Emigrant's achievements

The obituary to Joe Forace (April 29) hardly did justice to his life and contributions to the Maltese and Australians. I have spent about 20 years researching the Maltese-Australian story and cannot think of any other migrant from Malta who achieved so...

The obituary to Joe Forace (April 29) hardly did justice to his life and contributions to the Maltese and Australians. I have spent about 20 years researching the Maltese-Australian story and cannot think of any other migrant from Malta who achieved so much for Australia.

His behind-the-scenes role in the early stages of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Australia and the People's Republic of China has been of vast advantage to Australia, worth billions in monetary terms but even more in terms of the betterment of human relations which Mr Forace, as a socialist and a democrat, so keenly advocated.

As the writer pointed out, Mr Forace was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in 1996 for his services to the Maltese community. These awards do not come easily.

Mr Forace had no time for snobs and pretentiousness and individuals with an abundance of such qualities still find it difficult to understand him. That is their loss.

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