I cannot agree more with Louis Fenech about his not so hidden agenda, as clearly stated in TMID of 28 May. There was no mistaking his agenda even from his original letter.

My comments were in regard to the perception given by Mr Fenech that poverty in Malta is rampant, thanks, of course, to the government’s mismanagement. I ask Mr Fenech, when will he and the Labour Party acknowledge the stream of positive statistics, putting Malta in the upper few EU countries with low unemployment, low taxes and with one of the best ‘free’ health services anywhere? Have social assistance, wages or pensions been slashed? Taxes increased? Why are there no protests in the streets?

It is not enough to say ‘our wages are lower’ because it serves little purpose to have higher wages, only for higher taxes to leave you with an empty pocket at the end of the month. I sincerely suggest Mr Fenech, please investigate the true meaning of poverty as experienced by truly poor people who live in cardboard boxes in subzero temperatures and under bridges when the weather is kinder.  These are not fictional movie characters. These are real people who either because they have mental disorders, or they refuse any available aid from governments or NGOs, decide to live in those circumstances. It is for that reason I suggested that it would have been worthwhile investigating what brought that man to rummaging through garbage bins to feed himself. I suspect however, that you may not have wished to be seen chatting with the poor old man.

The same type of ‘poor’ people live among the richest cities in Europe and the Americas but few of them can claim that a partly-eaten sandwich in an oil-stained bag is their regular sustenance. Food banks, churches, NGO-run food kitchens, welfare and other forms of social assistance are available, but some people like that old man refuse to avail themselves of these amenities.

Distance makes no difference, Mr Fenech. I see poverty every day and I donate to charitable institutions like the Salvation Army and Mission Services on a regular basis because I too cannot stand poverty. So, instead of writing and complaining, I put my money where my mouth is and offer real help and it never crosses my mind to implicate the government, because the moment I do, my taxes will go higher than I can afford them to go. Charitable donations are my choice, taxes are not.

Mr Fenech, I can assure you that I am not waiting for either political party in Malta to butter my toast, but when such stories appear on the internet giving Malta the worst image possible for the whole world to read, it really gets on my nerves. There is nothing better than the truth, which, these days, has become scarcer especially in those circles where people are blind because they refuse to see; deaf because they refuse to hear.

You can carry on Mr Fenech, with your illusion, but I will not bother to debate the issue further because it is quite obvious that poverty in Malta is defined differently than poverty in England, Canada, United States and many other countries a thousand times richer than Malta.

And finally, Mr Fenech, if in your mind and the minds of your party you regard an opinion coming from across the pond as ‘foreign political interference’, so be it. Thankfully, since that dark era ended 25 years ago, no one faces ‘consequences’, as you proved quite freely in writing and blames the government for many beefs, justified or not.

My regards to you and may you have a brighter and happier future as your heart so desires.

■ Joe Martinelli

Ontario

Canada