Even though I’ve followed Charles and his work, I did not really know him. I only met him once a few months ago when we were both invited on a radio programme. You don’t need to be a profiler to realize that Charles was a man of stature. Throughout his life, he fought tirelessly against poverty and advocated social justice with all his strength.

After his parting from this world, the socials were flooded with all sorts of messages advocating the great man he was. Thousands of messages on Facebook and Twitter reminded us of his crusades. Even the highest authorities in this country felt the need to post a message, in honour of his work. Searches on Google increased by 100%. And the amazing tsunami of messages took over our timeline, until the day of his funeral.

I did not post anything. Not because I did not want to honour Charles. Far from it. Even though Charles was a humble man, he definitely deserved all the honour which our state can bestow. However, I believe that Charles can truly be honoured if his work of a lifetime not only gets recognition, but most important, brings forth change in our society. I believe that his work will be honoured if social justice becomes the norm and not the exception.

Because of this, I decided to write these few words to urge the authorities to come up with a fitting tribute for Charles. We can start from small things, like the draft bill, I had presented, against food wastage. This bill won’t cost anything to the state and it is aimed at directing food towards NGOs and other organizations working with the poor. I presented it to the President of Malta because I didn’t want it to be a local initiative but something which would benefit the whole country. I wanted it to be above partisan politics and there’s definitely nothing controversial about it, so unanimous agreement shouldn’t be a problem either. I also gave a copy to all the MPs from both sides of the chamber who asked me about it. However, I’m still waiting for someone to propose it, most probably because our MPs were busy agreeing on other more important reforms.

If this proposal requires too much work, maybe government should consider the funding of the soup kitchen which is going to open in Valletta. Sometimes I get the impression that it is easier to spend the taxpayer’s money on inanimate objects (such as buildings, statues, etc.) rather than on people. Probably because we can fix a plaque to buildings with our names, but we can’t do the same with people. Yet, organizations which try to help the people in need have to beg around in order to collect breadcrumbs from the different organizations. Worst still, sometimes, I get the impression that some organizations, who pride themselves in having a social commitment, seem to have lost it along the way or use it only as an ornament in their website.

In reality, I believe that we should be more ambitious, especially in view of the economic growth we’re experiencing. I would like parliament to start working on the Charles Miceli Bill on Poverty Eradication aimed at seriously helping those families in need. As John F. Kennedy said in 1962, “Economic growth without social progress lets the great majority of the people remaining in poverty, while a privileged few reap the benefits of rising abundance”.

Alexiei Dingli

Valletta mayor