The author of a report on poverty in Malta writes that if society is not active in certain agencies that offer particular services to poor people, we might still think that the poor in Malta are a rare occurrence.

“We may not see beggars in the street yet,” writes Mario Cardona, suggesting that society needs to pull its socks up and actively change the way it deals with poor people.

Mr Cardona uses a Bible quotation, “You will always have the poor among you” (John 12:8) for the cover of his book, A Report about Poverty in Malta, published by the Centru Fidi u Gustizzja (Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice). He writes that some people are quick to rush to conclusions, blaming the poor themselves for their own ailments.

“Real change is characterised by processes which have the poor’s involvement at their very centre, and which enable people who are poor or at risk of poverty to take to task the wider economic system as well as the value system that regulates common practices at individual, community, national and international levels.”

Writing about the homeless and those living in precarious conditions, Mr Cardona says the term ‘relative poverty’ is useless when it comes to define the plight of people who suddenly find themselves evicted from their homes and literally thrown out into the street, sometimes together with their children.

There is nothing useless in the situation of a homeless person or family.

Mr Cardona analyses the situation of the poor in Malta, backing up his arguments with official data and reports, as well as interviews with the poor themselves.

He quotes a report published by parliament’s Social Affairs Committee in March 2009, which states: “In Malta we don’t have absolute poverty, where persons are dying of hunger or don’t have any money, but it is scientifically proven that 57,380 persons are living in relative poverty”.

Mr Cardona also quotes a 2007 publication of the National Statistics Office (NSO), which says that “the poverty line was established by calculating 60 per cent of the median equivalised income. All persons whose equivalent income fell under this threshold were considered to be at risk of poverty”.

According to the NSO, nearly 15 per cent of people living in private households are below the ‘at-risk-of-poverty’ line.

In a particular section of the book, the author provides an analysis of who the poor in Malta really are: from the unemployed, the homeless and those living in precarious conditions, single parents, to vulnerable children, the elderly, prisoners and ex-inmates and immigrants, among others.

Speaking about immigrants, Mr Cardona wrote that it seems that the government needs to do more to foster a climate of understanding between the Maltese and irregular immigrants.

The author spoke to a member of an NGO involved with immigrants, who said that, “…in the hospital, if migrant are taken there (from a detention centre) for any treatment, they handcuff them before they take them there. What will the people say? They will say that these people are thieves or armed robbers”.

Mr Cardona writes that blogs on the websites of Maltese newspapers sometimes carry blanket statements blaming single mothers for their sorry plight. At other times, they publish angry comments directed at African immigrants who vent their anger at the pitiable situation in crowded detention centres or open centres by organising protests which sometimes end up in riots.

The author is critical of modern-day society, as well as the government, saying that it is very easy to corner victims into helplessness and then rubbish them when they retaliate after finding themselves in unbearable situations.

“The fact that some of our poor do manage to get back on their feet does not mean that those who do not make it are just foolish, incompetent, or lazy people. Blaming the victim is very easy for us who should feel responsible for all in our society.”

Mr Cardona says the state should empower people to help themselves but also to make sure that those who find this difficult are actually helped to move forward and catch up with the rest.

The victims’ helplessness in the face of difficult overwhelming situations is no excuse for the state or civil society to shrink their responsibilities of stretching out a caring, helping and empowering hand, he writes.

“The way we engage with the poor becomes the measure of our humanity.”

Mr Cardona is also particularly critical of the capitalist economic system and the way it is leading to further gaps between rich and poor, at local, national and international levels. He puts pressure on each and every one of us, and urges us to shoulder responsibility.

“…as long as the middle class couple sees nothing wrong in employing a single mother to keep their house of character in ship shape but conveniently forgetting to notify the Employment and Training Corporation (ETC) about her employment… as long as that infamous busy crossroads across the road from the open centre remains dotted with African immigrants who every morning silently beg for a day’s work… there must be something wrong with society at large.

“And we, writing and reading this report in the comfort of our homes, are part of that society”.

[email protected]