Urgent need of help

I am currently helping a single mother of three children, a five-year-old, a two-year-old and a baby of 11 months, who is about to be thrown out of her rented apartment because she failed to pay the rent. The landlord informed me that he will be collecting the keys today unless she pays what he considers to be his due.

She is living in a squalid apartment, consisting of two small rooms, a shower and a small yard, for which she pays €500 a month, plus water and electricity.

Unfortunately, the father of her children abandoned her and she has to fend for herself and her children. She gets €486 a month from social security and filled an application with the Housing Authority for alternative accommodation. She also had to go to court to try to force her partner to pay maintenance.

We have been helping her as a community but still she is in need of long-term financial support and, possibly, better accommodation. I am regularly in contact with her social worker to try to find a permanent solution for her dire situation. In the meantime, if anybody can help, please write to me on my Messenger page (John Avellino) or on the Facebook page Parroċċa San Lawrenz Birgu.

My sincere thanks for supporting a worthy cause.

Fr John Avellino – Vittoriosa

Heatwaves, the new normal

Children play in a water fountain during a heatwave in Quebec, Canada. Photo: Eric Thomas/AFP

As we endure this scorching  heatwave, we can well spare a thought for Canada and the North Western US where a ‘heat dome’ has caused distress and deaths on an unprecedented scale, as the mercury reaches 50˚C.

The relevance for Malta is that these events will become more intense, more frequent and last longer as the world continues to heat up. Simon Lewis (University College London and University of Leeds) cautions, among other things, that heat is more dangerous in humid conditions (cue Malta) and that these heatwaves will be worse in “poorer neighbourhoods (which) typically have fewer green spaces”.

Malta is in for the double whammy as not only are the morons in charge of the asylum chopping down anything green in sight – turning us into a “poorer” entire country, not just neighbourhood as cited above – but they are replacing them with cement and asphalt.

The problem is, green areas also attract the little rain we might hope to get while cement/asphalt attract, magnify and give out more and more heat. One wonders how our tourism industry will fare when the place becomes ever hotter.

Interestingly, a few days ago, an international panel of lawyers came up with the new legal definition of “ecocide”. Lawyer Philippe Sands QC says that the International Criminal Court is now deciding if it will adopt it. This new crime has the backing of not only Pope Francis but the business oriented Financial Times also gives it the nod as an idea whose time has come.

While little Malta is hardly significant enough on the world stage to matter, unfortunately, if the local imbeciles have decided to destroy the place, some local legal minds (those whose snouts are not in the ‘development’ trough) might be interested to explore this new development. Perhaps we can rein in the destructive forces ruining our country as well as protect heritage riches such as Ġgantija from the marauding barbarians.

Anna Micallef – Sliema

It’s not getting any cooler

Longest June heatwave in at least a decade and... no air conditioning? It may sound like a fairy tale but ... it works!

It’s the result of valuable Maltese heritage, the teamwork of a skilled architect and proud contractors with their friendly workers, from nowhere else other than from Gozo.

The gentle renovation of an old farmhouse was finished four years ago and now offers a relaxed life style, without air conditioning at all.

Conclusion: be proud of the rest of the old walls and houses, appreciate your outstanding, fantastic Maltese heritage and preserve them for the future, which won’t get any cooler.

Terese and Roland Stingelin – Kerċem

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