Issue103

online magazine

(driven by the voice driven by the voice of its readersof its readers)

June 9, 2015

The Voice of the Malteseonline magazine

Malta commemorates Malta commemorates 96th Anniversary of 96th Anniversary of

June June 1919 riots1919 riots

Malta has marked the 96thAnniversary of the tragicevents that led to the June7 (Sette Giugno) 1919 up-rising during which fourMaltese civilians were shotat and killed by the Britishtroops. Malta recognises the an-

niversary of the riots as anational holiday and re-members Guzeppi Bajada,Manwel Attard, WenzuDyer, and Karmenu Abelawho fell victims of theBritish bullets after takingpart in the protests.In Malta the celebrations

were held in front of theSette Giugno Monument atHastings garden in Valletta,while the Maltese commu-nity in Australia remem-bered the event at CivicPark Pendle Hill in NSW

-reports on pages 2, 3

Dr Anglu Farrugia, theSpeaker of the House ofRepresentatives in Maltadelivering the commemo-rative speech infront of theSette Giugno Monument

Simon Busuttil, the Leaderof the Oposition laying awreath at the foot of themonument

Prime MinisterJoseph Muscatpays homage tothe victims by lay-ing a wreath atthe monument

2 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday June 9, 2015

Il-festa tas-7 ta’ Gunju(mag˙rufa ˙afna b˙a-la s-Sette Giugno),

hija fost l-aktar avveni-menti importanti fl-is-torja ta’ Malta g˙ax hijamarbuta mad-demokra-zija parlamentari. F’danil-jum fl-1919 il-©ensMalti ˙a l-ewwel pass fil-©lieda biex jikseb id-dritttieg˙u b˙ala nazzjon.

G˙alhekk li din il-©rajja– jum nazzjonali - ti©imfakkra b’pompa, kemmf’Malta u wkoll fi n˙awio˙ra fejn hemm komuni-tajiet Maltin li g˙adhomjg˙oΩΩu l-wirt Malti, l-aktar fl-Awstralja, kifwie˙ed jista’ jara f’dawnil-pa©ni.

G˙al darb’o˙ra, fil-jumtat-tifkira, f’Malta din is-sena wkoll, ˙ar©et l-importanza li l-Parlament Malti jag˙ti lill-©rajja. Hug˙alhekk li ç-çerimonja tmexxiet mill-iSpeaker tal-Parlament, Dr An©luFarrugia li f’diskors imqanqal g˙all-okkaΩjoni qajjem g˙add ta’ punti, fos-thom dwar fl-irvellijiet ta’ dakinhar.

Dr. Farrugia qal li kien tal-mist˙ijali permezz ta’ st˙arrig li mexxewhuma stess, il-˙akkiema IngliΩi ppru-vaw ji©©ustifikaw l-g˙emil tag˙homli wassal biex erba’ Maltin ji©u maq-tula b’tiri mis-suldati IngliΩi.

Il-vittmi kienu, Manwel Attard,ÌuΩeppi Bajada, Wenzu Dyer u Kar-menu Abela.

Quddiem g˙add ta’ mistednin dis-tinti, fosthom il-membri Parlamen-tari, l-iSpeaker qal li bil-g˙ajnuna ta’diversi riçerki li g˙amel hu u kittiebao˙ra, sab fatti nteressanti. Beda billisemma’ l-ewwel inkjesta dwar il-©rajja li kienet ©iet ordnata mill-QortiMilitari IngliΩa, u li minnha jidher lil-awtoritajiet riedu ja˙irbu mir-re-

s p o n s a b -bilta’. Kienuallegaw li l-ewwel tiri©ew sparatimill-Maltinfuq is-suldati IngliΩi.

Ûied jitkellem dwar ©rajjiet o˙ra lise˙˙ew dak iΩ-Ωmien u qal li minbarrali jidher li l-inkjesti li saru ma ˙ar©uxil-verità kollha dwar l-erba’ persuni linqatlu u l-g˙exieren li sfaw feruti, biexjag˙mlu l-punt tag˙hom, l-IngliΩi rie-du wkoll iwasslu l-messa©© li minflok,il-vittmi kienu dejjem huma.

Dan jidher mill-proçeduri kontrag˙add ta’ Maltin li tressqu l-Qorti untbag˙tu l-˙abs wara r-rewwixta, sem-pliçement g˙ax waqt li kienu fil-kapi-tali Maltija Valletta fil-˙in tal-irvellijietesprimew ru˙hom u qalu xi kliem.

Qal li kien hemm diversi ra©unijietg˙aliex kien hemm l-irvellijiet, fos-thom il-prezz tal-˙obΩ li kien g˙ola bitliet darbiet fi Ωmien qasir, u l-g˙olifil-prezz tal-patata – li dda˙˙let f’-

Malta mill-IngliΩi - lifl-1919 kie-net tifformaparti mid-dieta tal-po-plu, tant lig˙all-Mal-tin kienetm i t q i e s h ab˙ala t-tieni˙obΩa.Imma min-

barra l-g˙o-li fil-prezzt a l - i k e l ,kien hemmra©uni j ie t

o˙ra li setg˙u wasslu biex is-sitwaz-zjoni eskalat, b˙as-sensji lill-˙ad-diema. Fil-fatt, kienu qed jing˙ataw˙afna sensji lill-˙addiema tat-Tarzna.

Sa˙aq li dawk li tassew rieduprogress politiku fost il-Maltin kienul-Partit Laburista u dak Nazzjonal-ista. “Huwa veru wkoll li minkejja likienu tra©edja g˙all-pajjiΩ, l-irvellijiettas-Sette Giugno u l-avvenimenti lise˙˙ew b’konsegwenza tag˙hom,wasslu g˙all-Kostituzzjoni tas-Self-Government tal-1921.” Dr An©lu Farrugia għamel ukoll ref-

erenza g˙al talba li saritlu mill-Kumi-tat Festi Nazzjonali, biex il-Monumenttas-7 ta’ Ìunju li jfakkar l-irvellijiet -xog˙ol l-iskultur Anton Agius - lijinsab fil-©nien ta’ Hastings fil-belt,ma jibqax imwarrab f’dan il-©nien fejnkien ©ie rilokat b’mod temporanju. L-iSpeaker qal li jaqbel mal-proposta

u hu tal-fehma li l-monument g˙an-du ji©i mqieg˙ed qrib il-bini tal-Par-lament il-©did

“B’hekk ir-rabta intrinsika bejn il-monument li jirrappreΩenta dak liqed nikkommemoraw illum, u l-Par-lament Malti tkun riflessa wkollb’mod fiΩiku u fid-deher.”

Fiç-çerimonja ©ew imqieg˙da ku-runi fuq il-monument b˙ala rispettlejn il-vittmi tas-Sette Giugno, fos-thom mill-istess Speaker u l-kapijiettal-Partiti ewlenin rappreΩentati fil-Parlament, il-Prim Ministru JosephMuscat, u l-Kap tal-OppoΩizzjoniSimon Busuttil.

L-Irvellijiet tas-7 Giugno

96 sena wara

Il-Monument tas’ 7 ta’ Ìun-ju f’Hastings imΩejjen bil-fjuri li tqieg˙du b’rispettfiç-çerimonja ta’ din is-sena

Il-Parlamentari u l-mistednin l-o˙ra waqt iç-çerimonja f’Malta

Tuesday June 9, 2015 The Voice of the Maltese 3

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They came to the Maltese Bi Centen-nial Monument at Civic Park PendleHill NSW in their hundreds to re-

member the 96th anniversary, of the June 7,1919 riots when the people of Malta stoodup for their rights against a foreign powerruling over the islands at the time.

It was a very moving and inspiring cere-mony where a sense of unity and pride wasevident. The dignitaries attending, under-lines the respect and appreciation the Aus-tralian authorities have towards the Maltese.For the occasion, billed as a Rose for Sette

Giugno, some 18 Maltese Associations paidtribute to the fallen of the uprising; the mo-ments created were very poignant. The spe-cial guests led by Clr Greg Cummings theMayor of the City of Holroyd and LadyMayoress all came forward to pay their re-spects with a rose for Sette Giugno, at thefoot of the monuments where the photo-graphs of the four fallen heroes, Manuel At-tard, Guzeppi Bajada, Carmelo Abela and

Lorenzo Dyer were clearly displayed. MPs Chris Bowen, Michelle Rowland and

Dr Hugh McDermond, along with Clr LisaLake, Consul General Salvino Giusti, andothers, followed.

The ceremony commenced with the na-tional anthems of Malta and Australia fol-lowed by a short welcome speech by thepresident of the Maltese Community Coun-cil of NSW, Lawrence Dimech praising theHolroyd City Council for the extensive ren-ovation to the park and the area adjacent tothe Maltese monument.

He said that the 1919 uprising had ignitedthe fire for the long struggle for independ-ence and the Republic of Malta.The keynote speech was eloquently deliv-

ered by Rhys Sullivan, a 14-year-old stu-dent of Maltese descent from Penrith HighSchool explaining in explicit terms thehardship that prompted the uprising and thecomplicated background at the time.

Casey Eamer, a student from the MalteseLanguage School at Horsley Park read aspecial message that was sent for the occa-sion by the President of the Republic ofMalta, HE Marie-Louis Colerio-Preca, inwhich she explained the path that led theMaltese people from being ruled to a dem-ocratic nation that determines its own des-tiny.

The ceremony was given a more livelyside by the voices of the Choir of the MCAof NSW under the direction of Marisa Pre-vitera. Jim Borg acted as MC while Fr NoelBianco (MSSP) delivered the prayer andmentioned the role Mons Guzeppi Depiro,the founding father of the MSSP played onthat fatal day 96 years ago.A large contingent from the Maltese Sub-

Branch of the RSL also took part. EricRizzo from the OLQOP Band played theLast Post. Emmanuel Camilleri ably coordinated the

event.

The 1919 remembered

A Rose for Sette Giugno

The Choir of the Maltese Cultural Associ-ation. In background some of the bannersof the Maltese associations that took part

A section of the crowd thatattended the commemoration

4 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday June 9, 2015

We always get read-ers, pushing us tokeep promoting

our island of birth, Malta.These readers are not onlyMaltese-Australian (thosewe initially aimed for whenwe established this onlinemagazine). There are alsoothers who decided to ma-ke their future in someother country and became,Anglo-Maltese, Canadian-Maltese or US-Maltese.

Joseph Cutajar

The Voice is here to stay!

While we are proud of our past andwhat the Voice’s family has accom-plished together, our eyes are fixed onthe years to come - both for journalismand for our modest global communityof readers. To that end, we also try toshine a light on causes for which webelieve meaningful strides can bemade in years to come including en-suring that the Maltese Diaspora isgiven the importance it deserves.As The Voice of the Maltese increases

its readership, we recognise that themagazine has now even become thefavourite read of most of those of Mal-tese descent – even some who havenever been to the island - and otherswho just love Malta for what it is andtry to get their hands on any informa-tion about our tiny but beautiful is-land before visiting it.

We get so many emails from readersof our magazine who have beentempted to visit Malta after readingabout it here and make it a point to beau courant (fully informed) with all thatis happening in Malta. They not onlyaccept whatever we publish, but al-ways ask for more. They also seek ouradvice personally. That is why it is ourintention to increase our dose of Malta.

Subscribers in the UK and Canadaparticularly have made us aware thatthey don’t just read the magazinethemselves but they also share it withfriends of theirs, some of Maltese ori-gin but also with locals who could beinterested.

A case in point is Mr. Dan Brock, ahistorian by profession. He is not Mal-tese but is in charge of the Maltese-Canadian Club of London (Ontario)Newsletter.

He is a regular reader of The Voice,but not only. He told us that as soonas receives the magazine, “I then sendit out to our Club members and tonon-members of the Maltese Cana-dian community whom I know wholive in London and area.

“This accounts for more than 100mailings. I like to send it out to themdirectly and I look upon this as serviceof our club in promoting the Malteseculture and in encouraging membersof the Maltese Canadian communityin this area to be members.

“Most of the Maltese Canadians inthis area are not members, owing toage, bitterness in the past, lack of in-terest and other interests by theyounger set, etc.”

From the UK, one of our staunchestsupporters is Frank Camilleri. He alsospreads the magazine around.“After showing The Voice of the Mal-

tese to friends of mine, who are alwayskeen to read anything Maltese, partic-

ularly not often found on the Internetor newspapers, we have established ateam of four and formed a kind of net-work between the four of us.

“Each and every time we receive themagazine we have our own email ad-dresses we send it to. They are bothMaltese living out here and also anumber of British readers whom weknow love Malta. Some of them arecrazy about the island and have vis-ited Malt a number of times. They re-main prospective tourists. We knowthey appreciate receiving the onlinemagazine.

“Between us four we email it toaround 450 Internet users. I also knowthat some of them even print out hardcopies to hand to a few old peoplewho are not computer-literate or findit easier to read it printed.

“Roughly, I think that between usfour, we can count on about 550-600people in the UK who are avid readersof the magazine...and the numberkeeps growing. Some of them evenshare it with their friends.“By the feedback we get, we can hon-

estly say that you are doing a reallygreat job.”

Therefore, so long as our readerswant it, The Voice of the Maltese on-line magazine is here to stay!

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Tuesday June 9, 2015 The Voice of the Maltese 5

Little Italy. Chinatown. GerrardIndia Bazaar. Koreatown. LittleEthiopia. Toronto is a city of eth-

nic clusters that are celebrated fortheir miniature recreations of the “oldcountry.”It’s a permanent Carousel of Nations,

but for immigrant communities thatlargely arrived a generation or moreago, the corresponding population inthe surrounding neighbourhood oftenhas moved elsewhere in the city. Leftbehind are the ethnic strips concen-trated around restaurants, culturalcentres, and places of worship.In the Junction neighbourhood along

Dundas St. W. there’s Malta Village; ittoo has seen most of the local Maltesepopulation disperse throughout theGTA. Still, they come back to attendmass at St. Paul the Apostle church onSundays or pick up some pastizzi,Malta’s savoury pastry, at the MaltaBake Shop.I’ve always called the neighbourhood

Little Malta instead of Malta Village,amused by the irony of a little versionof a place that is quite little itself. As a second-generation half-Maltese

Toronto’s Little Malta gives mesecond-generation immigrant guilt

Shawn Micallef

The city’s Maltese population has mostly moved on from theJunction’s Malta Village, dispersing throughout the GTA.Shawn Micallef, a second-generation half-Maltese kid, feels alittle guilty about not visiting the area more often.

In line with what we have said on the previouspage, The Voice of the Maltese is reproducing thisarticle about Malta’s most popular fastest food, Thepastizzi, written by Shawn Micallef, a second-gener-ation half-Maltese kid growing up in Canada that

was first published on Canada's largest daily news-paper, The Toronto Star. Recently, Shawn also re-leased his first book, a 300 plus page guide toToronto titled: Stroll: Psychogeographic WalkingTours of Toronto.

kid growing up in Canada, itwas a physical connection toan ancestral homeland. Likemost Maltese, I’m proud thatthe wee Mediterranean islandnation commands such apresence on Dundas, punch-ing above its size and weight.I also feel guilty, though.I don’t go to Little Malta

much. In fact, I probably visitMalta itself more than I frequent theMaltese establishments on Dundas. Idon’t make it to the Malta Bake Shopunless I’m taking a friend for a firstvisit. I don’t drink at the MalteseCanadian Society of Toronto (estab-lished 1922) and I’m not a member ofthe Melita Soccer Club (Melita beingthe allegorical figure representingMalta).

I don’t even go to the Maltese travelagency, the one with a picture of anAir Malta plane in the window, to buymy ticket to Malta.

Little Malta is on the other side oftown from where I live, butthat’s not a good excuse; I travelaround to other places furtherafield routinely. Toronto is a citywith many scenes and near-end-less distractions though, all vy-ing for attention. And my“Malteseness,” if that’s a thing,is just part of my identity here asa Canadian, although an impor-tant part.

Being a member of a Diasporais sometimes a disconnected ex-perience for second-generationimmigrants, a kind of shadowcitizenship, of being of anotherplace without actually beingfrom there.Some people learned traditional

folk dances as kids; others keepthe old recipes alive at home.

Unlike myself, second-generation peo-ple who speak the language mighthave the deepest connection.The Maltese, perhaps due to a shared

British colonial heritage, have assimi-lated so deeply into Canadian culturethat I’m often surprised when peopleI’ve known for years tell me they’reMaltese. Cultures blend and changenaturally, that’s fine, but still the guiltremains.Maybe the ethnic commercial strips are

as much for everyone else as the ethnicgroup itself and are a symbolic publicpresence marking who has arrived here,though I’m sure shop owners wouldrather that bond be a little stronger andvisitations a little more frequent.

This summer, Heritage Toronto willbe unveiling a plaque dedicated to theMaltese community here. That mayhelp renew the bond.

I should go to Little Malta more, Ioften think, but that resolve crumblesas the rest of Toronto distracts me.

Maybe more people of non-Maltesedescent should visit to help alleviatemy guilt. Buy a plane ticket. Go to con-fession at St. Paul’s. Have a picnic inMalta Park.

Perhaps pastizzi will become atrendy food like fish tacos or Cronutsand everybody will flock to the MaltaBake Shop.

I hope so. The second-generationguilt can get heavy at times.

Shawn Micallef

Malta’s most popularfast food, il-pastizzi

6 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday June 9, 2015

Model maker ensuring thatMalta’s buses legacy lives on For the past 36 years retired bus

driver Ninu Bugeja has devotedhours every day creating 43 de-

tailed handmade model buses. A fully-fledged public transport mu-seum may be still merely a dream, butin a quiet street in Tarxien, retired busdriver, 65-year-old Ninu Bugeja has setabout creating the next best thing.

Ninu, who spent 36 years as a busdriver, told The Times of Malta, thatcarried an interesting feature abouthim, “This is my life.”

Mr Bugeja has devoted hours everyday for the past 36 years to creating hismodels, which include 43 detailedhandmade models showcasing the en-tire colourful history of Malta’s buses,ranging from an 1856 Omnibus to anArriva-era King Long, taking in themany beloved and grumbled-aboutgreen and orange specimens in be-tween.

Mr Bugeja builds his models, some asbig as four feet in length, entirely fromscratch over some eight months, con-structing everything from the seats tothe wheels out of hard cardboard.Each one is a perfectly accurate repre-

sentation of an existing bus at a specificmoment in its history, from its seatsand registration plate to the colour andthe route, many reflecting a time whenbuses were painted in different coloursaccording to the route they served.

Moreover, as Mr Bugeja himselfworked as a bus driver for 20 years,many of the models carry the addedsignificance of having actually be-longed to friends and relatives over theyears.

He says that uses a book for researchbut he can still remember all the detailsby heart.

Mr Bugeja also proudly displays amodel of the bus he once called his own– bought for him by his father, withwhom he had previously worked sell-ing bread from a cart in Qormi.

“I used to keep parts for the bus in mygarage,” he recalls. “I’d work from5.30am to 11pm, and then spend my

weekends fixing it up. My sister evenused to help me wash it. Drivers todaycan’t do that.”Today, Mr Bugeja laments the passing

of that lifestyle, but even more, the ac-tual buses that have, by and large, beenlost.

Flicking through a book of photo-graphs showing the iconic decorationsthat once adorned the interiors, he toldTOM: “Some are still ‘alive’ but mosthave been scrapped. It’s such a pitythey didn’t keep one of each. We’ve losta big part of our culture. I’m still in lovewith them. Don’t bother showing me anew Mercedes... just give me one ofthese.” Photos: Jason Borg

Ninu Bugeja has cre-ated 43 detailed hand-made model buses

Ninu Bugeja withhis model buses

Tuesday June 9, 2015 The Voice of the Maltese 7

One of the most popular activities by the Malta Hor-ticultural Society (MHS) is its annual festival offlowers, the spring show at San Anton Gardens that

this year was organised in May. This year’s event wasunique as the society managed a National Record and to

be listed in the Malta List of Records when it succeeded inits attempt to form a large floral arrangement made up en-tirely of 4775 roses.

In the record-breaking arrangement, the MHS made useof 125 different types of roses.The idea of this record was the brainchild of the Society’s

PRO, Gabriel Ebejer who worked incessantly hard to bringit to fruition. He told The Voice of the Maltese that “it waslike assembling a difficult jigsaw puzzle,” as they had tocontact a great amount of foreign rose growers to sendthem the flowers, the freight handlers and to also organisethe logistics to see to it that the live roses arrived safely andon time for the show.

Sixteen Kenyan Rose Nurseries, Farms and Growerskindly accepted the MHS’s invitation to take part in thisventure by donating hundreds of roses and ensuring thatall their donations arrived on schedule at the Nairobi air-port, which was a feat in itself. “So this warrants our grate-ful thanks to these donors,” Gabriel said.

But there were also a number of sponsors who heavilysupported this ambitious project, including the financialhelp of Mr. Leo Brincat, the Minister for Environment, Sus-tainable Development, and Climate Change, Dr. OwenBonnici, the Minister for Justice, Culture and Local Gov-ernment, the Parliamentary Secretary for Rights of Personswith Disability and Active Ageing Dr. Justyne CaruanaParl. Sec. Dr. Justine Caruana, the Malta Tourism Authorityand Minister Joe Mizzi, who made San Anton Gardensavailable for the society to host its annual show. To acquire the roses is one thing, but mounting them into

an artistic arrangement is another. That was left to Mrs.Elizabeth Dawn Weaver, an accomplished floral artist fromUK, and gold medallist in last year’s Chelsea Flower Showwho volunteered to come to Malta and take up this chal-lenge aided by her husband and MHS committee members.

Malta President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca (right) pre-senting a memento to Mrs Eizabeth Dawn Weaver

Gabriel Ebejer

The record-breaking flower arrangement

A record for MHS! Floral arrangement

with 4,775 roses

Mario Cassar, Spring Hill, Queens-land

It is most satisfying to see tiny Maltado so well on the world’s stage.Without wanting to enter into pol-

itics, one cannot but express satisfac-tion that in just two years since thenew administration took the reigns ofthe country in hand, it is completelychanging the way foreigners look at it.

I am pleasantly surprised particularlyto read that Malta is luring so muchforeign investment to the island. Butperhaps even more satisfying the factthat even the Maltese entrepreneurswho are the backbone of the tourismindustry, to name just one sector, hasso much faith in the future of island.

I am most impressed particularlywith the announcement (reported inthe last issue of The Voice) that theCorinthia Group, a Maltese entity, isplanning an extension to its hotels byinjecting €400 million in the Malteseeconomy with the creation of a six-starcomplex. The tourist industry in Maltais cergtainly flourishing.

I left Malta in the sixties because oflack of employment opportunities. Ifthe current opportunities were existedin those days, I for one would neverhave left the island I love so much. Nowonder the employment figures at thepresent time in Malta are so low andthe country is even attracting manyforeigner workers to fill up job vacan-cies that cannot be filled by locals.

During a visit I made to Malta tomeet my remaining relatives I was im-pressed not only that so many touristsare making the trek to Malta but moreso by the number of foreigners work-ing in catering establishments. Theonly disappointment is, that almostnone of these workers can speak theMaltese language; some cannot evenspeak in English.

I therefore suggest that before em-ploying such people, mostly youngones, they are first given crash coursesin Maltese, or at least in the Englishlanguage, which is also an official lan-guage in Malta.

Philip Paul Bonnici from Casula NSW writes:

Let me take this opportunity to congratulateyou and your staff. The Voice of the Mal-

tese is a publication rich in general informa-tion. One can only imagine how much workgoes into it to gather all the news, edit and pub-lish. Congratulations on a job well done.

I wish to comment about the article in thelast issue about the former Chalet and TeatruRjal in Malta.

Re the Royal Opera House (as it was kno-wn), sometimes one wonders whether re-building and maintaining such a treasure canjustify the money outlay.

Re the Chalet, it would have been better ifthe Maltese Government totally got rid ofwhat's left instead of leaving it as it is. It lookslike a neglected graveyard It is an eyesore.

Have your say/Xi trid tghid?Your letters/ L-ittri tag˙kom ...

onl ine magazineonl ine magaz ine

The Voice of the Maltese

is is a bi-lingual (inEnglish and Maltese) fort-nightly online publication

specifically targeting allMaltese living abroad with emphasis on the

Australian scene. is online magazine is

sent via email by request.Subscription is free.

Editors: Malta: Joseph CutajarAustralia:Lawrence Dimech: MOM,

OAM, JPemail address:

maltesevoice@gmail.com

onl ine magazineonl ine magazine

Letters for publication in The Voice ei-ther in Maltese or English should bee-mailed to: maltesevoice@gmail.com.

Now you can also join uson facebook:https://www.facebook.com/groups/thevoice-ofthemaltese

8 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday June 9, 2015

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Il-lezzjonijiet dwar l-IlsienMalti

Pleasantly surprised atMalta’s achievements

The Opera House and the Chalet

Mario Griscti minn Malta jikteb:

G˙eΩieΩ Joseph u Lawrence, niΩΩikom˙ajr minn qalbi ta’ The Voice of the

Maltese ˙ar©a Nru 102 (26 ta’ Mejju). Mal-a˙barijiet kontemporanji u artikli stupendi,komplu ag˙tuna l-lezzjonijiet dwar l-Ilsienu l-grammatika Maltija kif qed tag˙mlu.

Michael Borg minn Balmoral, NSWjikteb:

Ihave been following what has been hap-pening in the Mediterranean about mi-

grants crossing from North Africa intoEurope. Firstly I feel I should say that inEurope they are certainly more consciousof these poor people’s plight than us overhere in Australia with those trying to crossover from poor countries in Asia.I feel so sorry for Malta, Italy, Greece and

Spain who are taking in the bulk of thesemigrants and sharing the responsibility,(not the burden as some politicians some-times describe it) of this great weight asthey try to give some semblance of a lifeto these people whose resources were ini-tially stolen by the multinationals andcountries like the USA, Britain, Italy,

France and Germany. One hopes that aproblem shared is a problem solved.

By reason some of these giant countriesshould shoulder the responsibility, but notlittle Malta. However, despite this Maltais dong its part, along with Italy especially,and the two have managed to put theplight of the migrants on top of the Euro-pean Union and the United Nations’agenda.

The way Malta is dealing with it makesme proud to be Maltese. It is amply clearthat size does not count for anything insuch circumstances and what matters mostis the stature of the statesman. I believe that though Malta’s Prime Min-

ister is among the youngest of leaders inEurope he has managed to be among theleading players and his views are not onlyheard but also acted upon as we have seen.

Peter Vassallo minn St Albans, Victoria

Firstly thanks for reproducing importantextracts of the budget for 2015 in the

last issue of the magazine. Going throughthe budget presented by the Abbott gov-ernment recently, I still don’t feel that con-fident that things could improve for thoselow wage earners, or for the whole popu-lation for that matter.

I believe that many of the figures pre-sented by Joe Hockey are more specula-tive and far from reality. I have my doubtsthat our living standards would improveand come next year, most of what thetreasurer is proposing now would fail, sohe will repeat them again in the 2016budget.

Sometimes it makes me wonder if thepoliticians really mean what they say inbudget speeches.

With reference to the article aboutthe sinking of MS Skaubryn in1958 that was published in The

Voice of the Maltese No. 102, Mr JoeGalea from NSW who says he was on theMS Skaubryn when it encountered prob-lems to its propeller, has written in to cor-rect some “inaccuracies”. It is certainlymost interesting to read the informationfirst hand from somebody who was on thescene. However, we have to point out thatthe information in the article by Joe R. Sci-cluna was certainly checked for accuracybefore it was printed so we had no doubtas to its accuracy. It was taken from veryreliable sources that have also been indi-cated to Mr. Galea. This is Mr. Galea’s version of the way he

remembers the day the MS Skaubryn en-countered the propeller problem. “It was in 1955 when the Skaubryn broke

the propeller. It did not come off; it wasone of the blade's that broke off. It oc-curred during the monsoon season twodays after we left Colombo in the middleof the Indian Ocean.

There was a lot more that happened onthat trip, than the ship just breaking its pro-peller. The provisions had run out, in-cluded water.

The hot temper of some of the Malteseon board reached boiling point and theythreatened to throw the Maltese officialoverboard as they wanted the ship to turnback to Colombo and fix its problem there.

If my memory serves me right, the Mal-tese official in charge was called, eitherMr Saliba or Mr Mercieca.We kept on sailing to Fremantle, averag-

ing only 9 knots an hour, because one ofthe propellers was out of balance. In Mel-bourne we changed ship in order to finishour journey in Sydney. The trip took usnearly six weeks to complete.

Although I was only 10 at the time, I stillremember the trip like it was only yester-day.” In further correspondence with the author

of the article about the Skaubryn, MrGalea added: “All I can say is, that some-one is talking about another ship. I can'tsee how a propeller that weighs aboutthree tons could be put on a ship's shaft inthe middle of the Indian Ocean and in themiddle of a monsoon.

“The Skaubryn came to Australia onthree occasions. In 1952 it had trouble re-trieving the anchor; during my trip in 1955a blade broke off one of the propellers, andin 1958 it caught fire and sunk.”That was the fate of the Skaubryn!

Way Malta dealing with migrantsmakes me proud to be Maltese

Tuesday June 9, 2015 The Voice of the Maltese 9

Aktar dwar il-problemi tal-vapur Skaubryn minn min kien fuqu

Hard to believe

Kemm ilni l-Awstralja kelli l-isfor-tuna li nitlef lil tliet zijiet lijoqog˙du hawn, kollha b'varjaz-

zjoni tal-marda qerrieda tal-kançer. Dan l-a˙˙ar kont qed nitkellem dwar ziju g˙aΩiΩminnhom, Nick, ma' ku©ina tieg˙i, u f'-daqqa wa˙da ftakart f'xi ˙a©a li kien qallil-istess sena li kont wasalt f'dan il-pajjiΩ.

Konna qed niddiskutu l-istatus tal-immi-granti f'dan il-pajjiΩ. Jien dakinhar kelliviΩa ta' residenza temporanja u staqsejtumeta kien ©ab iç-çittadinanza Awstraljana,li kien be˙siebni napplika g˙aliha. B'sor-priΩa, qalli li hu ma kienx çittadin Awstral-jan, imma kellu biss residenza permanenti.Jien assumejt li kien hemm xi impediment

biex i©ib iç-çittadinanza, imma komplajg˙idli li hu kien eli©ibbli g˙aliha, immama kellu l-ebda intenzjoni li japplika g˙a-liha. Mistag˙©eb, staqsejtu g˙aliex. It-twe©iba

kienet li f'˙ajtu, tant ra, sema' u batadiskriminazzjoni b˙ala wog tul l-g˙exierenta' snin li g˙amel f'Melbourne, minn nies'Awstraljani' tal-post, li ma ried bl-ebdamod jing˙aqad mag˙hom.

Il-kelma wog fl-Awstralja tintuΩa g˙alstran©ier, speçjalment xi ˙add li mhux ta'karna©©jon abjad (Anglo-Sassonu) u g˙al-hekk tintuΩa ma' nies ta' nisel Meditterranju (inkluΩ il-Maltin),tal-Lvant Nofsani, Asjatiku u o˙rajn.

Il-karatteristika primarja ta' din il-kelma hija l-konnotazzjoniderogatorja li fiha tintuΩa.G˙adni niftakar x'dieqa ˙assejt meta smajt dan il-kliem, l-aktar

u l-aktar g˙aliex jien nikkwalifika b˙ala wog xejn inqas minnu.Bqajt niftakru 'l quddiem meta jien ukoll beda jkolli xi esperjenzita' dan it-tip, g˙alkemm çertament mhux bl-intensità jew bil-frek-wenza li kien ˙asshom zijuwi.

G˙all-grazzja t'Alla rrid inΩid li ˙add s'issa g˙adu ma uΩa dikil-kelma fil-konfront tieg˙i, imma nista' ng˙id li l-kuntest deroga-torju ˙assejtu.

Per eΩempju, fuq ix-xog˙ol ©ejt f'sitwazzjonijiet fejn qed nid-diskuti xi rapport, u jekk ninnota xi diskrepanza u nipprova narajekk hux qed nifhem ˙aΩin jew forsi hemm xi Ωball fil-matem-atika, mallewwel kien ikolli daqqa fil-wiçç (metaforika) li g˙andisempliçement naççetta dak li ng˙atajt, attitudni li ma kontx narameta xi ˙add ie˙or, Awstraljan tal-post, kien jag˙mel l-istess˙a©a.Naf ukoll xi ˙add li, g˙al Ωmien pjuttost twil kien ja˙dem f'am-

bjent fejn persuna o˙ra, Anglo Sassona, li kellha influenza fuqix-xog˙ol kienet isseksek u tivvinta stejjer dwaru minn wara daruma' min kien qed imexxi, u kien jag˙mel dan dwar kull minjikkwalifika b˙ala wog, g˙alkemm qatt ma uΩa din il-kelma. Nista' ng˙id li g˙al ˙afna xhur din il-persuna g˙amlitlu ˙ajtu in-

fern u kkawΩatlu biΩa kontinwu li qieg˙ed fuq l-g˙atba li jitkeçça.Is-sitwazzjoni inbidlet biss meta kollega qabeΩ g˙alih u l-affari-jiet inbidlu.

Madwar l-istess Ωmien li kelli dik it-ta˙dita ma' zijuwi, kienhemm l-irvellijiet ta' Cronulla fl-2005, fejn tensjoni bejn gruppiΩg˙ar ta' LebaniΩi u o˙rajn bojod kiber drammatikament fi Ωmienta' ftit sig˙at, messa©©i ntbag˙tu bil-mobajl biex nies jin©abru ar-mati u sar ©lied fit-toroq hemmhekk u l-madwar.

G˙alkemm kien hemm inçidenti serji pprovokati miΩ-Ωew©

na˙at u bir-ritaljazzjoni g˙alihom, in-nies li n©abru kienu pre-dominantement bojod, ixejru l-bandiera Awstraljana, joffendulill-wogs u jattakkaw lil kull min kien jidher li hu mil-Lvant Nof-sani.

Dan l-avveniment, li seta' spiçça anke ag˙ar, id-diskursata ma'zijuwi u l-esperjenza tieg˙i wassluni biex ninteba˙ li hemm kur-rent fin ta' razziΩmu li jeΩisti f'dan il-pajjiΩ, disgrazzjatament. Il-kelma wog hija simili g˙all-kelma nigger li (kienet) tintuΩafl-Istati Uniti, fl-istess kuntest derogatorju abbaΩi ta' razza, u g˙al-hekk huwa razziΩmu.

Meta kont Malta, dan ir-razziΩmu kont in˙ossu meta xi Maltinkienu jitkellmu dwar ir-refu©jati fil-pajjiΩ, l-hekk imsej˙a immi-granti illegali, u dwar in-nies li joqog˙du fit-tlett ibliet - Bormla,l-Isla u l-Birgu. Jien kont na˙seb li fl-Awstralja, il-pajjiΩ multi-kulturali li jilqa' fih, u nbena bis-sa˙˙a ta' tant nies tal-post(abori©eni), immigranti u refu©jati (il-bqija), din il-problemakienet ©eneralment meg˙luba. Kont sejjer Ωball.

Id-dispjaçir tieg˙i hu ikbar meta ninnota li ˙afna minn dawk lixi darba kienu jissej˙u wogs u g˙exu g˙al g˙exieren ta' sninhawnhekk (inkluΩ xi kompatrijotti Maltin), spiççaw biex saru tal-post, insew kif kienu j˙ossuhom meta kienu minn ta˙t, u illumi˙arsu lejn, jitkellmu fuq, u jittrattaw lill-wogs il-©odda bl-istessmod derogatorju. F'Malta, minn xi daqqiet issib attitudni b˙al din dwar il-Libjani,

u forsi s-SudaniΩi. Hawn fl-Awstralja, illum dan jg˙odd g˙al-LebaniΩi (li jintuΩa b˙ala ewfemiΩmu g˙al kull min jidher li humill-Lvant Nofsani) u l-Asjatiçi.

Kull grupp etniku jkollu xi tuffie˙a m˙assra, imma hemm xigruppi li g˙al xi ra©uni, l-iΩball ta' wie˙ed mill-grupp huwa provatal-˙tija tal-grupp kollu. Na˙seb li ta' min ma ng˙a©©lux u nitfg˙ulil kul˙add f'keffa wa˙da.

Is-sens ta' ©ustizzja jitlob li min jag˙mel Ωball i˙allas tieg˙u,imma min m'g˙amilx m'g˙andux ikun ikkundannat mieg˙u. Fejn mar il-fair go li nifta˙ru bih?

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

kitba ta’

IVAN

CAUCHI

10 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday June 9, 2015

Riflessjonijiet ta’ Wog

Skont id-definizjoni dawn kollha wogs,imma whud jeg˙lbu l-espressjoni ntiΩabiex twe©©a’ billi jiççajtaw biha fuq videos

Tuesday June 9, 20155 The Voice of the Maltese 11

F’din l-era teknolo©ika u di©itali˙adt m’g˙andu g˙ax je˙odha bikbira li l-©enerazzjoni ta’ b˙alissa

lanqas qatt tista’ mqar to˙lom b’xi af-farijiet, pereΩempju ©ugarelli, li fl-im-g˙oddi t-tfal konna nilag˙bu bihom.Fil-fatt b˙alissa anke jekk biss tiftakarfihom jaqbdek id-da˙k, u tistaqsi liek,imma veru?. Illum se nsemmi ftitminnhom.

Xi ˙aga li kienet taffaxxinana b˙alatfal, u li meta llum t˙ares lura donnuli lanqas tista’ tifhem g˙aliex konnanie˙du gost biha u mhux tant façli litispjegaha, hija speçi ta’ skuter, immali ma tirkbux (Ara stampa 1).

Dan ©ugarell li kien kapaçi jag˙mlukull tifel bla ma jistenna lil xi ˙addkbir jag˙milulu. Kull ma trid kien bissinjama rqiqa twil xi metru jew ftit ak-tar - jiddependi mit-tul tat-tifel - uΩew© injamiiet o˙ra qosra, b’wa˙dasservi ta’ fus u l-o˙ra ta’ “tmun”, uΩew© roti.

G˙ar-roti, fil-fus li konna nwa˙˙lub’xi vit u nillaxkawh biex ikun jista’jiççaqlaq, jew konna nsibu xi rukkell,naqtg˙ulu t-truf tieg˙u biex in©ibu-hom Ωew© roti, inkella nie˙du xi rotiminn ta’ xi premm tal-log˙ob li kienettkun ©iet skartata, jew forsi nitolbu lilxi mastrudaxxa jag˙mlilna tnejn.

Il-biçça g˙uda Ωg˙ira l-o˙ra konnanwa˙˙luha n-na˙a ta’ fuq, ukoll b’xivit u nillaxkawha biex inkunu nistg˙undawwruha. F’kull tarf ta’ dak li qedinsej˙ulu “tmun” konna norbtu spagau norbtuha wkoll mal-fus biex stajnandawwruh kif indawwru “t-tmun”.

Konna wkoll inΩejnu dan l-ispagmill-fus sat-tmun fuq iΩ-Ωew© na˙atb’xi bandieri Ωg˙ar tal-karti kkuluritimaqtug˙a f’forma triangulari.

Dal-©ugarell konna mmexxuh billi

nimbuttah. Ìieli konna anke ntellqubilli nimbuttawh kemm distanza rridu.

Na˙seb li rnexxieli nispjegah utistg˙u tifhmu g˙aliex meta n˙areslura b˙alissa ng˙id li ma nafx g˙aliexkonna nqisuh ©ugarell importanti.

Ìugarell ie˙or popolari kellu x’-jaqsam mal-log˙ob tal-boççi li tantkonna nie˙du gost in©emmg˙u.DaΩ-Ωmien g˙adek issib minn da-wn il-boççi tal-˙©ie© tant ikkulu-riti imma ftit jilag˙bu bihom L-aktar log˙ba popolari kienet

li l-ewwel nifthemu g˙al kemmse nilag˙bu (g˙al-tnejn, tlietajew aktar), imbag˙ad inpo©-©uhom f’ringiela bi ftit spazju be-jniethom, u skont kemm ikun hemmboççi konna nag˙mlu passi ‘l bog˙odminnhom biex wara li naqtg˙u min sejibda, nilag˙bu fuqhom b’boçç’o˙ra.Aktar ma jkun hemm boççi aktar ir-ridu mmorru ‘l bog˙od.

Kif wie˙ed jolqot xi boçça jew aktaru je˙odha, ta’ warajh jersaq aktar qribbilli jg˙mel passi skont kemm naqsuboççi. Dak li tolqot tie˙u.Bil-boççi konna nilag˙bu wkoll dik li

konna nsej˙ulha d-“da˙la”. L-ewwelkonna nsibu biçça art raffa ta’ daqs ximetru jew tnejn kwadri. Aktar majkun fiha ˙ofor tant l-a˙jar.

B˙al dejjem konna naqtg˙u min sejibda u wara li jag˙mel xi passi ‘lbog˙od,dan kien jitfa’ l-boçça f’post lija˙seb li jkun l-aktar diffiçli li tintlaqat.Ta’ warajh kienu jilg˙ab fuq il-boçça

billi jgaraw fuqha.Jekkj olqotha je˙odha.

Jekk ma tolqotiex il-boççi jibqg˙u hemm ujilg˙ab min imissu.Min ma jolqotx, il-boçça tieg˙u tibqa’hemm. Imbag˙ad ta’warajh, min jirnex-xielu jolqot l-ewwelboçça jie˙u kollox hu.

U˙ud kienu j©ibu xiboçça tal-˙adid, minn

dawkli wie-˙ed kien isib f’-dawk ir-roti li konnanafuhom tal-borrejs (li wie˙ed g˙adujsibhom f’çertu makkinarju) u jgarawbiha, ©ieli bis-sa˙˙a, tant li ©ieli jkissrul-boçça li jkunu garaw fuqha.Xi ha©’o˙ra bl-boççi kienet li xi ˙add

mit-tfal kien isib kaxxa tal-kartuniebes, inkella xi biçça njama u fuq il-faççata konna naqtg˙u xi ˙ames jewsitt toqob Ωg˙ar kemm tg˙addi boçça.Fuq kull wa˙da jinkiteb numru mill-wie˙ed sal-˙amsa jew sitta. (Arastampa 2 fuq ix-xellug)

Min ikun irid jilg˙ab kien jipprovajg˙addi l-boçça g˙al xi toqba. Jekkjirnexxielu jirba˙ boççi skont in-numru.Itihomlu ta’ min tkun il-kaxxa .Bejn toqba u o˙ra kien ikun hemm l-

injam jifred g˙alhekk mhux daqshekkfaçli li ssib it-toqba. Hekk li ˙afna dra-bi l-boçça kienet ta˙bat mal-injam. Lima jid˙olx fit-toqob jie˙du ta’ mintkun il-kaxxa.

Óafna drabi ta’ min tkun il-kaxxakien jispiçça minn fuq imbag˙ad jie˙ugost jg˙odd il-boççi li reba˙.

(Darb’o˙ra nittrattaw xi log˙ob ie˙or.)

Tifkiriet Tifkiriet ta’ ta’ tfulitna (1)tfulitna (1)

Ara biexkonnakonna

nilaghbunilaghbu! --

2

1

Il-boççi fost l-aktar popolari

Joseph Cutajar

Ara biexkonnakonna

nilaghbu!nilaghbu!

Addressing a Social DemocraticParty conference on refugee policyin Berlin, Prime Minister, Dr Joseph

Muscat explained Malta’s role in helpingthe European Commission to come toterms with the refugees’ situation in theMediterranean and in devising a plan thatgives particular importance to strengthen-ing the cooperation with African countriesof origin and transit by intensifying dia-logue through the existing processes.He said Malta has historically been at the

forefront of calling for the launching ofsolidarity measures with a view to assist-ing Member States in difficulty, and prom-ised that Malta would continue to play itspart by hosting a Summit between the EUand African partners in the comingmonths.

“This will be a particularly importantevent that brings together countries of ori-gin of migrants, as well as countries oftransit and destination,” he said.He also pointed at stabilising Libya as an-

other crucial step in preventing further lossof life at sea.“That is why it has become even more ur-

gent for the international community tohelp stabilise Libya by supporting a medi-ation process to achieve a political agree-ment around a Government of NationalUnity.”He firmly believes that the progress made

in Europe in the last weeks, with finally aconcrete set of immediate measures as wellas a number of medium and long term ini-tiatives put forward by the Commission, area step in the right direction, and are a clearfirst sign that Europe does not only showsolidarity in financial and economic crisis,but that it can also respond when human

lives are at risk and when countries strug-gling to give hope to migrants are in need.

But, he added, “Much more needs to bedone if we want to truly achieve a consis-tent and effective EU migration policywhich balances protection and prevention.”

He said that Malta welcomed the mech-anism that triggers an emergency responseand kicks in a relocation programme,which may be used in case of emergencysuch as in the case of Italy and Greece. The European Commission proposes to

relocate in total 40 000 applicants in clearneed of international protection, and undera quota mechanism unveiled by the EC aspart of a wider plan of action, Malta will

be allocated 138 immigrants. Dr Muscat admitted that populists might

argue Malta has carried enough burdenover the years and therefore should refusethe Commission proposals by means ofwhich Malta must now take some of therefugees, rather than refugees taken fromit, however, he stressed that the govern-ment was arguing to the contrary.

“It is unfortunate that this proposal didnot come when we needed it most but wewill take our share to prove that we do notthink European solidarity is a concept weadvocate when it suits us. Furthermore, ifthere is a crisis that hits us in the future,we expect the same treatment,” he said.

600 caught abusing of social benefits

Last year, a total 592 people were caught abusing ofsocial benefits last year, to the tune of €3,831,983,

Solidarity Minister Michael Farrugia said replying to aparliamentary question.

European Commission statistic shows that in April,Malta had the second lowest unemployment rate in the

eurozone, 5.7%, along with Austria and Luxembourg. It also observed that on average, between March 2008

and March 2013, Malta’s unemployment rate was 6.5%,compared to 4.8% in Austria and 4.9% in Luxembourg.The biggest improvement was in youth unemployment,

down to 11% from 14% in the last quarter of last year.

12 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday June 9, 2015

Roundup of News About Malta

Jos. Muscat claims Europe made progress in its refugee policy but needs to do more

Dr Joseph Muscat ad-dressing the SPD Confer-ence in Berlin

Malta's unemployment ratesecond lowest in eurozone

The Commonwealth People’s Forum, ajoint venture of the Commonwealth

Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM)2015 Malta Taskforce and the Common-wealth Foundation has just been launched inthe presence of Dr. Helena Dalli, Ministerfor Social Dialogue, Consumer Affairs andCivil Liberties.

The Forum, that takes place on November23-26, shortly before the Queen, the Princeof Wales and 52 heads of government joinMalta’s Prime Minister, Dr Joseph Muscat,for a three-day summit, will give a chancefor representatives of civil society fromacross the Commonwealth to share ideas andengage with government leaders.

Also present for the launch were, Jacque-line Micallef Grimaud, who chairs the Peo-ple’s Forum Sub-Committee and Sir AnandSatyanand, the former Governor General of

New Zealand, who chairs the Common-wealth Foundation.Dr Dalli said that the Commonwealth Peo-

ple’s Forum would be debating the theme‘What makes societies resilient?’ with civilsociety organisations expected to highlightthe fact that resilience can be a strategy forsustainable development if it draws on civicassets such as participation, diversity and in-novation.

“It seems only natural that Malta, as thepromoter of the resilience discourse of manyyears standing, is a protagonist in the devel-opments played out during the Common-wealth People’s Forum 2015. We pledge ourcommitment to strengthen civil society, notonly by exchanging good practices but,above all, by listening to and learning fromour Commonwealth counterparts,” Dr Dallisaid.

Commonwealth People's Forum Launched

Figures just released indicate that in themonth of May just ended, Malta Inter-

national Airport (MIA) welcomed a recordnumber of 441,943 passengers, which is anincrease of 9.9 per cent in passenger trafficover the same month last year. The figureis also higher than the passenger numbersregistered in the August peak of 2011(427,575 passengers).

The airport’s busy summer schedule in-cludes two new routes to Helsinki and War-saw, five new airlines and a number ofadditional frequencies when compared tolast year.MIA CEO Alan Borg said that May’s traf-

fic growth is in part the result of additionalroutes and airlines that are connectingMalta’s airport to more parts of the world. He went on to say that Summer also seems

to have come early on a number of theirmore traditional routes, which saw recordpassengers for this time of year. “Thisshows that our collaborated efforts withGovernment and the Malta Tourism Au-thority to continue to reduce the seasonalityof our tourism market are working,” Mr.Borg said.Aircraft movements and seat capacity in-

creased by 6.3 per cent when compared to

last year, and the percentage of filled seatson each flight (seat load factor) increasedfrom 76.4 per cent to 79 per cent in 2015.In May traffic from Germany rose by 32.1

per cent as a result of Cruise and Fly oper-ations starting two months ahead of lastyear. Excellent results were also registeredfrom Italy, with a growth of 15.4 per cent.However, the UK remains Malta’s largesttourism market, up by 1.5 per cent over thesame month last year. Compared to last year’s figures, in the first

five months of this year, MIA hosted a totalof 1,528,241 passengers, an increase of 6.5per cent

Tonio Fenech has been appointed as the firstchairman of the Commonwealth Associa-

tion of Public Accounts Committee. Dr Anglu Farrugia, the Speaker of the House

of Representatives who also addressed the del-egates at the Parliament of Malta congratulatedthe Nationalist MP and thanked all those who

participated in the workshop and hailed as amilestone the experience of having membersfrom various Parliaments serving on the PublicAccounts Committees of their respective coun-tries working together for the establishmentand operation of the Commonwealth Associa-tion of Public Accounts.

The Nationalist Party is now in line withthe Labour Party when it comes to the

person occupying the important position ofsecretary general of the party. The party’sexecutive elected Rosette Thake (picturedabove) for the post.Now the two main political parties have a

women occupying the position after theLabour Party took the step in February fiveyears ago by choosing Dr Lydia Abela forthe position.Rosette Thake, 47, has been elected to suc-

ceed Chris Said. She was uncontested andmanaged to get 70 votes of the 74 cast bythe party’s executive. She thus becomes thefirst woman to occupy the position. Addressing the members after the election,

Ms Thake, who had been involved withinthe NP for the past two years, pledged tocontinue working to strengthen the NP’sstructures and the party’s communication.

Party leader Simon Busuttil said this wasnow the time for the NP to position itself asan alternative to the Labour government.Now the two main political parties have a

women

Tuesday June 9, 2015 The Voice of the Maltese 13

Roundup of News About Malta

Mrs. Michelle Muscat, the Prime Minis-ter’s wife and chairman of the

Marigold Foundation, will be swimmingacross the channel between Gozo and Maltaon July 27 to raise funds for the MarigoldFoundation and Special Olympics Malta.

Launching the activity, Mrs Muscat saidthat although she is not an athlete she is fullof courage to do the swim. As such, for thepast months she has been training at the Ta’

Qali pool as well as in the open sea.Special Olympics athletes will join Mrs

Muscat in the swim at Comino. The Marigold Foundation offers support

to organisations to further their work withinthe community. Part of the funds to beraised will used to help cover the costs ofthe Special Olympic participants when theytake part in the World Summer Games inLos Angeles in July.

Passenger numbers at MIA reach new high

PM’s wife to make Gozo-Malta swim for charity

NP appoints its first female

secretary generalTonio Fenech appointed first chairman of CAPC

NCFHE chairman confirmsstandards for AUM high

The chairman of the National Commission for Further andHigher Education (NCFHE), Martin Scicluna (left) has con-firmed that standards of accreditation for universities in Malta

would in no way be reduced to accommodate the planned new Amer-ican University of Malta. He was responding to criticism and reports that the Nationalist Party

was going to challenge the new legal notice in parliament because itlowered standards and was only aimed at facilitating the Jordanian investors SadeenGroup’s university.He said it was 'absolute canard' to say that the quality criteria had been reduced in any

shape or form. The government has also been criticised that the authorities had issued a legal notice

just days after the announcement of the investment was made. Mr Scicluna said that thenotice had been in discussion for the past few months and it was only a coincidence thatit was published when the American University application was announced.

He added that the legal notice only touched the criteria for institutions to be eligibleto apply for university status, and did not compromise the quality of education in Malta.

The NCFHE is a go-between for government and higher education institutions, takingon suggestions and recommendations from stakeholders, while addressing concerns inthis sector. It also oversees the implementation of the national Qualifications Frameworkand qualification recognition.

Le ˙add ma we©©a’ Ω-Ûon-qor u spiçça Mater Dei,iΩda fejn fil-©img˙at li

g˙addew l-midja u d-diskussjonifil-GΩejjer Maltin kienu kwaΩig˙al kollox dwar iΩ-Ûonqor u l-Universita’ Amerikana ta’ Mal-ta, bil-mod il-mod l-attenzjoniqed tintefa’ fuq l-bini tal-IsptarMater Dei.

Matul il-©img˙a li g˙addiet˙are© ir-rapport tal-inkjesta tal-eks-im˙allef, Dr Philip Sciberras,dwar il-bini tal-isptar Mater Dei,liema rapport kixef ˙afna nuq-qasijiet li saru meta kien qed jin-bena dan l-Isptar, fosthom lierbg˙a minn kull ˙ames testijietli saru fuq il-konkrit ta’ dan l-Isp-tar kienu mbg˙absa. Issemmewukoll diversi nuqqasijiet o˙ra liwasslu biex is-sa˙˙a tal-konkrittkun ferm inqas b’sa˙˙itha millisuppost. Dejjem intqal li l-isptarkien mibni biex anke jirreΩisti fil-kaΩ li jsir xi terremot.

Sintendi, malli ˙are© ir-rapportqamet polemika s˙i˙a. Dawk lib’xi mod, anke remot, kellhom x’-jaqsmu mal-pro©ett, fosthom il-politiçi, bdew jaraw kif ifarfrur-responsabbilta’ u jitfg˙u l-˙tijafuq ˙addie˙or. Insomma kif jg˙idil-Malti: ‘˙add mhu hu”.Fuq quddiemnett minn dawk li

wΩaw l-ixkupilja kien hemm il-politiçi. PereΩempju lill-Oppo-Ωizzjoni kellha diversi reazzjo-nijiet. Fil-bidu l-Kap tal-PNsostna li hu l-Ministru ta’ b˙al-issa responsabbli u jrid jara kifjag˙mel tajjeb.

Qabel ©ie svelat ir-rapport tal-inkjesta, l-istess OppoΩizzjonitefg˙et dubju dwar kemm ir-rap-port kien se jkun wie˙ed indi-pendenti billi iben l-eks-Im˙allefSciberras, kien g˙en b’xi modf’din l-inkjesta. IΩΩeffen ukoll l-eks Ministru Dalli li meta kienqed jinbena l-isptar kien Min-istru tas-Sa˙˙a fil-Gvern Naz-zjonalista (g˙alkemm kienhemm Ministri tas-Sa˙˙a o˙ra lifi Ωmienhom kien qed jinbena l-Isptar – sintendi g˙ax dan damjinbena 17-il sena). Imma, bla dubju li politikament

kien jaqbel li jissemma Dalli,billi fl-a˙˙ar snin ma tantx(!!!)kien mi©jub mill-PN, u biextag˙qad mal-bidla fil-Gvern, il-Prim Ministru Muscat sa˙ansitrapo©©ieh konsulent dwar ir-reor-ganizazzjoni tas-servizzi fil-Mater Dei. G˙alhekk, bl-impli-kazzjoni ta’ Dalli, il-PN ˙aseb li

seta’ jinvolvi lill-Gvern preΩentifl-iskandlu.Dalli nnifsu ˙are© jinnega li kellu

xi sehem fit-tbag˙bis li sar. Sostnali fuq kollox dak li sar kien ap-provat mill-Kabinett Nazzjonalistata’ dak iΩ-Ωmien, bl-eks-PrimLawrence Gonzi jg˙id li l-Kabi-nett ma kienx ra l-ftehim li kiensar mad-Ditta Skanska li kienetinkarigata mill-bini. F’dan il-kuntratt jidher li hemm

klawsola li mad-daqqa t’g˙ajnsetg˙et teΩonora lil Skanska, udawk li kellhom x’jaqsmu mal-bini, milli jag˙mlu tajjeb g˙all-˙sarat li jinstabu f’din il-binja.

Imma hawn ukoll qamet po-lemika s˙i˙a g˙ax kien hemmmin sostna li din il-klawsola maΩΩommx lill-Gvern milli jfittexlil min hu responsabbli g˙al xinuqqasijiet. Sa˙ansitra kienhemm min akkuΩa lill-Gvern likien qed jikkwota din il-klaw-sola biex jiddefendi xi kuntrat-turi li kienu qrib tieg˙u. Óalliha

li mbag˙ad kien hemm min©ibed l-attenzjoni g˙all-fatt li dinil-klawsola di©a` ©iet uΩata mid-Ditta Skanska biex ma ˙allsitxg˙ad-difetti strutturali li kienunstabu fil-©ibjun tal-istess sptarsnin ilu.

Sintendi l-kwestjoni spiççat

f’ballun politiku bil-Partit Naz-zjonalista jixli lill-Gvern li dankollu tqajjem biex il-gvernidawwar l-attenzjoni tal-popluminn fuq il-kwestjoni tal-g˙aΩlataΩ-Ûonqor Point biex tinbena l-Universita’ Amerikana.

Min-na˙a tieg˙u l-Gvern u l-Partit Laburista qed jinsistu dwaril-˙tie©a li dawk kollha li kienuresponabbli g˙al dak li se˙˙g˙andhom iwie©bu.

Il-Partit Nazzjonalista qed jaq-bel dwar dan iΩda jidher li jridjillimita’ r-responsabbilta’ g˙alSkanska, il-kuntratturi, dawk lipprovdew il-konkrit, u dawk lib’xi mod kellhom x’jaqsmu mal-bini tal-Isptar, iΩda qed jevita’jsemmi r-responsabbilta’ poli-tika, xi ˙a©a li qed jag˙mel em-fasi dwarha l-Partit Laburista.

U, b˙al ma g˙amilt fl-a˙˙ar˙ar©a, il-mistoqsija dejjem tib-qa’: Wara kollox min se jag˙meltajjeb g˙all-ispejjeΩ me˙tie©abiex isiru t-tiswijiet me˙tie©a,madwar €35 miljun?.

14 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday June 9, 2015

MiΩ-Ûonqor g˙al Mater Dei!

Il-polemika dwar l-bini tal-Universita’ Amerikana kom-

pliet, g˙alkemm, kif g˙edtm’g˙adx qed tiddomina g˙al kollox il-midjaMaltija.

Jidher ukoll li l-Partit Nazzjonalista qed jibdelt-tattika tieg˙u f’din il-kwestjoni, g˙ax fejn qabel˙are© qatta bla ˙abel dwar l-g˙aΩla taΩ-Ûonqorb˙ala l-post fejn g˙andha tinbena l-Universita`,il-Kap tal-OppoΩizzjoni, kelliema tal-PN u l-©ur-nali li jappo©©jaw lill-PN qed isemmu aktar il-kwestjoni tal-validita’ ta’ din l-Universita’...dwar xi standard se jkollha.

Aktar u aktar billi propju meta t˙abbret dinl-Universita’ sar xi tibdil fl-AvviΩi tal-Gvern(Government Notice) li jirregola it-twaqqif ta’univesitajiet f’Malta. Fil-fatt l-OppoΩizzjoniqed tg˙id li dan l-AvviΩ qed iwaqqa’ l-livelltal-universita’. Il- Gvern u l-Awtoritajiet invo-

luti qed jg˙idu li dan mhux minnu.Xi kummentaturi jsostnu li jista’ jkun li il-

bidla fit-tattika tal-PN saret wara li l-konkor-renza min-na˙a tal-poplu g˙all-protesta lidan il-Partit organizza fl-in˙awi taΩ-Ûonqor,kienet ferm inqas milli stennew.

Nistg˙u ng˙idu li dak li seraq ix-xena dak-inhar, ma kinetx il-folla jew il-mexxej Naz-zjoanlista, imma d-deputata Laburista, Mar-lene Farrugia li ng˙aqdet mal-protesta usa˙ansitra ndirizzat lill-folla preΩenti bir-riΩultat li fil-©urnali t-titli ewlenin ma kienuxdwar il-protesta, imma dwar sehem ta’ din id-deputata fil-protesta.

*ikompli f’pa©na 15

... u l-Universita`Marlene Farrugia milqug˙a b’bewsamill-kap tal-OppoΩizzjoi fil-protesta

Kulma jmur l-g˙add ta’ studenti barranin fil-GΩejjerMaltin qed jiΩdied. Dan jirriΩulta f’Ωieda ta’ studenti

fl-iskejjel, l-aktar f’dawk tal-Istat.Fl-2013 fl-iskejjel Maltin kien hemm 530 studenti mi-

granti; fis-sena skolastika 2013-2015 dawn telg˙u g˙al1,484. Minn Ottubru tas-sena l-o˙ra sa April li g˙adda, l-

g˙add issokta jikber u la˙aq l-1,857 student.L-akbar ammont ta' studenti migranti minn pajjiΩi barra mill-Unjoni Ewropea ©ejjin mil-

Libja, s-Sirja u s-Serbja, fil-waqt li l-akbar ammont ta’ dawk minn pajjiΩi Ewropej huwamir-Renju Unit, l-Italja, il-Bulgarija u r-Rumanija.Insibu studenti barranin kawΩi f’kull skola, iΩda bla dubju li l-akbar g˙add huwa fl-in˙awi

ta’ Tas-Sliema, San Ìiljan u l-lokalitajiet tal-madwar, San Pawl-il Ba˙ar u Wied-il-G˙ajn.Sa˙ansitra f’xi skejjel partikulari l-perçentwal ta’ studenti barranin qabeΩ it-30%.

Ta’ min jg˙id li ˙afna minn dawn l-istudenti li jattendu fl-Iskejjel tal-Istat mhux talli maj˙allsux miΩati biex jattendu l-iskola, iΩda jing˙ataw ukoll il-kotba, il-˙alib, eçç, kif ukollis-servizzi kollha li ji©u offruti lil studenti Maltin, b’xejn.

Fost dawk li jikkwalifikaw g˙al dawn is-servizzi b’xejn, hemm it-tfal ta’ ©enituri li ©ejjinminn pajjiΩi tal-Unjoni Ewropea, u dawk (u dawn m’humiex ftit) li g˙al xi ra©uni jew o˙raji©u eΩentati milli j˙allsu l-miΩati tal-iskola u allura jikkwalifikaw ukoll biex jing˙ataw il-kotba, eçç b’xejn.

Min˙abba dan l-influs qawwi ta’ studenti barranin, fl-iskejjel Maltinl-g˙alliema qed ikollhom jag˙tu l-lezzjonijiet b’ta˙lita ta’ Malti u In-gliΩ. Dan huwa piΩ fuq l-g˙alliema. IΩda l-akbar problema hi fejn l-istudenti la jafu bil-Malti u lanqas bl-IngliΩ. Tfal b˙al dawn ji©uoffruti crash course tal-IngliΩ biex ikunu jistg˙u bil-mod il-mod jin-tegraw ma s˙abhom tal-klassi.

Tuesday June 9, 2015 The Voice of the Maltese 15

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Ktibt hekk mhux g˙ax xi ˙add rifes xiqoxra ta’ banana u Ωelaq, fil-fatt din

il-banana kienet tal-plastik, allura blaqoxra u ma tiΩloqx. Din banana kbira litintefa˙.Kienet wa˙da minn g˙add ta’ banana li

kienu qed i©orru l-partitarji tat-tim tal-futbol ta’ Birkirkara waqt u wara l-log˙batal-FA Trophy kontra Hibernians u li ©ietmirbu˙a minn Birkirkara.Fi tmiem il-log˙ba xi partitarji KarkariΩi

dahlu fil-grawnd u nqala’ l-inkwiet mal-partitarji tal-Hibernians. Intervjeniet il-pulizija u arrestat xi nies, fosthom wie˙edli l-pulizija ressqitu l-Qorti u xlietu li fitmiem il-log˙ba da˙al fil-piçç u xe˙et ba-nana tal-plastik lejn il-partitarji tal-Hibs.

Skont il-pulizja l-g˙emil wassal biexjinqala’ l-©lied bejn il-partitarji. Itella’ l-Qorti u nghata l-libertá proviΩorja fuqgaranzija ta’ €2500 bil-kundizzjoni li ma’jersaqx lejn ebda stadjum fejn issir attiv-itá sportiva sakemm il-kaΩ ikun deçiΩ.

Studenti barraninfi skejjel Maltin

*minn pa©na 14

Wara l-laqg˙a kbira li sari-tilha fl-attivita’, il-Prim Min-istru ©ie mitlub jg˙id kifja˙sibha dwar din d-deputatatal-Partit tieg˙u li mhux biss˙adet sehem fi protesta kon-tra pro©ett tal-Gvern, iΩda litispiçça titg˙annaq mal-mexxej tal-OppoΩizzjoni. Fit-twe©iba xotta ieg˙u l-PrimMinistru qal: “It’s a freeWorld.”U ma na˙sibx li seta’ jag˙titwe©iba o˙ra meta, skont mantqal f’xi ©urnali, kienet saretpressjoni min-na˙a tad-diri©enti Laburisti biex majsirux attakki fuq id-depu-tata.

Sintendi kien hemm min˙are© jikkritika lil Dr JosephMuscat u jg˙id li m’g˙anduxkura©© jie˙u passi kontra

Farrugia, iΩda min-na˙a l-o˙ra hemm min isostni li l-mexxej Laburista jag˙mel˙aΩin jekk ja©ixxi mod ie˙org˙ax jista’ jaqa’ fin-nassa ta’dawk li jixtiequ li jittie˙eddan il-pass ˙alli mbag˙adikunu jistg˙u jixluh b’nuqqasta’ demokrazija.

Fuq kollox, aktar majg˙addi Ω-Ωmien, aktar qedjidher li hemm il-˙sieb, li fil-waqt li xorta l-bini tal-Uni-versita` isir fiΩ-Ûonqor,il-binja ma tkunx kollhakemm hi f’dak il-post, ub’hekk l-ispazju li jittie˙edf’dan il-post ikun inqas minndak li kien ser jintuΩaori©inalment.

Kemm dan se jissodisfa lill-ambjentalisti ma nafx.G˙alkemm ma na˙sibx lig˙all-PN din xorta mhixsoluzzjoni.

Deputata Laburista tisraq ix-xena f’attivita` tal-PN

Kif il-©urnali rrappurtaw l-attivita’ tal-PN f’Zonqor Point

Ma kienetxBanana!!!

The first refugees - three Iraniansand one Rohingya - to be resettled

in Cambodia from the Australian de-tention centre on Nauru have arrivedin Phnom Penh.They were the only people to volun-

teer for the controversial scheme afterCambodia last year agreed to take inrefugees rejected by Australia in re-turn for A$40m in aid.

Australia does not allow asylumseekers or refugees onto its shores, in-stead detaining them at facilities onthe island nation of Nauru and ManusIsland in Papua New Guinea.

Rights groups who have accusedAustralia of shirking international re-sponsibility by not taking in refugees,estimate that about 677 detainees arebeing held on Nauru, sometimes inunsanitary and unsafe conditions.

The four refugees who arrived on a

commercial flight have asked for theirprivacy to be protected and did notspeak to media.

The grouphas transfer-red to tempo-rary accommo-dation in Phn-om Penh, whe-re the IOM willbegin to pro-vide essentialsupport, in-cluding lan-guage training,cultural andsocial orienta-tion, education

services, health services and employ-ment services. Australia is also provid-ing funds to the IOM as part of thedeal.

The UN has spoken out against theresettlement agreement and Cambo-dia has, in previous years, been criti-cised for its own record on helpingrefugees. Cambodia is one of the poor-est countries in the world.

Phil Robertson, from Human RightsWatch said, “These four refugees are es-sentially human guinea pigs in an Aus-tralian experiment that ignores the factthat Cambodia has not integrated otherrefugees and has already sent Montag-nards and Uighur asylum seekers backinto harm's way in Vietnam and China.”

A quick glimpse at AustraliaA quick glimpse at Australia

16 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday June 9, 2015

Gay marriage in Australia is amatter for the federal parlia-ment rather than a popular

vote, TonyA b b o t tbelieves.Neverthe-less someMPs, inc-l u d i n gfrom Ab-bott’s ownback ben-ch, are pu-shing for ar e f e r e n -dum afterIreland vo-ted over-helminglyin favourof allow-

ing same-sex marriage in a his-toric referendum.

“I don't think anyone's sug-gesting that the constitutionneeds to be changed in this re-spect. It's up to members ofparliament who are eager forchange to decide whether theywant to bring it forward,” Mr.Abbott said.

Labor's policy is to allowconscience votes on the issuebut deputy leader Tanya Pli-bersek wants the party's na-tional conference in July tobind MPs to vote in favour ofgay marriage. OppositionLeader Bill Shorten said,“Time for Australia and ourParliament to embrace mar-riage equality, the matter wasone for parliament to resolve”.

Australia accused of shirking internationalresponsibility

Paris and Malta for PM Abbott?

The refugees are seen arriving in Cambodia for resettlement on Thursday

There is still some doubtabout PM Tony Abbott’s

attendance at crucial climatesummit in Paris later thisyear. However, he is ex-pected to be in Malta for theCommonwealth Head ofGovernment (CHOGM)Meeting to be held in No-vember 27-29. The Paris summit is to ham-

mer out a new global treatythat starts on November 30th.Mr Abbott attended the pre-vious CHOGOM gathering inNovember 2013 in Sri Lanka.

Greens climate spokes-woman Larissa Waters said,

“Australia has a terrible rep-utation for dealing with cli-mate change at internationallevel. Australia has torndown carbon pricing scheme,which was hailed as a tem-plate for the rest of the world,and still pushing to makeAustralia the first country toreduce its renewable energytargets”

The Abbot government in-sists that its climate policiesespecially its $2.55 billion di-rect action scheme to pay pol-luters to reduce emissions isan effective substitute for car-bon pricing.

Parliament is to decide on same-sex marriages

Liberal Senator Cory Bernardi has beenbranded “ignorant” by the Opposition

and cautioned by one of his own colleagues,after speaking out against the referendum torecognise Indigenous Australians.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott took theprospect of a referendum to the last elec-tion and has previously endorsed May2017 for the vote. A draft question has notyet been finalised.Senator Bernardi has raised concerns that

constitutional changes based on race willbe divisive, and said he is prepared to trig-ger the “no” campaign in Parliament if heis not satisfied with the final wording. ofthe question. But Aboriginal Labor Senator Nova Peris

said the referendum deals with a “wronghistory that needs to be made right”. Shequestioned why Senator Bernardi wouldtry to “derail” the positive campaign forrecognition.

“I find his comments ignorant,” she said.Senator Peris said the referendum is farfrom being a divisive issue and is designedto bring together the Indigenous and non-Indigenous elements of the nation's history.

“What we are trying to do is make Aus-tralia inclusive of the entire history,” she

said, adding that the debate required lead-ership and for all sides of the Parliamentto work together.

“We've got multi-partisan support on thisso Senator Bernardi is going against thegrain of the goodwill of his party,” she said.

The Federal Government has ruled outholding an inquiry into the iron ore sector.The Government had been considering aparliamentary inquiry to examine claimsby the Fortescue Metals Group (FMG)that the big miners, BHP Billiton and RioTinto, are deliberately ramping up iron oreproduction to drive down prices. TreasurerJoe Hockey released a two-line statementsaying it would not be going ahead.Independent senator Nick Xenophon crit-

icised the Government's decision, sayingthe inquiry has been “killed off by a shockand awe campaign by key elements of themining industry”.

“The fact that the PM and the Treasurerwere initially supportive of an inquiry byboth houses of Parliament and have nowbacked away, is indicative, yet again, ofthe enormous and disproportionate powerof the mining lobby,” he said.“The iron ore giants have now succeeded

in censoring the Government and the Par-liament from having an inquiry into issuesthat are clearly in the national interest,” hesaid.

A quick glimpse at AustraliaA quick glimpse at Australia

Tuesday June 9, 2015 The Voice of the Maltese 17

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After giving evidence at the Royal Commission into Institutionalised SexualAbuse, David Ridsdale was interviewed on a TV Night show and said thatCardinal George Pell former Archbishop of Sydney and now serving at the

Vatican tried to buy his silence when he told the cardinal he had been abused at Bal-larat in 1970 by his uncle, notorious paedophile priest Ger-ald Ridsdale.

Cardinal Pell and the paedophiles

“Cardinal Pell was a bully, a bully is whathe is. They thought they could bully me.And so many men have lost their lives be-cause of their inaction,” he said.

Cardinal Pell has rejected David Rids-dale's allegations under oath and publiclyon a number of occasions, and repeated hisdenial again after Mr. Ridsdale's testi-mony.“I was and remain extremely sympathetic

to David Ridsdale who, because of hisuncle, suffered horrible abuse,” CardinalPell said in a statement. “I continue to re-gret the misunderstanding between us. “Atno time did I attempt to bribe David Rids-dale or his family or offer any financial in-ducements for him to be silent. “At the time of our discussion the police

were already aware of allegations againstGerald Ridsdale and were investigating.“Then, and now, I supported these police

investigations. I have previously made asworn denial of these allegations and I re-

iterate thatdenial.”

A mem-ber of thePontificalCommis-sion for theprotectionof Minorscalled onPope Fran-cis to fireC a r d i n a lPell overallegationsthe clerichelped cover up paedophile activities inAustralia. He called Pell “a dangerous in-dividual.” Cardinal Pell has been appointed by Pope

Francis in his desire for more transparencyand efficiency in the Vatican financial af-fairs.

David Ridsdale

Cardinal George Pell

Indigenous Australians and the constitution

The power of the mining industry

18 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday June 9, 2015

Ìemg˙a ta’ anz-jani Maltin bi˙biberija li kell-

ha l-bidu tag˙ha fi Ωm-ien ‘ir-renju’ tal-klabbtal-futbol il-Melita Ea-gles fl-1960, g˙adhomjiltaqg˙u darba fix-xahar f’˙anut Ωg˙irMalti f'Surry Hills, biexjg˙addu sieg˙a Ωmien,jieklu ftit pastizzi u jix-orbu xi flixkun mix-xarba tradizzjonali Mal-tija waqt li jiddiskutu l-img˙oddi u l-problemitad-dinja.

Dawn ix-xju˙, immaΩg˙aΩag˙ fl-ispirtu, libejniethom g˙andhomesperjenzza ta ‘l fuqminn 600 sena, ja˙sbuli g˙andhom il-˙ila j˙ollu x-xkielkollu tad-dinja. Din id-darba, ftit tal-jiem ilu re©g˙u

ltaqg˙u, din id-darba biex jiffes-te©©jaw l-20 sena mit-twelid ta din il˙biberija anzjana Maltija, bid-dif-ferenza li din id-darba l-pastizzi baq-

g˙u biss fit-tilar g˙al-iex b’differenza mis-soltu l-ikla kienet fen-kata u x-xorb inbid tra-dizzjonali Malti.Il-˙biberija ta’ dawn l-

anzjani dehret fit-tbis-sima li kellhom fuqwiççhom, jew kif qalul-na, forsi din kienet l-ef-fett tal-inbid li permezztieg˙u l-atmosfera f’dinil-laqg˙a storika kienetaktar ferri˙ija u sabi˙amis-soltu.G˙al-laqg˙a tal-klik-ka attendew dawk lijidhru fir-ritratt (xel-lug). Jigifieri mdawrinmal-mejda (mix-xel-lug): Reg Bonnici, JoeEbejer, Frank Sant,

Lino Vella, Charlie Aguis, PaulSammut, Garry Garabez, JerryCarabez, Emmanuel Said, EmanuelCamilleri u Joe Busuttil.

The importance of music and con-certs has developed in Malta and

Gozo over the years and several localbands are producing very good music and putting on greatconcerts! Apart from local bands and singers, Malta alsohosts several international artists each year performing fan-tastic gigs.

For a number of years artists from Malta dominated theGozo music scene. But of late, musicians and singers fromMalta’s sister island have been given the chance to performand have been able to do so quite successfully. That music is one of the pillars of culture is a fact and the

two band clubs in Victoria, La Stella and Leon, have foryears been on the forefront in encouraging the Gozitans tonurture their talent. Most recently both clubs also amalga-mated their efforts to promote one of the best-organisedevents on the island.

This must have prompted one of our readers, LawrenceMuscat to send us a copy of a photo he came across re-cently that comes from quite a number of years back. Wedon’t have the date other than it was founded at the startof the 17th century.

Even more interesting was the caption. It reads that thefour musicians, pictured at the feast of the village of SantaLucija in Gozo formed the first orkestrina (little orchestra)

in the Maltese islands. It was also known to have been thefirst strong band on the Maltese islands. It was known as,Il-Banda tad-Dudi. Santa Lucija lies to the west of Malta’s sister island, Gozo,

some 2.25 km from Rabat (Victoria).Further research indicates that the band owes its name to

the nickname given to a family that used to live in the mainsquare of the village of Santa Lucija, the Debrincat family.In fact Id-Dudi was the nickname of a member of that fam-ily, Guzeppi, who also used to form part of the band andplayed the violin.The “orchestra” was normally made up of five musicians

from the same village. Their musical instruments werethree violins, the bass (also known as contrabass). Some-times, as a band they also added the cymbal.It was kept alive thanks to the efforts of the Debrincat fam-

ily and became very popular at special occasions in the vil-lage. It was also popular with British expats who gave itthe English name of ‘The Gozo Quadretto’. The last time it is known to have played in a public func-

tion was in 1925 at the ordination feast of a priest by thename of Dun Frangisk Spiteri. After that it was disbanded.

Gozo’s Il-Banda tad-Dudi...

the first

little orchestra

in the Maltese

Islands?

The four musicians who formed part of thefirst orchestra with their string instruments

Il-Klikka ta Sydney 20 sena wara

1. L-A©©ettiv hija kelma li turi l-kwalita` jew l-istat tan-nom. EΩ.:ra©el qasir (kwalita`) maramarida (stat)

2. L-A©©ettiv imnissel jista’ jkun:a) Denominattiv jew ©ej minn nom.

EΩ.: kenni minn kenn; qalbieni minn qalb.b) Verbali jew ©ej minn verb.

EΩ.: ˙anin minn ˙enn; ©ellied minn ©lied.ç) Parteçipali jew ©ej minn Partiçipju.

EΩ.: ilma qieg˙ed (mill-partiçipju tal-verb qag˙ad)bieb mag˙luq (mill-partiçipju tal-verb g˙alaq).

3. L-A©©ettiv isir biΩ-Ωieda ta’:a) i f’tarf ilkelma.

EΩ.: tafal + i = tafli; qarg˙a + i = qarg˙ib) an/ani jew ien/ieni.

EΩ.: xorob + an = xurban; qalb + ieni = qalbieni.ç) jje f’nofs il-kelma.

EΩ.: miet + jje = mejjet.

4. L-A©©ettiv jista’ jkun ta’:a) Ìens: Maskil jew Femminil.

EΩ.: ©did (maskil); ©dida (femminil)b) G˙add: Singular jew Plural.

EΩ.: fqir (singular); fqar (plural).5. Biex tag˙mel il-Femminil tal-A©©ettiv Ωid:

a) a f’tarf il-maskil li jispiçça b’Konsonanti:EΩ.: qadim + a = qadima; s˙i˙ + a = s˙i˙a.

b) ja f’tarf il-maskil li jispiçça b’Vokali:kenni + ja = kennija; safi + ja = safja.

6. L-A©©ettiv g˙andu tliet Gradi li bihom inqabblu l-kwalita` ta’ persuna jew ˙a©a ma’ dik ta’ o˙ra.

Il-Gradi huma:a) Posittiv (wa˙du).

EΩ.: twil, ˙afif, kbir.b) Komparativ (bejn tnejn).

EΩ.: itwal, e˙fef, akbar.ç) Superlativ (bejn iΩjed minn 2)

EΩ.: l-itwal, l-e˙fef, l-akbar.

7. a) Minn dan naraw illi l-Komparativ dejjem jibda b’-vokali u s-Superlativ isir billi nΩidu l-artiklu mal-Kom-parativ.

EΩ: Sabi˙ = (Positiv); ısba˙ = (Komparativ); l-isba˙ =Superlativ).

b) Dan jista’ jsir ukoll biΩ-Ωieda ta:aktar jew iΩjed; l-aktar jew l-iΩjed.

EΩ.: aktar famuΩ (Komparativ); l-aktar famuΩ (Su-perlativ).

Biex tikteb Malti tajjebL-AÌÌETTIV

Tuesday May 12, 2015 The Voice of the Maltese 19

Drawwiet MaltinDrawwiet Maltin

RiΩultat tal-eΩerçiz-zju tal-a˙˙ar ˙ar©adwar l-g˙ u l-h Dg˙ajsa, nhar, deHra, qlug˙,

g˙ali, herra, g˙adu, kerha,

xhud, deheb, log˙ba, iblah,g˙ada, g˙arqa, kollha, g˙ar,hawn, koroh, xhur, tebg˙a,Ωg˙ir, sahra, uçuh, Ωag˙-Ωug˙, fih

Tg˙allem ikteb

Minkejja l-fatt li Malta tista’ titqies b˙ala pajjiΩ moderng˙all-a˙˙ar, jibqa’ l-fatt li mhux biss ma warrbitx id-drawwiet u t-tradizzjonijiet li sawru l-identità kulturali

tag˙ha, iΩda aktar ma jmur qed jissa˙˙u, grazzi g˙all-isforz mill-awstoritajiet biex f’kull ra˙al il-kunsilli

L-ImnarjaL-Imnarjalokali j©ibu lir-residenti konxji tag˙hom,b’g˙add ta’ attivitajiet. Fil-biçça ‘l kbira dawn id-drawwiet huma

msejsa fuq il-folklor rurali u r-reli©jon, ufejn g˙andha x’taqsam ir-reli©jon dan isir permezz tal-festa tar-ra˙al li tiççelebra l-qaddis jew qaddisa patruna tar-ra˙al, xi ˙aga libdie aktar minn ˙ames sekli ilu, matul ir-renju tal-Kavallieri ta' SanÌwann.

La ©ejna g˙al dan, ta’ min isemmi wa˙da mill-festi l-aktar popolariu importanti fil-kalendarju kulturali, u çertament fost l-eqdem, il-Festa ta' San Pietru u San Pawl, mag˙rufa wkoll b˙ala l-Imnarja liti©i mfakkra fid-29 ta’ dan ix-xahar, l-aktar fl-in˙awi msa©©ra tal-Buskett fejn isiru ukoll wirjiet tal-annimali u prodotti agrikoli.

Il-kelma Mnarja ©ejja mill-kelma Latina luminare – mixg˙ela, lifiha, fl-antik, il-Maltin kienu juru l-fer˙ tag˙om billi jqabbdu ˙©ejje©u jixg˙elu x-xemg˙at u l-fjakkli.

Hi wkoll tradizzjoni li l-ikla favorita fil-post tal-Buskett lejlet il-festa tkun tal-fenek imsajjar b'mod tradizzjonali. Issir ukoll l-g˙anatradizzjonali Maltija.

Il-festa tal-Imnarja Ωvilup-pat u kibret ˙afna matul is-snin u hija wkoll okkaΩjonimfittxija ˙afna it-turisti. Il-jum jibda bil-festi litur©içi fil-Katidral tal-Imdina, biex wara nofsin-har, fi triq ta˙t ir-Rabat li tie˙u lejn is-Si©©iewi, isiru wkoll it-ti©ri-jiet tal-bhejjem - Ωwiemel u l-˙mir - bir-rebbie˙a jing˙ataw dakmag˙ruf b˙ala palju, speçi ta’ bandiera twila u rqiqa li fl-antikkienet ti©I ppreΩentata lir-rebbie˙a mill-Gran Mastru tal-Ordni.

F’G˙awdex il-festa ta’ San Pietru u San Pawl ti©i mfakkra fin-Nadur, filwaqt li jsiru wkoll wirjiet ta’ ˙xejjex fil-©nien tal-Villa Run-dle fil-belt Victorja (ir-Rabat).Interessanti ˙afna wkoll il-fatt li anke g˙aqdiet Maltin fl-Awstralja

u f’pajjii o˙ra fejn hemm g˙add Maltin interessati li jΩommu ˙ajjinit-radizzjonijiet Maltin ifakkru l-festa.

L-Imnarja... il-festa ta’ SanPietru u San Pawl (xellug)u tkompli mat-tradizzjonibil-wirjiet tal- ˙xejjex u l-frott (ta˙t)

Community NewsCommunity News

Id-direzzjoni ta’ TheVoice t˙e©©e© lill-qar-rejja li j˙ossu li jewg˙andhom talent g˙all-kitba, l-aktar bl-Ilsien Malti, immamhux biss, inkella li ja˙sbu li bi ftitg˙ajnuna jistg˙u ˙alli jekk u metairidu, jew jitolbu l-g˙ajnuna tag˙-na, inkella sempliçement jibag˙tux-xog˙ol tag˙hom lil: The Voice ofthe Maltese biex narawh.

Email address:maltesevoice@gmail.com Lesti nippublikaw il-kitbiet tag˙-kom.

Tinteressak il-kitba?

Learn

Maltese!

MALTESE LANGUAGE

SCHOOL OF NSW

Classes are available for students from 6 years to adults at all levels of ability in theMaltese language. We have trained and experienced teachers qualified in

language teaching and with Maltese study credentials. Learn the Maltese language,the culture, lifestyle, cuisine, traditions and about the amazing history of the island.

Classes at: HORSLEY PARK - SEVEN HILLS - LUDDENHAM

For more information and enquiries Call Mary on 9601 2189Or email: malteselanguageschoolnsw@hotmail.com

Supported by the Minister of Education and Training and the NSW Community Languages Schools Programme.Member of the NSW Federation of Community Language Schools of NSW; Member of the Federation of

Maltese Language Schools of Australia; Supported by 16 Maltese associations affiliated with the MCCof NSW. The Maltese Language School of NSW is a Not-For-Profit organisation.

A Division of the Maltese Com-munity Council of NSW Inc.

Fuq Radju Malta (www.pbs.com.mt) kull nhar ta’ Ìimg˙a fis-2.30 p.m. TippreΩenta Josephine Zammit Cordina

Follow The Voice of the Maltese online magazine everyfortnight and also join us on our facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/thevoiceofthemaltese

20 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday June 9, 2015

Il-komunitajiet Maltin fl-Awstralja li jkollhom il-˙sieb li jorganizzaw xi attivita` u jkunu jixtiequ li

jg˙arrfu biha lill-qarrejja ta’ The Voice of the Maltese permezz ta’ reklam, huma m˙e©©a biex

jibag˙tu t-tag˙rif dwarha lil: maltesevoice@gmail.comkmieni kemm jista’ jkun u sa mill-inqas

©img˙a qabel tkun se ssir l-attivita`˙alli jing˙ataw il-pubbliçita’ li jixtiequ

fil-˙in u ma jo˙or©ux diΩappuntati

G˙all-attenzjoni ta’ min irid jag˙mel uΩu mis-servizz tal-magazine

Trid tirreklama?

Jekk ghandek xi ˙bieb li g˙admhumiex jirçevu The Voice of theMaltese u ta˙seb li jkun jinteres-

sahom, ibghatilna l-email addresstag˙hom ˙alli nibag˙tuhulhom

La Valette Social Centre Il-Festa tal-Imnarja

Is-Sibt 27 ta’ Ìunju: 8.00pm: L-g˙ana tas-soltu.D˙ul ming˙ajr ˙las. G˙al kull, tag˙rif çemplu 9622 5847

Ikun hemm entertainment trailer ghat-tfal. Ejjew u ©ibu lit-tfal maghkom.

Il-Óadd 28 ta’ Ìunju: Fil-11 a.m: Il-festa tal-Im-narja tibda b’quddiesa. Wara jkun hemm wirjiet ta’˙axix, frott, tjur u affarijiet o˙ra.

Ikun hemm ukoll jumping castle g˙at-tfal, g˙ana ma’Saver u s˙abu, daqq u Ωfin minn Sam Mifsud.Tie˙u sehem ukoll il-Banda OLQOP.

Ikel fil-kçina jinkludi fniek u ikel ie˙or.

Dawk li jkunu jridu jie˙du xi affarijiet g˙all-wirjajçemplu mill-aktar fis fuq: 9622 5847 jew lil Joe

Abela: 0425 206 472

175, Walter Road Blacktown NSW

Kull qalb trid o˙ra

Biex tipproduçi magazine b˙al dan, li wara kollox hufrott tal-passjoni li g˙andna biex inwasslu t-tag˙rif

lill-Maltin barra minn art twelidhom, ma jin˙tie©x bissxog˙ol u ˙in, imma wkoll spejjeΩ.

Biex jittaffew u˙ud mill-ispejjeΩ nippruvaw insibusponsors ˙alli jg˙inuna. G˙ad m’g˙andniex biΩΩejjedminnhom, imma bdejna, u ta’ min jag˙tihom ˙ajr.

Kull qalb trid o˙ra, g˙alhekk in˙e©©u lill-qarrejjabiex i©ibu dan quddiem g˙ajnejhom u kemm jista’jkun juΩaw is-servizzi u/jew jixtru l-prodotti ta’ dawkli qed jirreklamaw/jisponsorjaw fil-magazine.

One good turn deserves another

Dedication we have lots of; when it comes to time, we find it aswhen dedicatiing oneself to a cause, it’s there. A third ingredi-

ent needed to produce an online magazine such as The Voice of theMaltese is financial. To offset that, of late, the production team hasbeen seeking sponsors to help us share that burden with us.

Some have responded positively by advertising the services theyoffer to their clients on our publication. There is need for more, butat least it’s a start. We call upon others to follow them.

One good turn deserves another; therefore in return, our readerstoo have a part to play. They are therefore urged to use the servicesand buy products of those sponsoring The Voice of the Maltese.

Maltese Association – Hobsons Bay Inc.NEIGHBOURHOOD CENTRE

21-31 Collins Avenue, Altona East, Victoria 3025Tel: (03) 9391 – 7359 Fax: (03) 9391 - 7359

Il-Maltese Association Hobsons Bay Inc. se jg˙addu tmiem il-©img˙a f’Mulwala, NSW.

Tluq miç-çentru f’21, Collins Ave. Altona East nhar is-Sibt 4 ta’ Lulju fis-7.00 a.m.

G˙al aktar tag˙rif wie˙ed g˙andu jçempel lil Joe fuq: 0400357001, jew lil Carmen: 0413 386 714

Tuesday June 9, 2015 The Voice of the Maltese 21

GEORGE CROSS FALCONS CLUB Inc.GEORGE CROSS FALCONS CLUB Inc.(25-27 Lake Ave Cringila NSW 2502, (02) 4273 0906 gcfc@exemail.com.au)

Seniors’ Day Every MondayHome-made cooked two-course meal, tea

and coffee Bingo and dancing lessonsComputers available for usage.

Cost only $5.00. Sponsored by MCCI Illawarra.Phone 42 746121 and leave a message

UTS Sydney - Free English classes

As part of its Teachers Training for2015, the University of Technology(UTS) Sydney - Insearch is offeringfree English classes designed toimprove one’s speaking and listen-ing skills. Following is the pro-gramme for this year:

July 6 - July 31 (1.30pm to 3.30 pmMonday to Friday)August 11 - October 15 (6.00p.m-8.00pm Tuesday & Thursday evening)October 20 -December 23 (6.00pm-8.00pm Tuesday & Thursday evening)

If interested call 92188646, fax92114334 or email:

david.noble@insearch.edu.au

Student Centre, Ground Floor, 187Thomas Street Sydney NSW 2000

(corner Quay & Thomas Street Chinatown).

Students must be at least 16 years old

FRIENDS OF PROVIDENCE HOUSE NSW(Formed in November 2011)

ANNOUNCES:

18 Day Fly – Cruise – Stay – TourCommencing September 19, 2015

Visiting Perth – Bali – Thailand – Malaysia – Singapore.Fantastic Tour – Great value – All inclusive from $3650 p/p

Proceeds to be donated to Id-Dar tal-Providenza, Malta.

For brochure or bookings call Jim Borg on (02) 9636 7767.Note: Donations to Id-Dar tal-Providenza can now be made

in Australia at any Commonwealth Bank. A/C Name: Friends of Providence House NSWBSB: 062 416 A/C No. 10199448

This will save you the normal bank fees. Please supply name and address so an acknowledgement can be issued.

Proudly supported by:

Cnr Main & Campbell Sts, Blacktown. Contact George Vella Tel (02) 9622 7799

St Helena Maltese/Aust. SC

Community NewsCommunity News

Programme for the rest of 2015

JUNE 20: (Saturday): Function at Albion JULY 18: (Saturday): Function at Albion AUGUST 21: (Friday): Feast Mass at ArdeerAUGUST 22: (Saturday): Feast dinner dance at Melrose AUGUST 23: (Sunday): 35th Anniversary feast at Ardeer SEPTEMBER 19: (Saturday): Functioin at AlbionOCTOBER 24: (Saturday): Function at Parkville OCTOBER 25: (Sunday): AGM meet at Parkville NOVEMBER 14: (Saturday): Function at Holy Eucharist DECEMBER 19: (Saturday): Xmas function at Melrose.

(For bookings or more information phone Victor: 0412 99 13 25)

SAINT NICHOLAS FESTA COMMITTEE

Other activities this year:Sunday July 5: Lejla fil-Buskett ; Sunday October

18: Spring Fiera; Sunday December 6: Feast of St Nicholas

For further information call Bill Schembri: 0416 261 415.

Presents......

The Feast of Saints Peter & Paul(Festa L’Imnarja and Lejla fil-Buskett)

On Sunday July 5 at the Good ShepherdParish Hall 130-136 Hyatts Rd Plumpton

Starting with Classic Cars and Bikes at 12.00 Noon1.30pm till 6.00pm: Entertainment, Arts & Crafts

and Agriculture Displays

There will also be music & singing featuringRon Borg, Joe Xuereb & Tony Fenech

Refreshments of Maltese foods and drink,tea & coffee will be available.

ENTRANCE IS FREE - ALL UNDER COVEREVERYONE WELCOME

For more information please ring:Vice President: Charlie Gatt - 9671 3919 or

Public Relations Officer: Joe Fenech - 96280481

22 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday June 9, 2015

Meetings of DayCare Maltese

Groups in NSWFairfield Active Maltese SeniorsMeets on the first Tuesday of the Month

from10:00am to 12 noon. The group meets in the Parish Hall, cnr

of Stella Street & The Boulevard, Fair-field Heights.

Maltese Seniors Central CoastGroup Meetings for Maltese livingat the Central Coast: are held everysecond Monday of each month from

10 am to 12 at Wyong RSL, cnrAnzac & Margaret Street Wyong.

For more information Tel: 02 439 000 12 or 0414 267 652

On SBS Radio - Day Time Analogue DigitalTuesday: 12:00-13:00 SBS Radio 3Thursday: 12:00-13:00 SBS Radio 3Friday: 12:00-13:00 97.7fm SBS Radio 2Saturday: 14:00-15:00: 97.7fm SBS Radio 2To tune into digital radio you need receiveror device with a DAB+ chip.Tuning in is by station name not fre-

quency. Digital radio can also be heardon digital TV. SBS Radio 2 is on Chan-nel 38 and SBS.Radio 3 is on Channel 39. Analogue is

the present FMwavelength. Digital radiocan also be accessed by a smart phoneand/or by going online at HYPERLINK:http://www.sbs.com.au, www.sbs.com.au

Maltese Radio ProgrammesMELBOURNE, on 3ZZZ 92.3FM or onwww.3zzz.com.au. Mondays 5pm, Fridays5pm, Saturdays 10am.; Last Wednesdayeach month at 1pm.

MELBOURNE on 98.9 North West FM,each Friday 6.00 - 7.00p.m. Presenter Em-manuel Brincat.

MELBOURNE: STEREO 974 (93180930):97.4FM Wed (Maltese Magazine) & Thurs-day (Merhba): 6.00pm to 8.00 pm Co-ordi-nator – Ray Anastasi

In SYDNEY, listen to the MCC radio pro-gramme Sunday at 11am 2GLF FM 89.3, oron demand: www.893fm.com.au

In BRISBANE listen to the Maltese Pro-gram on 4EB on Tuesdays 6.00 -8.15am;Sundays 4.15pm to 5.15pm

UNCLE SAM DJ (Maltese Radio) tune into link: www.unclesamdj.com

The SBS MALTESE NEWS L-A˙barijiet on SBS TV twice a week nationwide Sunday at8.00 am on SBS2 (Chan. 32); Thursdays at 8.05 am on SBS2

*(All Groups are Sponsored by The Maltese Community Council ofNSW). Please contact the MCC Welfare Officer: Marisa Previtera JPon 0414 863 123. The MCC offices are at 59b Franklin Street MaysHill NSW (next to West Parramatta Primary School)

Daceyville Maltese SeniorsMeets on the last Wednesday of the

month in the Meeting Room One, No. 3General Bridges Crescent, Daceyville.Note: The Groups also arrange regular Bus TripsCome and join us and make new friends.

Merrylands Social Maltese SeniorsMeets every second Friday of the

month; Miller Room, Memorial AvenueMerrylands from 10.30am to 12.30 am

Llandillo Maltese SeniorsMeets on the first Wednesday of the

month at the Llandilo Community Hall,Seventh Avenue, from 11am to 1pm.

Greystanes Maltese SeniorsMeets on the second Monday of the

month n the George Preca Centre ofOLQP Church, 198 Old Prospect Road,Greystanes from 10 am to 12 noon

The Sutherland & St GeorgeMaltese Group

Ongoing: We meet every First Wednesdayof the Month from 10:00am-1:00pm

Our Meetings/Get Togethers are inter-esting, informative & entertaining. Come Join us and make new FriendsFor more information contact our Coor-dinator: Charles Mifsud J.P.Phone (02)9501 5525 – mobile 0421 662 298.

VIVA MALTAVIVA MALTA on Central Coast

Radio: on June: 18th - from 6 pm -7pm on COAST FM 96.3 Community

Radio in Gosford NSW. Presenter: Nathalie Gatt.

Web streaming on: www.coastfm.org.au.

The Maltese Language School ofNSW invites applications for

Maltese language classes at theAlfred Fenech Maltese Resource

Centre located at 59b FranklinStreet (corner with Young Street)

Mays Hill (next to ParramattaWest Public School).

Both young and adult students may apply.

For more information contactMary Pace-Feraud on 9601 2189 oremail:

malteselanguageschoolnsw@hotmail.com

The Maltese Language School of NSW

Isma’ l-programm tar-radjubil-Malti mill-Kunsill Maltita’ NSW minn fuq l-istaz-

zjon 2GLF 89.3FM.Jista’ wkoll jinstema’ On De-

mand minn fuq l-Internetwww.893fm.com.au

(On Demand >Ethnic >Maltese Council 11am)Fi programm ta’ sieg˙a nhar ta’ Óadd

fil-11.00 ikun fih l-a˙˙ar a˙barijietminn Malta, muΩika, tag˙rif, kultura,

avviΩi u su©©etti ta’ interess g˙all-Maltin

Tune In to Radio and Television

Malta Society of New Zealand

We now have a Facebook pagethat former members are in-

vited to join. It is: Mainly-Maltese-in-Auckland:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mainly-Maltese-in-Auckland/

396193070527203?ref=hl.

It is open to all who have an interestin the Maltese culture.

Maltese Programmes on TV and WebThe GDAY MALTAUSSIE SHOW on TVS is broadcast in Sydney

Every Saturday at 2pm. Repeats on Mondays 5 pm and Tues-days 7.30 amWatch direct via HYPERLINK:http://ww.tvs.org.au; http://ww.tvs.org.au

G˙alkemm il-PBS ta’ Malta tforni lill-SBS fl-Awstralja bis-servizz tag˙ha, il-qarrejja m˙e©©a li x’˙in iridu jid˙lufil-website: www.tvm.com.mt u jsegwu l-a˙barijiet ta’ Malta. Din tkun a©©ornatal-˙in kollu bi stejjer li jkunu qed ise˙˙u.

Mhux biss, imma min irid isegwi dak lijkun g˙addej, kull filg˙odu in ta' Maltafuq il-website jittellg˙u wkoll l-a˙barijiettal-jum ta' qabel.

L-ahbarijiet tal-PBS (Malta)

Community NewsCommunity News

Parramatta (formerly Melita Eagles) made it fourmatches undefeated and even recorded their thirdclean sheet in succession after defying the odds

by defeating Sydney Olympic at Belmore SportsGround by 1-0.

Victory also helped Parramatta leapfrog over twoteams in the league ladder and they are now ninth (with12 points from 12 matches) and with a game in hand.

Parramatta shocked the Olympic with a goal from afreekick by Juan Chavez that took a slight deflection offOlympic’s defensive barrier on 53 minutes. It threw thefew travelling fans into delirium, screaming for joy whenthey saw the ball hit the net for a deserved victory.The Eagles dominated for most of the match with pos-

session football, particularly in the second half. Theyalso defended stoutly throughout and victory was mostdeserving.

The last time the two teams met before Sunday, Syd-ney won with four clear goals. But this win has shownthat Parramatta have made great improvement andhopefully they will repeat such performances for therest of the league campaign.

Round 13Sydney O. v Parramatta FC Sutherland S. v Sydney U Manly U v APIARockdale CS v Blacktown SBlacktown C v South CoastMarconi S. v Brownrigg

Round 12Mounties W v Mt Druitt TR 1-3

0-13-11-20-14-01-2

Tuesday June 9, 2015 The Voice of the Maltese 23

Spor tsSpor ts 11

Parramatta beat Olympic toclimb two places in ladder

Football: PS4 NPL 1 NSW

PS4N PL2 NSW

Round 12Parramatta FC v Marconi S.Blacktown S v Sutherland S.Brownrigg v Manly U. Sydney U v Blacktown CAPIA v Rockdale CSSouth Coast v Sydney O.

Round 11Spirit FC v Mounties W 2-0

0-02-52-11-64-31-1

Kevin Muscat:A leader and a manager

*from page 24

Kevin Muscat admits that at first he had questionedwhether he had what it takes to be a coach, but thepast season has shown that he has grown into his roleas leader and manager. The perception that Victorywere still Postecoglou’s team has finally be laid torest.During his international career, Muscat represented

the Australia U-20 side at the 1991 FIFA WorldYouth Championship and the 1993 FIFA WorldYouth Championship in Australia. He also played forAustralia U-23 at the 1996 Summer Olympics. He made his full international debut for Australia in

September 1994 against Kuwait, and also representedthe national side at the 1997 FIFA ConfederationsCup, 2000 OFC Nations Cup, 2001 FIFA Confeder-ations Cup and the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup. On a particular occasion while playing for the Aus-

tralian national football team in a friendly matchagainst France at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in2001, Kevin clashed with French internationalDugarry. Muscat’s tackle on the Frenchman sparkedan all-in scuffle. As a result, Zinedine Zidane, at the time the world’s

most expensive midfieleder following his £stg45.8mtransfer from Juventus to Real Madird, got riled anddelivered a tirade at Kevin.

Dugarry was ruled out for three months and Bor-deaux owner Nicolas de Tavernost demanded com-pensation from Soccer Australia. After the match that ended 1-1, Muscat was reported

saying that his tackle was not made with any maliceor intent to cause injury. “The momentum of thetackle and the weather conditions contributed to theinjury sustained by Dugarry,” he said.Dugarry retired four years later, in 2005, presumably

with a sore knee.

Kevin Moore, a Maltese-Aus-tralian, and female athlete

Charlotte Wingfield (picturedright) were Malta’s best com-petitors at 16th edition Games ofSmall States of Europe (GSSE),Iceland 2015 just ended. Theywon Malta’s only gold, twoeach, in athletics as the medalshaul topped the 31-mark. Thetally also included nine silverand 18 bronze.

The medals’ total of medals won bythe 58-strong Malta contingent in thesix-day event in the Icelandic capital,Reykjavik, placed Malta seventh fromnine nations. It was the best total inthe last four editions of these Games.

Moore won the 400m and 200msprint on the final day of the event thatwrapped up on Saturday. Charlottewon her gold in the 100m and 200msprint.

Malta took part in nine different

sports disciplines, namely, Athletics,Basketball (women’s), Beach Volley,Golf, Judo, Shooting, Swimming,Table Tennis and Tennis.

Eight of the overall total of medalswere won in athletics. The rest werewon in Swimming and Judo (5 each),gymnastics (4), table tennis and tennis(3 each), shooting (1), basketball (1),and Golf (1).The next GSSE Games will be held intwo years’ time in San Marino.

Kevin Muscat (left) riles Zinedine Zidane who took exception to Kevin’s tackleon Dugarry during the 2001 friendly international between Australia and France

Results

Maltese-Australian Moore,Wingfield win Malta’s goldat 2015 Small Nations Games

During his career as a professionalfootballer, Kevin Muscat, the headcoach of Melbourne Victory, was at

times described as “one of the most hatedfootballers on the field. His aggression andpassion occasionally boiled over into someviolent incidents, earning him a reputationas a "hard man". But as coach, after guidingVictory to an A-League premiership-cham-pionship double in his first full season incharge he seems to have earned himself areprieve

As a footballer, Kevin’s reputation fol-lowed him wherever he played. Born inCrawley, Sussex in the UK, during a pro-fessional career that spanned 19 years from1992 to 2011, he particularly endured a hor-rific reputation in England, where he spent10 years plying his trade. In eight-and-a-half seasons playing for Crystal Palace,Wolves, Glasgow Rangers and Millwall, hewas sent off seven times and collectedcountless bookings.Now for his achievement with Melbourne

Victory he is being hailed a hero. Many football supporters in Australia, par-

ticularly Maltese-Australians have followedvery closely Kevin’s career, particularly be-cause of his Maltese background - he is ofMaltese descent - and because he embarkedon his professional career as a footballer inthe Australian National Soccer League with‘Maltese-Australian’ club, Sunshine Geor-ge Cross in the 1989/90 season.After that he jumped at the chance of pro-

ceeding his professional, albeit controver-sial career in the United Kingdom withSheffield United in 1995-96 and later with

Crystal Palace,where he was inthe team that sub-sequently wonpromotion to theEnglish PremierLeague. He onlyplayed nine mat-ches for them be-fore being tran-sferred to Wolvesfor £200,000 inOctober 1997 toplay at Molineuxfor five seasons..

He also playedfor Glasgow Ran-gers, in Scotland,a club he joinedon a free transferin July 2002. Hewas part of thesquad that won atreble of domestic trophies in 2002-03.

After that, for two seasons, between 2003and 2005 he played for his final Britishclub, Millwall and in 2004, captained themto their only ever FA Cup Final appearance.

Muscat was dubbed the "most hated manin football" by then Birmingham Cityplayer Martin Grainger in 2000 after a reck-less tackle against international teammate,Stan Lazaridis. His playing days in the UKwere replete with red cards, suspensionsand fines.

He also paid the price for his physical ap-proach to the game in 2004 when he agreedto a $606,000 settlement outside London's

High Courtafter facinglegal actionby formerC h a r l t o nplayer MattyHolmes whohad sued foralmost $6.06million indamages forassault andbattery, aswell as lostearnings as aresult of aMuscat tack-le, which heclaimed end-ed his career.

Muscat re-turned toAustralia tob e c o m eMelbourneV i c t o r y ' s

captain in the inaugural season of the A-league, in 2005-06.

For all his bad reputation, he was alsohailed as a seasoned and adaptable pro, hav-ing played all across the back four for cluband country, and his leadership qualitieswere praised by almost all of his managers.

He retired from professional football in2011 after Melbourne Victory's 2011 AFCChampions League campaign, citing hisgrowing frustration at his inability to keeppace with the game. In June that same yearhe was reconfirmed as assistant coach.

His decision to finish his career was fast-tracked by the now "infamous" tackle hecommitted on another footballer of Maltesedescent, Adrian Zahra in the Melbourne.The tackle was widely condemned in Aus-tralia and around the world, with the pressdescribing it as one of the worst tackles infootball history.

He was banned for eight matches andproved to be the end for him in the A-League.

During his professional career as a foot-baller Muscat received 123 yellow cardsand 12 red cards.

When Ange Postecoglou left Victory tocoach Australia, on October 31, 2013, threegames into the 2013-14 season, Muscat wassubsequently appointed as Postecoglou'ssuccessor. He signed a two-year contract.

In his first full season as Melbourne Vic-tory manager, the Victory finished with aregular season record of 15 wins 8 drawsand 4 losses, with a final points tally of 53points, three points ahead of second placedSydney FC and a final goal difference of+25, the highest of any club that season.

*Continued on page 23

Spor tsSpor ts 2224 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday June 9, 2015

Kevin Muscat: the “hard man” of football now hailed a hero

Kevin Muscat poses withparents David and Laura

Kevin Muscat, ledMelbourne Victoryto the champion-ship in his first fullseason as coach