta’ restawr. Għalkemm l-arti kienet it-tieni xogħol ta’ Ġlormu Dingli,

xorta ħalla diversi xogħlijiet sbieħ tal-arti li sawru l-artisagra Maltija, fosthom il-Madonna ta’ Fatima fi Gwar-damangia, u erba’ statwi ta’ Kristu Rxoxt f’Ħaż-Żebbuġ, il-Mosta, Ħal-Għargħur u Ħal Qormi (San Bastjan), lijoħorġuhom ta’ kull sena fil-purċissjonijiet ta’ Ħadd il-Għid.

Huwa jibqa’ wkoll imsemmi għall-istatwa ta’ Malta Reb-bieħa li hemm fl-Isla, u ħadem ukoll ħafna għall-privat.

Dan l-istatwarju kien bniedem umli għall-aħħar u tal-familja. Qatt ma ħares lejn il-pubbliċità. Ir-Rabtin kienujqisuh wieħed minnhom, u anke onorawh, jekk forsi mhuxf’ħajtu, wara mewtu billi semmew triq fir-Rabat, dik li

tħares lejn l-Imtarfa u tibda minnħdejn in-niċċa tal-Ecce Homo.

Ġlormu Dingli statwarju li ħallamarka bix-xogħol artistiku tiegħu

PeterPaulCiantar

tL-istatwa ta’ Kristu Rxoxt fil-Mosta

Ġlormu Dingli


Roundup of News About Malta

Since January 13 when he was sworn in as Malta’s newPrime Minister, Dr Robert Abela has been busy buildingbridges. He had pledged continuity and to be close to the

people, and that is what he has been doing in his first two whirl-wind weeks. He has also shown that he is a man of action andthat even when it comes to taking unpopular decisions, he doesnot shy away from responsibility.As of his first message to the nation, Robert Abela said he was

humbly welcoming the responsibility to serve the people andthat Malta needs to keep moving forward to create more pros-perity that can reach everyone and be better distributed.

He pointed out that that people wanted stability and peace ofmind in order to continue to move forward. He promised workto carry out the electoral manifesto that elected the LP in 2017.

Dr Abela said there needs to be national unity, which has al-ways won over fear. “It is unity that has always made the Mal-tese people stronger,” he said. His intention is to find out thatwhich brings people together rather than what divides them.

He added that the country needs to continue succeeding witha strong economy and the creation of more employment. He said he entered politics to help people and promised that heworld work to strengthen social mobility so that everyone isgiven the opportunity to reach his aspirations and to go forward.

The Prime Minister Robert Abela’s family (wife Lydia anddaughter Georgia Mae) getting used to the Prime Minister’soffice at the Auberge de Castille Photo: DOI-Omar Camilleri

Malta’s 9H aircraft registry has reachedan important target that the govern-

ment set in 2019, that of reaching 400 reg-istered aircraft. A goal that the Minister forTransport, Infrastructure and Capital Proj-ects Ian Borg said was achieved thanks tothe dedicated work of Transport Malta andthe Civil Aviation Directorate within it.

A satisfied Minister went on to describeaviation as a very important industry forMalta, since as an island it is dependent onconnectivity by sea and air for commerceand transport to and from other countries.

He said that the results mean more eco-nomic growth and more employment op-portunities and the government would notstop at achievements, in fact it is lookingbeyond all this and this year it wants toreach 460 aircraft. The amount has alreadyreached 411. “We want to increase thenumber of operators,” he said.

An Air Operator Certificate was pre-sented to Galistair, an efficient and sustain-able Spanish operator that providesaviation services as well as aircraft charterswith commitment towards the environ-ment. There are five more applications forAir Operator Certificates and three moreinterested training organisations.

The country’s targets for the sector alsoinclude better environmental standards to-wards improved sustainability.

Malta reachesaviation targets

PM Robert Abelabuilding bridges

Thousands of people that includedPrime Minister Robert Abela, anumber of cabinet ministers, and

other deputies from both sides of the Houseof Representatives, on Sunday morningjoined President George Vella in the firstSolidarity Fun Run.At the end of the 11th edition of the Soli-

darity Fun Run, organised by the Presi-dent’s office in aid of the MaltaCommunity Chest Fund Foundation thePresident said that the people had shown adouble act of solidarity, solidarity with eachother as a people, and solidarity with thosein need.

The activity, a run/walk that started fromfour main points, attracted the crowds. Inthe last phase the runners and walkers con-

verged as one to enter Valletta and finishthe event at St George’s Square where theywere addressed by the President, the PrimeMinister, and the deputy leader of the PN. The President thanked and expressed great

satisfaction as the people heeded the appealto join the run that had been postponedfrom just before Christmas because of in-clement weather. He said, it has proved thegreatness of the Maltese people.

He said that by taking part in this eventthe people had shown a double act of soli-darity, solidarity with each other as a peo-ple, and solidarity with those in need.

He repeated what he had stated when hehad been named as President, that he wouldcontinue to work towards national unityuntil the end of his term.

A double act of solidarity

Thirty years since its foundation, CAP-Sounds, a German production and

music publication agency, has launched itsfirst digital compilation of songs in Maltese

by the name of MalteseHits, giving a voice tosome of the country’smost established singersand a number of newemerging local talent.

The company was setup in 1989 and has beensupporting Malteseartists since 1996 whenit assisted then Malta’sEurovision Song Con-test participant, MiriamChristine.

This first compilationconsisting of 20 songsby established singerslike Fabrizio Faniello,Thea Garrett, PhilipVella, Miriam Christineand Janice Mangion,and a number of youngtalented singers.

You can listen to themon on Spotify or on:

*continued from page 3Ms Hince’s address for the occasion also served

as her farewell speech. She mentioned the cata-strophic fire conditions Australia is currently suffer-ing from and said it was very grateful for theoutpouring of support for Australia including themany offers of assistance and donations from Malta.

She also mentioned the work of the Australia-EUFree Trade Agreement and that five rounds of ne-gotiations have already been concluded.

She maintained that the strong relationship be-tween Malta and Australia is outstanding and thatshe thoroughly enjoyed meeting with the Maltesecommunity when she was at home in Australia too,and pointed out that roughly 50,000 Australians vis-ited Malta in 2019.

The Australian High Commissioner ended bywishing the new Government of Malta harmony andsuccess.

Malta’s President George Vella also addressed theoccasion.

(A full report dealing with the speeches about theAustralia Day commemoration in Malta by President

George Vella and HC Juliene Hince will becarried in the next issue of The Voice of the

Maltese)

Roundup of News About MaltaTuesday January 28, 2020 The Voice of the Maltese 13

The outgoing Australian High Commissioner to Malta Ms JuienneHince with Minister Evarist Bartolo at the farewell luncheon

Minister Bartolo hosts Australian HC Malta’s newly assigned Minis-

ter for European & ForeignAffairs Evarist Bartolo and

his wife Gillian hosted a farewell luncheonat the Ministry in honour of H.E. Ms Juli-enne Hince the High Commissioner forAustralia in Malta whose three-year termends this week.

It was also attended by His ExcellencyZyed Bouzouita Ambassador of Tunisia,the British High Commissioner in MaltaMr Stuart Gill, staff members from the

Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the represen-tative of Malta’s President, and Joseph Cu-tajar on behalf of The Voice.

In a short message, Mr Bartolo wishedMs Hince well in her next assignment asshe continues her diplomatic career.

On her part the Australian HC thankedthe Minister and Malta for a pleasant andfruitful term in Malta and said that shewould continue to follow Malta’sprogress.

Commemorating Australia Day in Malta

Australian HighCommissionerpays farewell visitto Mr SpeakerMs Julienne Hince also paid a farewell

visit to the Speaker, Anġlu Farrugiawho expressed his gratitude to the HighCommissioner for her hard work duringher tenure of office in Malta that enhancedthe very close relations that exist betweenMalta and Australia.

He also expressed his sympathy to theAustralian people for the suffering en-dured during the recent fires that broughtAustralia to its knees.

The discussion between the two digni-taries also included the recent politicalevents in Malta, the meetings of the Com-monwealth Parliamentary Association andinternational relations, particularly withChina.

to farewell luncheon Maltese songs, artistson first digital compilation by German CAP-Sounds

https://backl.ink/104507309.


‘Vittmi’ tal-investigazzjoni

Il-Ministru

Waħda mill-vittmi kienet il-Ministrugħal Għawdex, Dr Justyne Caruana,

li propju ftit jiem biss wara li ħadet il-ġu-rament ta’ Ministru spiċċat biex tirriżenjagħax indirettament ġiet involuta fl-inves-tigazzjonijiet tal-qtil ta’ Caruana Galizia.

Ir-raġel ta’ Caruana huwa l-eks-AssistentKummissarju, Silvio Valletta, li oriġinar-jament kien qed jinvestiga l-qtil ta’ CaruanaGalizia, li mbagħad kellu jitlaq dan il-każminn idejh fuq oġġezzjoni mill-familja ta’Caruana Galizia li sostniet li dan seta’ kellukonflitt ta’ interess minħabba li mejta kie-net kemm-il darba kkritikat li mart Valletta,il-Ministru Justyn. Aktar tard Vallettasaħansitra irriżenja mill-korp tal-pulizija.

Li wassal għar-riżenja tal-Ministru Caru-ana kien rapport f’ġurnal dwar li f'Settem-bru tal-2018, fi żmien meta l-Pulizija kienutefgħu ħarsithom fuq Fenech. Valletta kienmar ma' l-istess Fenech, jaraw logħba taċ-Chelsea fl-Ingilterra.Wara, il-pulizija sabet ukoll filmat ta’ Val-

letta fuq il-mobile ta’ Fenech fir-Rolls Roy-ce ta’ dan tal-aħħar.

Malli ħarġet din l-aħbar, mall-ewwelbdew jidhru kitbiet fil-midja li l-MinistruCaruana kellha tirriżenja, fosthom tal-Kap-tal-Oppożizzjoni li saħansitra qal li dankien l-ewwel test tal-Prim Ministru:

Għalkemm Valletta nsista li meta sieferma’ Fenech kien hu li ħallas għas-safratiegħu u li dakinhar ma kienx jaf li Fenechkien qiegħed taħt suspett, il-Ministru Caru-ana ħasset li fis-sitwazzjoni kellha tirriżenjaminn Ministru

Fl-ittra ta’ reiżenja lill-Prim MinistruRobert Abela, Dr Justyne Caruana saħqetli: “fid-dawl tal-istorja li ħarġet illum,għalkemm jien totalment estranja għalihau għalkemm m’għandi l-ebda konnessjonimal-fatti, qed nissottometti r-riżenja tiegħiminn Ministru b’mod immedjat.”

Il-Prim Ministru laqa’ din ir-riżenja fil-waqt li qal, “Illum tajna eżempju ċar ukonkret tal-livell ta' etika li hu mistenni”.Insista mal-ġurnalisti li l-Gvern kien taeżempju tal-livell ta’ etika li huwa mis-tenni. Barra minhekk, wara li l-Kap tal-Oppożiz-

zjoni kien qal, li kien il-waqt qal li dan kienl-ewwel test tal-Prim Ministru RobertAbela u li jekk verament irid juri kemm hukapaċi jieħu d-deċiżjonijiet, li veramentjemmen fil-governanza tajba, li jrid paġnaġdida u huwa Prim Ministru ta’ pajjiż nor-mali, fit-tweġiba tiegħu għall-isfida, il-Prim Ministru wieġeb billi qal: “Nittama li

Adrian Delia jużal-linja ta’ etika liużajna aħna mie-għu nnifsu u mad-Deputati tiegħu.” Il-Prim Ministru

Għ a l k e m mm h u x

kulħadd jaqbel, l-eks-prim MinistruJoseph Muscatkien il-vittma l-ieħor, li hu stessstqarr li qatt mastenna li kien sejkollu jħalli l-kariga tiegħub’dan il-mod.Sostna li hu kien spiċċa vittma għaxgħamel dmiru:

“Filwaqt li fl-aħħar mill-aħħar huma n-nies li jiddeċiedu meta dan il-każ jingħalaqgħal kollox, lil hinn mill-proċessi tal-Qorti,sodisfatt li dan qed isir anke jekk il-prezz likien imħallas minni kien l-ogħla possibblidan għaliex ma xtaqtx li nħalli din il-karigal-mod ta’ kif ħa nkun qed inħalliha, iżda fl-aħħar mill-aħħar għandi s-serħan il-moħħli dak kollu li stajt għamilt, għamiltu.”

Min-naħa l-oħra kien hemm dawk, fos-thom: is-soċjeta ċivili, il-Partit Nazzjonal-ista u oħrajn, li xlew lil Muscat li kien jaħtita’ dak li seħħ billi għalaq għajnejh għal likien qed jiġri madwaru bil-Kap Nazjonal-ista Adrian Delia jgħid:

“Qatt kont nistenna li l-uffiċċju tal-PrimMinistru se jispiċċa investigat fuq assass-inju ta’ ġurnalista? Le qatt ma kont naħsebli se naslu s’hawn,”

Saħansitra hemm min irid jara lil Muscatinnifsu jiġi investigat.Biss jidher li minkejja dak kollu li seħħ, u

minkejja l-akkużi ta’ korruzzjoni u l-kriżili ħakmet lil Malta, xorta għadd hemmgħadd kbir ta’ Maltin li għadhom jammirawlil Muscat għall-ħidma tiegħu biex poġġal-ekonomija Maltija fuq saqajha, biex bidelil-qagħad f’impjiegi, eċċ, eċċ... u jsostnu lihija ħasra li kellu jispiċċa kif spiċċa.

Imma hekk fid-dinji, filli jgħolluk mas-sema u filli jridu jitfgħuk fil-qiegħ tal-ab-bissi.Ġurnalista

Wieħed minn dawk milquta serjament,iżda li ftit li xejn ingħata mportanza,

kien wieħed mill-ġurnalisti ewlenin ta’ TheTimes, Ivan Camilleri li ħafna drabi kienjoħroġ bi stejjer investigattivi, u ma jo-

qgħod lura bi stejjer xejn sbieħ dwar il-Gvern preżenti u l-Partit Laburista.

Għalhekk ħafna kienu li baqgħu b’ħalq-hom miftuħ meta tħabbar li kien tkeċċaminn xogħlu.Meta ikkonfermaw din l-aħbar id-diriġenti

tal-gazzetta stqarrew li Camilleri tkeċċawara li waslu għandha bosta fatti dwar sen-siela ta’ każijiet li kien involut fihom.

Fost dawn kien hemm l-allegazzjoni liCamilleri għadda tagħrif lill-allegat man-datarju tal-qtil ta’ Caruana Galizia, YorgenFenech, lejlet li dan ipprova jaħrab minnpajjiżna fuq il-jott ltiegħu.

Il-Maltatoday irrappurtat li isem Ivandeher f’messaġġi li rat il-pulizija bejn Yor-gen Fenech u zijuh Ray Fenech.Jidher li raġuni oħra kienet rapport fil-Mal-

tatoday dwar li Camilleri kien inqabad jisraq(shoplifting) minn supermarket fin-Naxxar

Dak inhar li ħarġet l-istorja tal-allegatserq, The Times ħarġet tiddefendi lill-ġur-nalist tagħha; issa l-istess gazzetta bidletstqarrija ta’ difiża fil-konfront ta’ Camilleri.Oriġinarjament, The Times kienet qalet li

dan il-każ ma kien xejn għajr wieħed in-noċenti li seħħ bi żvista u sostniet li b’modmalizzjuż Saviour Balzan tal-Maltatodaykien interpreta l-affarijiet b’mod ħażin.

Issa t-Times ma komplietx tkun ħajt tal-kenn għal Camilleri u spjegat li kompliettinvestiga l-allegazzjonijiet u skopriet af-farijiet kontraditorji dwar il-każ li ġewikkonfermati min-numru ta’ individwi.

Intant wara t-tkeċċija, Ivan Camilleriħareġ jattakka lit-Times fejn qal li l-kumpanija li kienet timpjegah kienet inter-essata biss li ssib skuża biex twaqqafluxogħlu. Ċaħad li kien wassal xi informaz-zjoni lil Jorgan Fenech.Ma nafx jekk il-każ hux se jieqaf hemm.

L-investigazzjonijiet dwar il-qtil ta’ DaphneCaruana Galizia, barra li wasslu għal tliet per-suni mixlija bil-qtil tagħha u persuna oħra li

allegament kien dak li ħallas għal qtil tagħha, qedjitqies li ħalliet “vittmi” oħra, fosthom, Ministru, l-istess Prim Ministru, u ġurnalist.

L-eks Ministru Justyn Caruana u l-eks PM Joseph Muscat


While visiting Malta Stay at: While visiting Malta Stay at: The Diplomat Hotel, The Diplomat Hotel,

173 Tower Road Sliema173 Tower Road SliemaEmail: [email protected] Email: [email protected]

Tel: (00356) 23497000Tel: (00356) 23497000

Għalkemm il-Karnival għad jonqsumadwar xahar biex jibda, diġá bde-jna bil-polemika dwaru.

Bl-iskuża tal-libertá tal-espressjoni u l-bidla fil-kultura Maltija, fl-aħħar snin, ir-re-golamenti stretti tal-karnival, fejn kellhomx’jaqsmu karrijiet politiċi, jew li jolqtu l-kleru, eċċ, ma baqgħux jiġu emfasizzati.

B’hekk uħud li jibnu l-karrijiet u l-mas-karuni tal-Karnival mill-ewwel ħadu l-okkażjoni biex ideffsu fin-nofs il-politiċi uwkoll xi membri tal-kleru.Dis-sena jidher li se jkunu aktar avventu-

rużi, infatti ritratt tal-abbozz ta’ karru ligħadu qed jinħadem u li deher fil-midjasoċjali juri lill-Arċisqof Charles Sciclunafl-isfond ta’ żewġ xjaten u l-faċċata ta’ DarSan Ġużepp, bil-messaġġ ‘Jude’s hell’.(Jude huwa t-tieni isem tal-Arċisqof.)

Dan qed jiġi nterpretat bħala kritika finagħall-każi ta’ abbużi fuq it-tfal li fil-passatseħħew f’din id-dar fuq tfal residenti.

F’messaġġ fuq il-midja soċjali, wieħedmilli jmexxu din il-kumpanija tal-Karnivaltella’ ritratt tal-karru u kiteb: “Ħallu t-tfaljiġu għandi”. Dan waqt li żewġ figuri rġieljidhru jżommu jdejn xulxin f’figura ta’żwieġ bejn persuni tal-istess sess.Fi stqarrija d-Direttur ta’ Dar San Ġużepp,

Fr Louis Mallia, fisser il-karru bħala maliz-zjuż u libelluż, u jekk jibqa’ l-pjan li l-karrujkun parti mill-Karnival, il-Kon- gregaz-zjoni lesta tieħu kull pass legali.

Kelliem għall-Arċisqof Scicluna iddik-jara, li filwaqt li hu mhux kontra s-satira,iżda jidhirlu li l-karru ma jixraqx għalavveniment nazzjonali li għalih jattenduħafna tfal. Żied jemfasizza l-impenn lijibqa’ jistinka għall-promozzjoni tal-pro-tezzjoni tat-tfal.Jidher li anke l-Gvern qed jieħu pariri le-

gali dwar dan il-karru, waqt li t-tmexxijatal-Karnival mistennija tiltaqa’ biex tid-diskuti din il-kwestjoni.Infatti l-Ministru l-ġdid tal-Kultura, Jose

Herrera stqarr li filwaqt li hu u l-Gvernkienu diġà wrew li kienu favur il-libertàartistika, iżda fil-fehma tiegħu l-karru kieninsensittiv lejn l-Arċisqof u d-Dar SanĠużepp li tieħu ħsieb tant tfal.Min-naħa tal-karristi sostnew li l-idea ma

ġietx mifhuma u li l-pubbliku interpretaħażin il-messaġġ tal-karru. Spjegaw li l-figuri tat-trabi fuq il-karru ma jirreferuxgħat-tfal f’Dar San Ġużepp iżda għat-trabili jitwieldu bil-proċess tal-IVF.

Issokta jgħid li r-referenza għal Dar SanĠużepp mhi intiża li tweġġa’ lil ħadd. Anziqegħda biex issir ġustizzja ma’ dawk ir-residenti li qabel kienu hemmhekk u sarabbuż fuqhom, u li sal-lum għad ma saritxġustizzja magħhom.

Il-karru ma kienx se jingħata ċans jieħusehem imm’issa ġie aċċettat li jsirlu xi tib-dil biex jista’ joħroġ fil-parata.

Li l-Maltin iħobbu żaqqhom hija xiħaġa magħrufa mhux biss f’pa-jjiżna, imma anke lil hinn minn pa-

jjiżna, l-aktar fejn hemm konċentrazzjonita’ emigranti Maltin, bħal fl-Awstralja u l-Kanada,Iżd’issa jidher li l-Maltin qed isiru wkoll

magħrufa għal kemm jmorru jieklu barraminn darhom f’ristorant, allura mhux ta’b’xejn li kull fejn tħares qed jinbtu r-ris-toranti ġodda. Infatti jista’ jingħad liwaħda mill-ħarġet ewlenin tal-Maltin, l-aktar fi tmiem il-ġimgħa hi li wieħed imurmal-familja jew mal-ħbieb jiekol barrainkella f’lokalitajiet tax-xorb li llum qedsaħansitra joffru l-ikel.

Dan kollu ġie rifless fi stħarriġ tal-aġen-zija tal-Unjoni Ewropea, il-Eurostat.Skont din l-aġenzija bejn l-2008 u l-2018

Malta irreġistrat l-ikbar żieda fejn jidħolinfiq tal-familji fuq ikel barra d-dar. Skontdin lis-statistika f'dawn l-10 snin iż-żiedakienet ta' 4.4%, minn 8.2% fl-2008 għal12.6% fl-2018.

Wara Malta f'dawn l-10 snin ġiet l-Ir-landa b'żieda ta' 2.9% u mbagħad l-Unger-ija fejn iż-żieda kienet ta' 2.5%. Mit-28pajjiż imsieħeb fl-UE kien hemm erbgħali raw tnaqqis fl-infieq fuq ikel barra bir-Rumanija tara tnaqqis ta' 2.9%. Spanja, is-Slovakkja u r-Renju Unit kienu t-tlietpajjiżi l-oħra li raw tnaqqis fl-infieq mentrifil-Lussemburgu l-infieq baqa' stabbli.Fl-2018 il-familji fl-Irlanda kienu l-iktar

li nefqu f'ikel barra b'14.4% tan-nefqa tad-dar segwita minn Spanja bi 13% u Maltabi 12.6%.

Hawn min isostni li ż-żieda ġejja, l-ewwelnett minħabba t-titjib fl-ekonomijaMaltija, imma wkoll għall-fatt li minbarrali l-ikel Malti huwa meqjus bħala taħlitata’ togħmiet “eżotiċi”, ħafna mir-ristorantisaru kapaċi joffru dixxijiet varji li jolqtu l-palatt ta’ min iħobb jiekol.

F’10 snin l-ikelbarra mid-darjuri żieda

Fr Louis Mallia

Karnivalesk??!!

Prime Minister Scott Morrison an-nounced under some pressure thathe would “continue to evolve” his

government’s climate change policy whilealso flagging a royal commission into thissummer’s tragic and ongoing events. Headmitted that he was in the wrong when hetook a flight to Hawaii with his family dur-ing Australia’s bushfire crisis and that hecould have “handled things on the groundmuch better”.

People in Australia are rushing to joinvolunteer fire fighting services in recordnumbers as bushfires continue to rageacross the country, with more than fivetimes the usual yearly number of appli-cants expressing interest in joining the

NSW Rural Fire Service since November. In the two-and-a-half months since the

start of the fire season, the RFS has re-ceived more than 25,000 membership en-quiries, community engagement managerAnthony Bradstreet told SBS News, com-pared to an average annual application in-take of approximately 4,000.

The RFS is the biggest volunteer fireservice in the world, with more than70,000 members across 2,002 localbrigades.Colonel Bruno Ulliac, the leader of a team

of five French fire-fighters, has almost 40years’ experience fighting fires across Eu-rope and South America, but says he wasstill shocked when he came face-to-facewith Australia's devastating bushfires. Histeam were still grappling with the sheer sizeof the Australian crisis.

Colonel Pierre Schaller is also part of theFrench team and said even 45 years on thejob had not prepared him for the scale ofthe Australian bushfire crisis. He said in Eu-rope fires are considered “big: when theycover around 1,000 hectares, but in Aus-tralia we have learnt to make a differentcount, with millions of hectares – it changescompletely the philosophy and the opera-tional practice that you have to implementin these situations,” he said. “We saw firesthat ran about 10kilometres per hour, we[have] never seen this.”

As we went to print it was reported that5.1 million hectares were razed bymegafire, 55 national parks burnt out, 24per cent of koala habitat scorched and 35per cent of natural rainforest destroyed.


Unlock housing wealth to fix aged care

Attenborough criticisesCanberra’s approach

to climate changeCatholic Health Australia’s chief executive Pat Gar-

cia writes that the aged care-funding crisis is nowso deep the Government can’t realistically fix it

with taxpayers’ money. The waiting list for home-carepackages now has 120,000 names on it. As the aged careroyal commission noted, many seniors are now dying indiscomfort well before they win the lottery for a package.The Government, recognising the problem, last month an-

nounced a fresh $500 million for home-care packagesenough to provide an extra 10,000 places. A welcome step,but not nearly enough.To actually clear the list would cost several billion dollars,

and that would just be to deal with the backlog. Demandwould continue to rise sharply from then on as the popula-tion ages. We need to find better ways of unlocking some of the re-

sources older Australians have accumulated over theirlives, to better ensure they are happy and comfortable intheir final years. So what is needed from Government issignificant structural reform – a process that will be diffi-cult and contentious.

Noting the destruction prompted byAustralia's wave of bushfires, SirDavid Attenborough, 93-years old

British naturalist, criticised Canberra's ap-proach to climate change, saying the gov-ernment's support of coal mines suggestedit does not care about the environment. David Attenborough says the "moment of

crisis" has come in the fight against climatechange, warning that governments' targetsfor decades in the future are not enough tosave the planet. The British naturalist alsocalled on China in particular to reduce its carbon emissions, saying hethought other countries would follow if China set a lead.The moment of crisis has come - we can no longer prevaricate, David

Attenborough raised public awareness around the world of the dangerof plastic pollution in oceans with his television series Blue Planet II.

“We have been putting things off year after year, raising targets andsaying 'Oh well if we do it within the next 20 years...',” he told the BBCin an interview.

David Attenborough

The PM, climate change and volunteers

Colonel Pierre Schaller

It was not fire this time but hail thesize of golf balls left their mark onbuildings and hundreds of cars in a

30-minute frenzy before the sun reap-peared. Emergency services workedthrough the night to respond to roof andwindow damage, fallen trees and elec-trical hazards.

Car windscreens were obliterated atthe Australian National University andOld Parliament House, while a wind

gust of 117km/h was recordedat Canberra Airport. A catastro-phe was declared in thewake of a fierce hail storm.The Commonwealth Scien-tific and Industrial ResearchOrganisation (CSIRO) havebeen surveying the damagewith several valuable re-search projects in tatters.

It is estimated at least 65CSIRO glasshouses weredamaged in the storms, dev-

astating crops of wheat, barley,legumes and cotton. The research bodyhad been growing the material on-siteto improve crop sustainability, butthose efforts now appear to have beenin vain.

“For projects that potentially mighthave been close to the end of say twoor three years of work, that is really dis-tressing; unfortunately, most of thoseprojects will be totally lost.” CSIROchief operating officer Judi Zielke toldthe ABC.


Hailstorm ravages the city of Canberra

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The more than $250 million donated tocharities for bushfire relief in recent

weeks is “probably not enough” to repairthe damage caused by blazes across thecountry, the head of St Vincent de Paul So-ciety NSW said.

As fires continued to burn across NewSouth Wales, Victoria and on Kangaroo Is-land, Vinnies NSW chief executive JackDe Groot said the amount of money givento help those affected had been over-whelming.

“We’re at $11.7 million of donationsfrom the public for the Vinnies appeal inQueensland, New South Wales, ACT, Vic-

toria and South Australia,” he said.“I’ve never seen this sort of generosity

for a bushfire appeal across multiplestates. We’re only halfway through a bush-fire season, too, so I think people will con-tinue to be very generous.”But while the Morrison Government had

also allocated $2 billion to the recovery ef-fort, Mr De Groot said more would beneeded to address the scale of destruction.It is the second-largest amount the charityhas received for a cause after the publicdonated $400 million in 2009 to help com-munities recover from Black Saturdaybushfires in Victoria.

Donations will not cover the repair bill

Nick Brodie historian and writer, writing inEureka Street says that debates aboutpriestly celibacy are almost as old as the

Catholic priesthood itself, but they should be afeature of Australia's upcoming Plenary CouncilDebates about priestly celibacy and sexual con-tinence. Progressive-minded commentators willusually point out than the strict, universal rule forLatin-rite priests is of medieval European origin.

Conservative-minded commentators tend tohighlight that historic married priests were peri-odically discouraged from having sex until theygradually abandoned thehabit of marrying in thefirst place and that thelast half a millenniumbears witness to the idealof sexual continence

Whether Australia’sbishops are willing to dis-cuss seeking a local re-laxation of the rule ofmandatory celibacy, thisis one of the big ques-tions of Plenary 2020.

Priestly celibacymust be discussed

Nick Brodie

Min hu midħla tal-Gżejjer Maltin jaf li f’Għawdexhemm raħal magħruf bħala l-Munxar li jinsab fin-nofsinhar tal-gżira, qrib ir-raħal ta’ Sannat. Imma

x’aktarx li ftit jafu li l-isem ta’ dan ir-raħal ġej minn tip ta’serrieq li s-snien tiegħu jidhru wkoll fl-arma tal-lokal (lemin).Hemm żewġ srieraq b’dan l-isem, wieħed magħruf bħala l-

munxar taż-żewġ u l-ieħor il-munxar tad-tidwir.It-tnejn juntużaw fil-bini tad-dgħajjes.IL-MUNXAR TAŻ-ŻEWĠ

Il-munxar taż-żewġ kien jinsab f’għadd ta’qisien. Kien speċi ta’ frejm tal-injam tar-ruvluu x-xafra stirata fin-nofs. Jissejjaħ taż-żewġgħax kien jitħaddem minn tnejn min-nies,wieħed f’tarf jiġbed u l-ieħor fit-tarf l-ieħor jimbotta. Kien jintużagħall-isserrar ta’ injam oħxon.IL-MUNXAR TAD-TIDWIRDan il-munxar hu magħruf ukoll

bħala s-serrieq ta’ San Ġużepp.Kien ukoll jintrama f’għamla ta’frejm imma x-xafra tiegħu, min-flok fin-nofs tkun fuq ġenbwieħed u dejqa. Il-frejm ikunmagħmul b’tali mod li f’ġenbminnhom ikun xafra, fin-nofsgħuda u fil-ġenb l-ieħor lenza mi-bruna u stirata li biha jistiraw ix-xafra.

L-irjus ikunu tal-injam. Fit-truffejn ikun hemm ix-xafra jkunhemm il-maqbad, għamla ta’ pumkull naħa. Jintuża biex jaqta’ fit-tond. Jista’ jintuża minn raġelwaħdu imma ġeneralment minntnejn ikun dejjem aħjar.


Meta kas u meta każTagħrif dwar il-kitba Maltija

Ġie l-Għarbi u qaxxar kolloxu snin wara mbagħad reġa' bniha,skont hu, aħjar minn qabel.'Ma fuq kollox ħalla l-lingwa,għall-bidwi, għas-sajjied u għall-kċina.Imma l-moħħ intesa.Wara snin ġie l-Ewropew,għani, kolt, qaxxrilna ġidnau ftit li xejn biddel il-kliem.Dawk il-ftit ta' nies struititħalltu sewwa mal-ġirienu f'daqqa waħda tilefl-Għarbi nofs il-lingwa.Aktar tard, il-mistedninbaqgħu fostna għal bosta sninu ma' l-ingliża ħawwlu lingwa,stramba, barranija.U llum min ser ilumnajekk diffiċli niddistingwudin l-imbierka identità?

MauriceCauchi

l-Istorja tal-Lingwa Maltija

Il-Munxar mhux biss raħal f’Għawdex

It-tagħrif dwar il-kittieba Maltinjissokta fil-ħarġa li jmiss.

IL-MUNXAR TAŻ-ŻEWĠ

IL-MUNXAR TAD-TIDWIR

Ġieli nirċevu mistoqsijiet mingħand xi qarrejjadwar kif għandhom jiktbu ċerti kliem bil-Malti, l-aktar dwar kliem li jinstema’ l-istess

imma li għandu tifsir differenti, u ma jinkitibx l-ist-ess. Fost dawn hemm il-kliem, kas u każ.Bħala spjega jista’ jingħad li:

każ (plural każi jew każijiet) tfisser “xi ħaġa lisseħħ” jew “okkażjoni partikolari” u tintuża bħalmeta, ngħidu “fil-każ li ma jiġi ħadd; fil-każ ta’ħruq, kien każ ta’ omiċidju jew dawn huma każispeċjali”.kas tfisser “attenzjoni” u tintuża biss fl-espressjoni ta’kas, bħal: qatt ma ta kas it-tfal; ma jagħtux kashom;għalih fejn laqat laqat, ma jagħti kas xejn u ħadd.

Minn stħarriġ sibna li l-kelma kas hi ta’ nisel Ru-manz (Sqalli casu, Taljan caso) u daħlet fil-Maltif’żewġ għamliet differenti, f’żewġ perjodi jew ko-muntajiet differenti. Għalhekk għandha żewġ tifsirietu fonetikament iġġib ruħha b’mod differenti.

Il-konsonanti tal-aħħar turi d-differenza. Metawarajha wieħed jorbot tarf li jibda b’vokali, tin-stema’, jew ‘ż’ (bħal: każi, każijiet) jew ‘s’ (bħal:kasek, kasu, kasi, kasna).

L-aċċent u l-apostrofuXi wħud, meta jkunu qed jitta-

jpjaw fuq il-kompjuter isibudiffikultá dwar kif jiktbu

kliem li fih jidħol l-aċċent. Fost il-kliem komuni li ġieli jħawwdu lil xiwħud hemm il-kelma, kumdità lissib min jiktibha kumdita’ (bl-apos-trofu), kumdita, jew kumdita`.

Il-kelma t-tajba hija kumdità.Wieħed irid jifhem li ż-żewġ sinjali– l-apostrofu u l-aċċent – fil-kitbaMaltija jintużaw għal għanijiet dif-ferenti.Nispjegaw

L-appostrofu (’) jiġi wżat biexwieħed juri li hemm xi ħaġa nieqsajew imqassra, bħal ngħidu aħna xivokali li waqgħet (eż. f’April min-flok fi April), jew il-konsonanti għf’tarf il-kelma (eż. reġa’ minflokreġagħ). Mela l-forma kumdita’ hija ħażina,

għax mhemm xejn nieqes jewimqassar. L-aċċent (`) jurina li f’dik il-kelma

l-qawwa tal-leħen qed taqa’ fuq l-aħħar sillaba (verità, kafè, Marì,bijambò, tribù). B’hekk wieħedjagħmel differenza bejn koppjijixxiebħu bħal: mara onesta mżejna

bl-onestà, il-Papa (ta’ Ruma) u l-papà (missier). Mela l-forma kumdita hija ħażina

għax nieqsa mill-aċċent li juri l-leħen u tiġi tinqara bħal qarnita.

L-aċċent jinkiteb dejjem fuq il-vokali, mhux warajha, għax huwaparti mill-ħoss tal-istess vokali. Hijavokali aċċentata. Mela l-forma kumdita` mhix tajba

għax hawn l-aċċent inkiteb fl-is-pazju ta’ wara l-vokali, minflokfuqha.

Xi wħud, minflok l-aċċent fuq il-vokali, jiżbaljaw u jiktbu l-aċċent(jew l-appostrofu) wara l-vokali(kumdita`, kumdita’).

Meta wieħed juża l-kompjuterkulma jrid jagħmel hu, li jagħfas il-buttuna Alt Gr u l-vokali li jridflimkien.

The Gozo Tourism Association has awarded theSaid brothers, Joe and George with the Lifetime

Achievement Award in Tourism at the 12th editionof the Gozo Tourism Awards held recently. Thebrothers were commended for their investment andachievements in the tourism sector along the years,which contributed towards job creation and eco-

nomic on Gozo.Other winners

in the 2019awards also in-cluded Char-layne Galea, adiving companysecretary basedin Xlendi, whowas named Wor-ker of the Year.

The awards,organised by theGozo TourismAssociation areintended to ac-k n o w l e d g e ,commend, en-courage andthank all theworkers, entre-preneurs and en-tities who

distinguish themselves in the performance of their duties and activities inthe vital touristic industry in Gozo.For the first time an award was presented to Mifsud Brothers as a non-

Gozitan organisation that worked in favour of tourism in Gozo. This year,the tourist agency will bring the100th cruise liner to Gozo.

These awards were presented tothe respective winners by the newMinister for Tourism, Julia Farru-gia Portelli, Dr. Gavin GuliaChairman of the Malta TourismAuthority and Paul SciclunaChairman GTA. Addressing the occasion, Tourism

Minister Julia Farrugia Portellisaid that, together with the GozoMinister, she would be draftingspecific programmes and initia-tives in order to strengthen theGozitan tourist sector.

The winners of the awards were:Lifetime Achievement Award - Joe and George SaidGozo Tourism Worker of the Year – Charlayne GaleaGozo Young Tourism Worker of the Year – Megan CauchiGozo Tourism Entrepreneurship – Francis AzzopardiGozo Cultural/Social Achievement – Dwejra Environ-mental Educational CentreSpecial Recognition Award – Daniel Cilia

Gozo Tourism Awards 2019

dMinister Julia Farrugia Portelli

Gozoround and about

by Charles Spiteri

Aday before the beginning of the second term, the GozoCollege Rabat Primary Student Council and the Eko Skola

Committee, teamed up with the Victoria Scout Group to or-ganise a 7.5km hike for the students. The starting and finishingpoint was the village of San Lawrenz, taking the students asfar as Dwejra Bay and beyond. The aim of the three-hour activity was to create more aware-

ness in students as regards the local environment and to showsolidarity with the Australian people who were experiencingbushfires. Teachers and parents accompanied the students.

Creating awareness for localenvironment among students

The Gozo Business Chamber celebrated its 20th year an-niversary at the San Lawrenz Kempinski hotel, the

same venue where 20 years ago the public deed that consti-tuted the same organisation was signed. The commemora-tive evening was highlighted by speeches from the ChiefExecutive Officer of the organisation, Daniel Borg, Asso-ciate Professor within the Department of Public Policy, DrEdward Warrington, the permanent secretary of the Ministryfor Gozo, John Borg, (on behalf of the Minister for Gozo)and Joseph Borg, the President of the Gozo Business Cham-ber. A video presentation outlining the history of the organisa-

tion and its contribution to Gozo’s socio economic devel-opment was also shown during the event.

An important part of the evening’s celebration was thepresentation of mementos to present and past Council mem-bers and former presidents. The interventions during the dayfocused on various aspects, including the Gozo BusinessChamber’s contribution to Gozo’s achievements throughoutthe years, the need for good governance, and how theChamber should develop in the coming years.

Gozo Business Chamber is 20 years old

Dr Edward Warrington

On January 19 Xagħra celebrated the annual traditional feast of St An-thony the Abbot. The programme included a concelebrated Mass by

Gozo bishop Mario Grech at the chapel dedicated to the saint at the Tal-Qaċċa area, and street marches by the Victory Band of Xagħra. RectorCan. Michael Galea then blessed horses and the statue of St Anthony wascarried around followed by a re-enactment, by the Xagħra HistoricalReenactment Organisation.

Traditonal feast of St Anthony the Abbot


Andy Busuttil’s Skorba band that performs musicabout periods in Malta's history will be perform-

ing at the Petersham Bowling Club, 77 BrightonStreet Petersham in Sydney on February 16th at 7:00p.m.

The concert of music will be about 'L-Assedju il-Kbir' of 1565. It will be the story of The Great Siegeof Malta in music, narrative, and images on a screen.

The occasion promises to be a night ofgreat music with support act Mara andLlew Kiek presenting a great selection ofmusic from the Balkans and Asia Minor-representing the region from which theSiege was launched.

Anybody interested to attend should getin touch with Andy for further informa-tionon https://bluemountainsound.com.au/Andy’s message is: “Come and be proud

of our little nation's history and what wehave contributed in ourmighty smallness!”The online ticketing for the Skorba concert

is https://www.trybooking.com/596249.


Sar magħruf li bħalissa għaddej proċessbiex l-Ordni Franġiskana Konventwali liilha fil-parroċċa ta Warrawong (limiti ta’

Wollongong) għal dawn l-aħħar 65 sena tirtiraminn din il-parroċċa minħabba nuqqas ta’saċerdoti.

Dan ikunifisser li l-O r d n iFranġiskanaj k o l l h atagħti luradin il-parroċċa li tant ħadet ħsiebil-bżonnijiet tal-Maltin f’dawnin-naħat lid-djoċesi ta’ Wollon-gong. Ifisser ukoll li, minn idejnl-Ordni Frangiskani Konventwalil-parroċċa se tiġi mmexxija mill-Isqof ta’ Wollongong.

L-aħħar saċerdot Malti tal-Ordni Franġiskana Konventwali,Fr Leonard Testa (xellug) jinsabirtirat minħabbasaħtu għalkemmxorta għadu resi-denti f’dawk in-naħat.

Se jħallu Warrawong wara 65 sena

Huwa wkoll magħruf li ċ-ċentru La Valette ta’ Black-town NSW għadu ferm bogħod milli jsolvi l-problematan-nuqqas ta’ saċerdot Malti, mhux biss għall-mem-

bri tiegħu imma wkoll għall-maġġoranza tal-komunitá li tgħixfl-inħawi tal-western suburbs.

Bħalissa l-La Valette SC qedjinqdew b’saċerdot li mhuxMalti, iżda anke hawn jidher lihawn xi problemi minħabba lil-visa ta’ dan is-saċerdot wasletbiex teskjadi.Saru ħafna interventi li qanqlu

ħafna nteress minn individwimal-kurja ta’ Malta iżda l-ko-munikazzjoni tal-Kurja maċ-Ċentru mhux dejjem kienetmill-aħjar. Ittra mibgħuta miċ-ċentru lill-

Kurja ta’ Malta fit-22 ta’ Mejjutas-sena l-oħra lanqas biss ġietimwieġba, imma fit-13 ta’ No-vembru, aktar minn ħames xhurwara qalulhom li rċevewha.

In-nuqqas ta’ saċerdot Maltifl-inħawi ta’ Blacktown

Il-knisja tal-parroċċata’ Warrawong

Learn the Maltese language; the culture, lifestyle, cuisine, traditions, andabout the amazing history of the magnificent islands of Malta and GozoOur trained and experienced teachers are qualified in language teaching

and have Maltese study credentials.Classes available for students from six years to adult at all levels of ability

in the Maltese language.Classes are held at Horsley Park Public School1759 The Horsley Drive, Horsley park NSW

(entry from Walworth Road)On Sunday morning 9.00 a.m-11.15 a.m.

ENROLMENT DAYSaturday February 1, 2020: 9.00 a.m. to 11.30 a.m.

Classes for Term 1 commence on Saturday February 8.For more information email: [email protected]

Mobile: 0400-376-607

Skorba concert honours ourIsland Malta’s rich history

Please NoteAnybody interested in adver-tising on The Voice of the Mal-tese magazine in order toreach the widest audiencepossible, partcularly amongthe Maltese diaspora is re-quested to write for details to:[email protected]

Bassendean parish priest Fr KimSon Nguyen has published a bookdescribing his family’s 10-year

quest for freedom from communist-con-trolled Vietnam. The paperback, titledSon of Vietnam, was co-authored withBedford parishioner Paul CallejaThe Perth priest moved to Australia in 1991 and

was ordained to the priesthood in 2000 after yearsof formation at St Charles’ Seminary in Guilford.

He said that the idea for the book was to pre-serve his family’s stories for future generations.

Writing in The eRecord, Joshua Low said thatthe topics addressed in the book are religiousfreedom and the practice of faith.

The 179-page book was released last year as agift to mark Fr Nguyen’s parents’ 60th weddinganniversary. “My father wished to write a book along time ago in Vietnamese,” Fr Nguyen said.“Millions and millions of people suffered morethan we did.”

Although he usually attends Mass at Bedfordparish, Paul Calleja grew up in Bassendean andcame to know Fr Nguyen through the duty of reg-ularly driving his elderly father to Mass.


priest recounts his family’s quest In book co-autored by Malta-born, Vietnamese

“Dad was 89, [he] couldn’t drive safely. It coincided with FrSon arriving at Bassendean,” Mr Calleja recounted.

“Fr Son was using his homilies to get his parishioners ac-quainted with him. He told stories of Vietnam, I listened intentlybecause I am interested in history – my brother was called to serv-ice in Vietnam.“I had just finished another project and was just fascinated with

Fr Son’s story, so I approached him, and put [the idea of a book]

to him. After some time, he said his family were interested forhim to go ahead with it.”Son of Vietnam took more than five years to develop and is writ-

ten in English.“The generation [of Vietnamese people] reared in Australia can

have a deeper knowledge and appreciation of the sacrifices andcontribution that their ancestors have made to allow them toenjoy these benefits,” Mr Calleja told The eRecord.

Fr Kim Son (Ngu-yen left) and PaulCalleja with thebook(The eRecord/Matthew Lau)

for freedom from Vietnam War

Ftit ilu saret it-tnedija tal-ktieb biografija ta’ Mons. PhilipCalleja, fundatur u president tal-Kummissjoni Emigranti

(KE). Kien mument sabiħ ħafna u interessanti għall-membrikollha tal-Kummissjoni Emigranti għax għalkemm il-ktieb ji-tratta dwar il-ħajja tal-Monsinjur fl-istess ħin hemm l-istorja tal-Kummissjoni stess.

IL-Kummissjoni Emigranti u Monsinjur Philip Calleja humasinonimi, ħaġa waħda. Dawk li jkunu Malta u jkunu jixtiequjakkwiista kopja jistagħu jgħaddu sa ‘Dar l-Emigrant’ fil-kapi-tali Maltija Valletta u jistaqsi għall-ktieb lid-Direttur tal-KE,Mons. Alfred VellaMatul din is-sena l-Kummissjoni Emigranti tixtieq li tilħaq il-

mira tagħha li jin-fetaħ uffiċjalmentil-Mużew tal-Mi-

grazzjoni. Fil-fatt il-Kummisjoni tinsab f’kuntatt mal-uffiċċjutal-E.T. il-President ta’ Malta George Vella biex ikun hu li jiftaħdan il-Mużew. Hi x-xewqa tal-Kummissjoni li dan il-Mużew ikun ġrajja ħajja

u minjiera ta’ tagħrif dwar l-istorja tal-emigrazzjoni f’Malta.

Il-bijografija ta’ Mons Philip Calleja fi ktieb

Monsinjur PhilipCalleja jiġi mogħtikopja tal-ktieb bil-bjopgrafija tiegħu

FESTA TA’ GENEROŻITA`IN AID OF ID DAR-TAL-PROVIDENZA, MALTA

organised by The Friends of ProvidenceHouse NSW

Sunday 23rd February 23 from 2.00 pmLa Valette Social Centre,175 Walters Road, Blacktown

Featuring: Charlie Muscat & James Cassar Supported by: Martin Vella,Natasha Tatarinoff, Brittany & Katelyn Vella, and The MCA Choir

Enjoy An Afternoon of Great Entertainment, Prizes & Family Fun!Lucky Donor Envelope Prizes & Raffle Drawn onThe Day

Maltese food & drinks available from 12 NoonDonation: Adults $10 Children u/15yrs: free

Bookings from: Jim Borg: 9636 7767 or Miriam 0419 476 924PROUDLY SPONSORED BY

La Valette Social CentreTel: 9622 7799 Tel: 9622 5847

Events for 2020Sunday March 8

FeteSunday July 5

Lejla fil-BuskettSunday October 18

FeteSaturday November 14

Dinner DanceSunday December 6 Festa San Nikola

Feast of St Paul at La Valette SCLa Valette Social Centre Inc. 175 Walters Road, Blacktown Tel. 96225847

On Sunday February 9: La Valette Social Centre is celebratingthe feast of the Shipwreck of St Paul

Mass will start at 5pm in the Main Hall Our Lady Queen of Peace Maltese Band

MANWELL GRECH DJ will provide the entertainmentThe Bar and the Kitchen will be open

Everyone is Welcome For Information contact the centre 9622 5847___________________________________

MASS TIME: Saturday: St Francis Chapel: 5.30 p.m. (when a priest is available)

Community Wheels Inc.: Connecting you with

your communityCommunity Wheels is your localcommunity organisation that pro-

vides door-to-door transport services to eligible people

(+65 yrs old) to:

Available in the Parramatta City Council and parts of

Cumberland Council areas. For information call: 88681400

* attend medical appointments * go shopping (including assist-ing clients with shopping bags) * meet a friend for a chat or coffee, and

*go on bus tours etc.


Community NewsCommunity News

L-MCCV qed jilqa’ applikazzjoni-jiet għall-pożizzjoni ta’ għalliem/apart-time tal-ilsien Malti fil-binja

tagħhom f’14 Watt Street, Sunshine, Victoria.

L-applikanti għandu jkollhomgħarfien sew tal-Malti kemm

miktub kif ukoll mitkellem.Ibgħat applikazzjoni bid-dettalji

akkademiċi lill:[email protected]

Għal tagħrif ieħor ċempel fuq: 0412 115 919. Ħalli n-numru tat-

telefon u nċemplulek lura.

Maltese Community Council of

Victoria Inc.

L-aħbarijiet tal-PBS (Malta)Il-PBS ta’ Malta tforni lill-SBS fl-Awstraljabis-servizz tagħha, imma l-qarrejja xortamħeġġa biex jidħlu fil-website tal-istazzjonMalti: www.tvm.com.mt. għall-aħbarijietkemm bil-Malti u bl-Ingliż.

ST NICHOLAS FESTA COMMITTEESunday 2nd February

Good Shepherd Parish Hall130-136 Hyatts Road, Plumpton

Sydney NSW(Opposite the shopping centre)RFS FUNDRAISING

Hall will be open from 11 a.m.Music & entertainment by

Martin Vella – Katelyn Vella& much more, with lots of music for your enjoymentLots of fantastic prizes to be won from Raffle

& Chocolate Wheel.There will be drinks and food for sale, including

Pastizzi, ħobż biż-żejt, hot chips and sausage sizzleEntry is free and plenty of parking

So come along, bring your family and friends. Enjoy an afternoon of fun and raise money for our RFS team!


Community NewsCommunity News

Tune in toTune in toRadio and Radio and Tel ev is ionTelev is ion

MELBOURNE: on 3ZZZ 92.3FM oron www.3zzz.com.au. Mondays 5-6pm, Fridays 5-6 pm and Saturdays10-11am. MELBOURNE: on 98.9 North WestFM, every Friday 6.00 - 7.00p.m.and Mondays 7.00 to 8.00pm. Pre-senter: Emmanuel Brincat.MELBOURNE: STEREO 974(93180930): 97.4FM Wed (MalteseMagazine) & Thursday (Merħba):6.00pm to 8.00 pm Co-ordinator –Ray Anastasi

On SBS RadioDay Time Analogue and DigitalTuesdays and Fridays: 12:00-13:0097.7fm SBS 2.

To tune into digital radio you need areceiver or device with a DAB+ chip.Tuning in is by station name not fre-quency. Digital radio can also beheard via digital TV.SYDNEY: listen to the MCC radioprogrammes on 2GLF FM 89.3. Isma’ l-programm tar-radju bil-Maltimill-Kunsill Malti ta’ NSW minn fuq l-istazzjon 2GLF 89.3FM.(Jista’ wkoll jinstema’ On Demand minn

fuq l-Internet: www.893fm.com.au)

On Demand: Ethnic Maltese Council 11am)Il-Ħadd 11.00 am: l-aħħar aħbarijiet

Fairfield Active Maltese SeniorsMeets on the last Tuesday of the Month.Group meets in Parish Hall, cnr of StellaStreet & The Boulevard, Fairfield Heights at10 am.

Maltese Seniors Central CoastHave to contact our Welfare Officer for anappointment. For all information and re-ferral matters call Censina Cefai: 02 439000 12 or 0414 267 652

Daceyville Maltese SeniorsMeets the last Wednesday of the mon-thin the Meeting Room One, No. 3 GeneralBridges Crescent, Daceyville.Note: The Groups also arrange regular Bus TripsJoin us and make new friends.

Merrylands Social Maltese SeniorsMeets every second Friday of themonth: Miller Room, Memorial AvenueMerrylands from 10.30am to 12.30 am

Llandilo Maltese SeniorsMeets on the first Wednesday of each

*(All Groups are co-ordinated by The Maltese Community Council of NSW) with asponsorship from Multicultural NSW. Please contact the MCC Welfare Officer: MarisaPrevitera JP on 0414 863 123. The MCC offices are at 59b Franklin Street (cornerwith Young St) Parramatta West NSW (next to West Parramatta Primary School).

Maltese Seniors Social Welfare Day Groupsmonth at the Llandilo Community Hall,Seventh Avenue, from 11am to 1 pm.

Maltese of Bankstown Group meets 3rd Wednesday of monthin the Bankstown CBD area. Every other 3rd Thursday an outing.

Enquiries call: Sam 9534 2357Greystanes Maltese Seniors

Meets on the second Monday of eachmonth at the George Preca Centre ofOLQP Church, 198 Old Prospect Road,Greystanes from 10 am to 12 noon

The Sutherland & St George Maltese Group

Meets every First Wednesday of theMonth from 10:00am-1:00pm. Meetings/Get Togethers are interest-ing, informative & entertaining, so comeJoin us and make new FriendsFor more info contact our Coordinator: Charles Mifsud J.P.Phone (02) 9501

5525 – mobile 0421 662 298.

Tixtieq li jkollokTixtieq li jkollokkopja f’idejk ta’ kopja f’idejk ta’

The VoiceThe Voice??Infakkru lill-qarrejja li The Voice of the

Maltese, mhux biss magazine online,iżda wkoll l-uniku tax-xorta tiegħu fl-Awstralja li wkoll jiġi ippubblikat.

Fil-fatt huma ħafna dawk li ilhom libdew japprofittaw ruħhom minn dan uabbonaw ħalli anke jibdew jirċevu kop-ja pprintjata bil-posta d-dar bi ħlas.

Minħabba l-bogħod li hawn fil-konti-nent Awstraljan, il-ħlas tal-posta minnstat għall-ieħor tvarja, għalhekk dawkkollha li jixtiequ li jibdew jirċevu kopjapprintjata tal-magazine kull darba lijoħroġ biex ikunu jistgħu jżommuhaf’idejhom, huma mħeġġa biex jab-bonaw għal sena sħiħa ħalli jagħmlużgur li jkollhom kopja kull darba.

Biex dan isir wieħed għandu l-ewweljikkomunika b’email ħalli jagħmel it-talba lil [email protected] fejnjitlob tagħrif dwar il-ħlas ta’ abbona-ment għal sena fl-istat fejn jgħix. Im-bagħad jekk ikun irid jissieħeb ma’dawk kollha li mhumiex kuntenti biss lijaqraw il-magazine online, imma wkollli jkollhom kopja tiegħu, jgħarrafna.

Avviż lill-qarrejja

minn Malta, mużika, tagħrif, kultura,avviżi u suġġetti ta’ interess.

SBS Radio 2 on Channel 38.Programmes can be accessed on-line (live or catch up) at:sbs.com.au/maltese and via mobilephone, using the SBS Radio app. For television news from Malta -

SBS2 TV 32 ( (Viceland) on Thurs-days and Sundays at 8am. VIVA MALTA on COAST FM 96.3Community Radio in Gosford Cen-tral Coast NSW. Aired on Thursdaysevery fortnight from 6 pm -7 pm. Presenter: Nathalie Gatt. Web streaming: www.coastfm.org.au

SBS MALTESE NEWS: L-Aħbarijietare now on SBSTV Viceland HDChannel 31 every Sunday at 8.00a.m. and on Thursday at 8.00 a.m.BRISBANE listen to the MalteseProgramme on 4EB on Tuesdays6.00 -8.15am; Sundays 4.15pm to5.15pm.

Maltese Community Radio Adelaide:Maltese Programmes on 5EBI 103.1fm:Sunday: 7.30am; Monday : 8.00 am; Monday 6.00pmContact: Bernadette Buhagiar: 0420 944 205. Email [email protected] Borg: 0418 843 850. Email [email protected]

Parramatta Melita Eagles beat AltonaCity 5-3 in the final on Monday tobecome the first winners of the tour-

nament for the Maltese Cultural Cup.The tournament between six club teams with

roots in the Maltese community organised byCaroline Springs at City Vista, Plumpton(Victoria) was such a huge success that it isanticipated to become an annual event overthe Australia Day weekend.

The Eagles and Altona City won their re-spective groups on goal difference after the

participating groups on goal difference afterall teams inished level on three points. Thecompetition started on January 23 when Al-tona City beat North Altona 4-0. Then on Fri-day a good-sized crowd saw Green Gullybeat Caroline Springs George Cross 2-1.In the other matches on Saturday Parramatta

Melita Eagles surprisingly emphatically beatGreen Gully 3-0 and Keilor Park defeated Al-tona City 2-1. On Sunday the Eagles werebeaten 2-1 by hosts Carolina George Cross,but managed to score the all-important goalsix minutes from time. In the other match Al-tona North beat Keilor Park 2-1.

The past weekend the Premier League in Malta made way for the fourth round of theFA Trophy in which four teams from the lower divisions, two of them from Gozo

joined 11 from the Premier. As a result, the ony team from a lower division to make it tothe next round was Division 1 Pieta who defeated Gozo’s Xewkija 2-1.

Aside of Pieta, the other seven teams to make it to the Qtr Final stage were, holdersBalzan, League leaders Floriana who were taken to extra time by Senglea, Hibernians,Birkirkara, Valletta, Ħamrun and Gudja.

Gzira sacked Italian coach Gio-vanni Tedesco and replaced himwith with Paul Zammit after thesurprise defeat against Sta Lucia onDay 15. Zammit signed a two-anda-half year contract.

Floriana retained top position on15 points, four ahead of Hiberniansafter beating Balzan by 3-1

The football community in Malta wasdeeply saddened by the news thatthe former Valletta and Malta inside

forward, Josie Urpani has died aged 83.Josie as he was affectionately known, was

born in St Julian's on October 12, 1936 andstarted his football education with the Flo-riana Colts when he was still very young.He showed his potential from a very youngage and when still a student at Stella MarisCollege signed amateur forms for MostaAthletic.

He joined the Valletta minors team in the1953-54 season, and on November 28,1954, and at the age of 18, he made hisfirst-team debut for the Citizens in their 2-0 victory over Birkirkara.

During that season he only played seventimes for the first team but then became theteam’s schemer-in-chief and subsequentlyestablished himself as a key member of theValletta team that won three league cham-pionships and other major domestic hon-ours, including the FA Trophy (twice), theCassar Cup and the Scicluna Cup.

Josie Urpani was known as a player withsuperb ball-control and for his remarkablequickness of thought

He won his first championship with Val-letta in 1958-59. That season he played inall his team’s matches and ended the seasonwith a tally of eight goals.

Always elegant in his appearance in andout of the football field, Josie thrilled thestadium crowds. In the FA Trophy, Josiescored two of Valletta's five goals againstMarsa but then in the quarter-finals, he sus-tained an injury that kept him out of the

game for therest of thatseason.

Urpani wasagain one ofVa l l e t t a ’ sm a i n s t a y swhen they re-tained theleague title in1959-60 andthen again in 1962-63 That same season hewon his only FA Trophy when Valletta de-feated Sliema 1-0 in the final. He scored theall-important goal.

In 1963-64 he scored 10 more leaguegoals, but the following season he managedfour league appearances and at the end ofthe1967-68 he called it a day.


Spor tsSpo r ts

Floriana v Balzan Hibernians v TarxienValletta v Sliema WSta Lucia v Gzira USirens v MostaBirkirkara v SengleaĦamrun S. v Gudja

RESULTS - Day 15

Malta’s national waterpolo team had amost disappointing participation in the

European Championships in Hungary whereit lost all its five matches coneding 89 goalsand scored only 30 in the process to end thetournament last among 16 teams.

The greatest disappointments were in theGroup matches and the defeats againstTurkey (10-13), and against hists Hungary(0-26). GROUP C matches

Malta v Spain 7-23Malta v Turkey 10-13Malta v Hungary 0-26Match for 13th-14th placeMalta v Slovakkia 4-8Match for 15th-16th placeMalta v Holland 9-19

Josie Urpani dies aged 83

3-14-02-12-12-01-11-1

2-12-02-12-04-03-14-11-3

FA Trophy: Floriana taken to extra time by Senglea

Birkirkara v MostaBalzan v Sta Lucia Pieta H v XewkijaFloriana v SengleaHibs v Pembroke Ħamrun S v Swieqi UValletta v Sirens Victoria H. v Gudja U

FA TROPHY Round 4

Disappointing participation

Nicholas d’Agostino of Perth Glory FCscored the decisive goal against Uzbek-

istan U-23s to secure the Olyroos’ first qual-ification to the Olympic Games since 2008.Nicholas of Maltese descent is the son ofJoseph. Both Joseph and his father James played for

Melita Eagles. His aunt Doris Drury was alsopresident of the Maltese club.

Nicholas was featured in an article on TheVoice of April 23, 2019.

D’Agostino scores to earn Olyroos OG qualification

Pictured: Malta Cultural Cup or-ganisers George Cross (white kit)before their game with GreenGully won by the latter

Cultural CupMelita Eagles first winners of Maltese

It has been announced that formerGeorge Cross and Floriana footballer,

Tony Vella died on Sunday. More abouthim in the next issue

triton square in malta’s capital city, valletta as you’ve

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