A bi-lingual (in English and Maltese) fortnightly online publication specifically targeting all Maltese living abroad (but not only) with emphasis on the Australian scene.
24
Issue 100 online magazine ( driven by the voice driven by the voice of its readers of its readers ) April 28, 2015 The Voice of the Maltese online magazine W ith this issue, The Voice of the Maltese has reached an important milestone. It is the 100th edition of the magazine that has grown from the humble begin- nings of a four-page newsletter mailed to a few hundreds into this bumper 24-page online magazine sent and read by well over 15,000. The 100th issue of a publication is normally the make or break stage. For us it is the making stage. Our enthusiasm for this publica- tion grows with each issue thanks mainly to the feedback from our readers who not only read it them- selves but also share it with others, either by emailing it on or printing copies to hand to friends or relatives not familiar with the Internet. The Voice of the Maltese was initially established to cater for the Maltese-Aus- tralians, but it has grown be- yond our expectations. It is now emailed around the world, not only to communi- ties and individuals forming part of the Maltese diaspora, particularly in Canada, UK and USA, but also to Malta, and readers of other nationalities who are interested in Malta. The Voice is produced by Joseph Cutajar (left) and Lawrence Dimech (Australia-right) pictured here flank- ing President of Malta Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca at the launching of the recent Convention in Malta. The IVth Convention for the Maltese Living Abroad 2015 T he participants in the IVth Convention for the Mal- tese Living Abroad pose for a commemorate photo with the political leaders (from left): Minister George Vella, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and Op- position Leader Simon Busuttil at the venue of the meetings, the Mediterranean Conference Centre in Valletta (See full report on pages 2, 3, 4 and 5) We have reached the 100
Transcript
Issue100
online magazine
(driven by the voice driven by the voice of its readersof its readers)
April 28, 2015
The Voice of the Malteseonline magazine
With this issue, The Voice ofthe Maltese has reached animportant milestone. It is the
100th edition of the magazine thathas grown from the humble begin-nings of a four-page newslettermailed to a few hundreds into thisbumper 24-page online magazinesent and read by well over 15,000. The 100th issue of a publication is
normally the make or break stage.For us it is the making stage. Our enthusiasm for this publica-
tion grows with each issue thanksmainly to the feedback from ourreaders who not only read it them-selves but also share it with others,either by emailing it on or printing
copies to hand to friends orrelatives not familiar withthe Internet.The Voice of the Maltese
was initially established tocater for the Maltese-Aus-tralians, but it has grown be-yond our expectations. It isnow emailed around theworld, not only to communi-ties and individuals formingpart of the Maltese diaspora,particularly in Canada, UKand USA, but also to Malta,and readers of other nationalitieswho are interested in Malta. The Voice is produced by Joseph
Cutajar (left) and Lawrence Dimech
(Australia-right) pictured here flank-ing President of Malta Marie-LouiseColeiro Preca at the launching ofthe recent Convention in Malta.
The IVth Convention for theMaltese Living Abroad 2015
The participants in the IVth Convention for the Mal-tese Living Abroad pose for a commemorate
photo with the political leaders (from left): MinisterGeorge Vella, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and Op-
position Leader Simon Busuttil at the venue of themeetings, the Mediterranean Conference Centre inValletta
L-ewwel tkellmet bl-IngliΩ biex tatmer˙ba lill-Maltin u G˙awdxin li fil-fatt jg˙ixu ‘l bog˙od minn arthom,imma li xorta wa˙da jqisu lil Malta uG˙awdex b˙al darhom u pajjiΩhom.X’taqitilhom li jkollhom iç-çans lijsa˙˙u r-rabta bejniethom. Imbag˙adqalbet g˙all-Ilsien Malti, li, qalet, “jd-distinwina b˙ala nazzjon a˙na fejna˙na fid-dinja”. Hija ttamat li jibqg˙uj˙addnu dan l-Ilsien u wkolljg˙adduh lil uliedhom.
Hija ssoktat tg˙id li l-preΩenza tad-delegati hija prova çara ta’ kemm“a˙na l-Maltin irnexxielna nimir˙ulil hinn minn pajjiΩna, u nil˙qu l-as-pirazzjonijiet tag˙na, inkunu fejninkunu. Fil-fatt, il-Maltin u G˙awdxin˙utna jinsabu f’kull rokna tad-dinja,”qalet.Ûiedet li hija konvinta li l-preΩenza
Il-President kompliet tg˙id li riedetturi li g˙aliha l-Maltin ta’ barra humaparti minna u trid tg˙inhom jibqg˙ujg˙oΩΩu l-identità Maltija. “Irrid in-fakkarkom li Malta tibqa timmiss-jakom u tibqa bΩonnkom,”
Ix-xewqa tag˙ha qalet li hi li kullmin jixtieq li jipparteçipa b'xi modfil-˙ajja ta’ pajjiΩna jsib l-opportunitàli jag˙mel dan permezz tal-Presi-denza.
saru diskorsi minn mexxejjapolitiçi Maltin, ewlenin fos-thom il-Prim MinistruJoseph Muscat, il-Ministrutal-Affarijiet BarraninGeorge Vella u l-Kap tal-Oppozizzjoni Simon Busuttil.
jissoktaw jag˙tu viΩibilità mill-aqwalil pajjiΩna, u lil niesna, u temmettg˙id: “Nawguralkom li tkompluΩΩuru lil pajjiΩkom kull meta tistg˙u.Hawnhekk dejjem se ssibu lil min jis-tenniekom u jilqag˙kom.”
Barranin qed iwettaq fil-konfront tal-Maltin li jg˙ixu barra minnMalta qed isir fuq konsultazzjoni wiesg˙a ˙afna. Konsultazzjoni,li iktar minn qatt qabel qed tkun il-qafas tad-deçiΩjonijiet kollha liqed nie˙du g˙as-servizz tag˙kom.”
Il-Ministru Vella appella lid-delegati biex ikomplu jie˙du sehemb’mod attiv fl-inizjattivi li jindirizzaw il-qag˙da tal-komunita’Maltija. Fakkar li wara l-a˙˙ar Konvenzjoni tal-2010, il-ParlamentMalti rratifika l-Att No XX tal-2011 (Kap 515) li bih twaqqaf Kun-sill b’responsabilita’ li jissorvelja l-kwalita’ tal-˙ajja ta’ komuni-tajiet u individwi Maltin li jinsabu barra biex jiffaçilita’ iΩ-zammau tkabbir ta’ l-identita’ Nazzjonali u jkabbar rabtiet bejniethom umal-Maltin f’arthom.Qal li b’differenza mal-o˙rajn li saru fl-img˙oddi, il-˙sieb ewlieni
wara din il-Konvenzjoni, hu li ma jsirux biss ta˙ditiet mill-Maltinli jg˙ixu f’Maltalill-Maltin lijg˙ixu barra. IΩdaK o n v e - n z j o n iminnhom u g˙ali-hom.
huma fejn huma jkunu jistg˙u jag˙tu l-kontribut tag˙hom lis-soç-jeta’ Maltija. “Malta hi miftu˙ha kompletament g˙all-idejat inno-vattivi fl-oqsma kollha turistiçi u ekonomiçi, qal.
Il-Ministru g˙alaq ukoll l-avveniment il-Óamis b’diskors li fihsemma l- interess qawwi fil-wirt nazzjonali u kulturali Malti fost it-
At the 6th meeting of the Council forMaltese Living Abroad (CMLA) that
was chair-ed by Foreign Affairs Minister DrGeorge W. Vella, the Council assessed anumber of important issues, some of whichwere raised during the Convention, and dis-cussed the way forward.
This meeting held back-to-back with theConvention for Maltese Living Abroad, anevent that brought together Maltese peoplefrom different countries and diverse walksof life for three days of talks, discussionsand workshops, among other activities. andchaired by Foreign Affairs Minister DrGeorge W. Vella,The Council investigated different practicalmodels of voting systems employed in othercountries that allow their citizens to votefrom their countries of residence.
Other items on the Council’s agenda werethe updating of Act XX of 2011, which es-
The Council iscomposed of 15 members from Maltesecommunities abroad in Australia, Canada,USA, the United Kingdom and the otherEuropean Union countries (pictured above). The Council meets in Malta at least once
annually, apart from holding videoconfer-ences.The aim of the Council ultimately remains
the protection and promotion of the rightsand interests of the Maltese Living Abroad.
Qal li l-Ilsien Malti u l-passaportMalti ssa˙˙ew l-ewwel bil-kisba tal-Indipendenza fl-1964 imbag˙ad 11-ilsena ilu meta Malta ssie˙bet fl-UnjoniEwropeja.Huwa qarreb aktar lejn it-ton politiku
InΩammet ukoll minuta silenzju b’rispett lejn il-mem-orja tal-vittmi.
Busuttil dwarl-importanza tal-Ilsien Malti
Il-Prim MInistru Joseph Mus-cat (xellug) u l-Kap tal-Op-poΩizzjoni Simon Busuttilfil-ftu˙ tal-konvenzjoni
6 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday April 28, 2015
Malta has played a significant role inand during the Gallipoli Campaign withmany Australians and New Zealand ca-sualties being evacuated to Malta formedical treatment. In fact, as of thespring of 1915, hospitals and convales-cent camps were established on the is-lands of Malta and Gozo, to deal withthe many thousands of sick andwounded from the Gallipoli and Sa-lonika campaigns.
Despite the courageous efforts of thedoctors and medical staff, some of thecasualties could not be saved and theywere buried on Malta. Of those buriedon Malta there were 202 Australian and72 New Zealanders.
Anzac Day ceremonies are held notonly in towns and cities across Australiaand New Zealand, but also around theworld, including the UK and Maltawhere the day has been commemoratedsince 1916, just a year after the GallipoliCampaign. Originally the commemora-tion included two services, one for non-Catholics at the Pieta Cemetery, andanother at the Addolorata for Catholics. Malta is also the country outside of Aus-
tralia and New Zealand that hosts anANZAC Memorial Monument. It wasbuilt on the initiative of Maltese-Aus-tralian Associations and is situated at theArgotti Gardens in Floriana.
ANZAC Day is an occasion when theworld acknowledges the service of theAustralian and New Zealand veteransand those who are currently serving inmilitary and peacekeeping operations.Saturday’s ceremony was clear proof if
any was needed, that the spirit ofANZAC, with its human qualifies ofcourage, mateship, equality, self-sacri-fice and loyalty continues to have mean-ing and significance for one’s respective
sense of national identity. Indeed, thespirit lives.
The very well-attended service of re-membrance at the Pieta Military Ceme-tery was held in the presence of H.E. MsJane Lambert, the High Commissionerfor Australia in Malta, who also deliv-ered a welcome address, the Presidentof Malta H.E. Mrs Marie Louise ColeiroPreca, Ms Jill Camilleri, on. Consul forNew Zealand, the Speaker, Dr AngluFarrugia, Deputy Prime Minister MrLouis Grech in the absence of the PrimeMinister who was attending a similarcommemoration in London; Dr George
Centenary of ANZAC commemorated in Malta with Moving Remembrance Service
In Malta, the Australian High Commission commemorated the centenary of AnzacDay with a beautiful and very moving Service of Remembrance and Wreath Layingceremony at the Pietà Military Cemetery, the place that has hosted the service since1979 and where the highest number of ANZAC war graves in Malta are situated.
Vella, the Foreign AffairsMinister in the MalteseGovernment, members ofthe Diplomatic Corp; com-munity groups and associ-ations; military repre-sentatives and members ofthe public.
The day began with aprayer by Fr Meli, chaplainof the Armed Forces ofMalta, while His HonourJudge Peter Zahra SC, Dis-trict Court of New Zea-land, delivered a comme-morative address. Ms JillCamilleri also read a mes-sage, while Turkish Am-
bassador H.E. Mrs Ayse Sezgin, alsoread remarks from Former President ofTurkey, Mustafa Kemal Attaturk’s “TheTribute to Anzacs who died at Gallipoli.The service continued with the laying of
wreaths, starting with President MaltaMarie Louise Coleiro Preca, followed bythe Speaker, members of the DiplomaticCorp, military representatives and com-munity groups and associations, includ-ing the Maltese-Australian Association.Mr Lawrence Dimech, president of theMaltese Community Council of NSW,and Mr Jack Gaw, on behalf of all mem-bers residing in Australia and NewZealand also laid wreaths.
*to page 7
Mr Lawrence Dimech,president of the MalteseCommunity MCC (NSW)after laying his wreath
Their Exellences, the Malta President, Marie Louise Coleiro Preca (left)and the Austalian High Commissioner to Malta Jane Lambert at theRemembrance Service.
The Monumentat the Pieta Mil-itary Cemeterysurround-ed bywreaths
Tuesday April 28, 2015 The Voice of the Maltese 7
MALTA TRAVELIncorporating Pendle Hill TravelA division of Felice Travel Pty Ltd ABN 71 073 235 408
In 2016 we are having a TOUR and CRUISE to CANADAand ALASKA! Monica Ledger will lead the group. Then weare having another special tour from PERTH to BROOMEthrough the coast. I and my wife will be with you. Be quickand book your place! - Charlie Felice
ANZAC Dayat MerrylandsUnder a hot sunny day the Merrylands
RSL Sub Branch held a Memorial Serv-ice to Commemorate the 100th Anniversaryof ANZAC. The Holroyd City Brass Bandled the parade, followed by Australian andNew Zealand Military personnel whomarched to the sound of World War I musicdirected by musical director Andrew Yule. Among the dignitaries and politicians who
formed part of the parade was Mr. EmanuelCamilleri, vice president of the MalteseCommunity Council of NSW proudly wear-ing his father’s war medals.
Mr Camilleri, who placed a wreath on thewar memorial on behalf of the MalteseCommunity, was also the main speaker.
His passionate address was an inspiration,to the huge crowd that gathered to watch theparade, and who did not know that Maltaplayed such an important role in 1915, andthat the island hosts the only ANZAC Me-
morial Monument outside Australia and NewZealand. The monument is situated at the Ar-gotti Gardens in Floriana.Right: Emanuel Camilleri flanked by theduly elected member for Glanville JuliaFinn (left), and Julie Owens, Federal mem-ber for Parramatta.
*from page 6
Colonel Mark Mallia, the Deputy Com-mander AFM read an ode, a minute’s si-lence was observed, and the buglersplayed The Last Post.
In addition to the ceremony two infor-mation panels were unveiled by theMalta President and Mr David Symons,the Commonwealth War Graves Com-mission’s Area Director.
A section of the participants atthe Anzac Day Service in Malta
Edward Cachia from Petrie Terrace, Bris-bane writes:
Iwould like to thank historian MarkCaruana for his very interesting and in-
formative articles about the early Maltesein Australia. This man seems to be so ded-icated to go to such lengths to do this re-search. It must be so hard to find all thisinformation and I would like to expressmy gratitude for his work.
The passion Mark Caruana has for thesubject is evident in his articles. I am surethat like me, all those who read his articlesappreciate his contribution to make thismagazine the best ever-Maltese publica-tion we have ever had.
I also liked reading the article by LinaBrockdorf. She brought smiles to my faceas she took me back to my childhood inMalta. I remember so well my mother’saprons and how safe I could feel when sheused to cuddle me and pull me close to herparticularly when I felt that the world wascrushing down on me following somemishap.I never cared if the apron was dirty or not,
but I also used to like the smell of myfavourite food on her. Strange, but true.
Articles such as I mentioned are alwaysmost welcome by us readers. People likeme like to reminisce about those old daysof our childhood in lovely Malta.
Manwel Falzon from Balmoral writes:
For the past few months, on reading aboutthe activities organised by associations
and clubs in various parts of Australia cater-ing for the Maltese community, I felt thatdespite the fact that most of them are so ac-tive, in their activities they rarely target theyoung people coming from Maltese fami-lies.
Because of this the young generationmight feel marginalised and are thereforebound to forget their Maltese roots, whichis a pity.
Having said that, however, I give fullcredit to the youths forming the MAYC atthe La Valette SC for working hard to re-vive the Maltese spirit and to try and keepalive the Maltese traditions, as their recentfete so clearly shows.
I don’t know what happens in all the otherorganisations. I just like to take a look at theactivities that are publicised in the Commu-nity News pages on The Voice of the Mal-tese and I am not aware of any activity thatis bound to attract the younger generation.
It is well and good to try and keep the oldfolk happy by organising dinner activities,the so-called “teatrini” and the outings. Thishelps those who have been in Australia longenough to feel nostalgic about Malta, butwhat happens when some of the organisersthemselves are unable to keep up?Our associations and clubs need the young
people to survive, and they would do wellto infuse new, young blood n their organi-sations in orer to give a voice to our youths.
I would like to read others’ views on thisas I feel it is very important.
Maryann Camilleri writes:
Please allow me to correct the wrongimpression one might have gotten
when you published the article aboutme (Issue No. 97).
Firstly I would like to take this oppor-tunity to thank the Editorial team of TheVoice of the Maltese for their extensivepromotion of the Maltese Easter Feastarticle, as featured in the April edition ofthe Feast Magazine.The Voice had stated that I held the po-
sition of Principal of the Maltese Lan-guage School. Whilst I am a very proudpast student and past admin supportperson of the Maltese Language School,please kindly note that I have never heldthe position of Principal.
Explanation is noted, the Editors.
Have your say/Xi trid tghid?Your letters/ L-ittri tag˙kom ...
onl ine magazineonl ine magaz ine
The Voice of the Maltese
is is a bi-lingual (inEnglish and Maltese) fort-nightly online publication
specifically targeting allMaltese living abroad with emphasis on the
Australian scene. is online magazine is
sent via email by request.Subscription is free.
Editors: Malta: Joseph CutajarAustralia:Lawrence Dimech: MOM,
Donnu li din id-darba se nΩur Maltaaktar g˙ax il-kurΩita` qed teg˙libnibiex nara x’qed jinbidel.Óbieb li Ωaru lil Malta s-sajf li g˙adda
u anke sa Diçembru, urew entuΩjaΩmukbir ifissruli, mhux biss il-bidla li qedtara l-gΩira f’dik li hi infrastruttura,imma wkoll fil-mod kif in-nies qedt˙ares lejn il-pajjiΩ. Qed ng˙id g˙aldak li bl-IngliΩ isej˙ulu l-good feel fac-tor, fejn in-nies ikunu ottimisti u jis-tennew aktar titjieb fl-mod kif jg˙ixu.
G˙andi kurΩita` kbira ˙alli nduqminn din il-poΩittivita`.Punt ie˙or li qed jimpressjonani hu l-
fatt li skont l-istatistika, kull xahar qedjiΩdiedu t-turisti biex igawdu minndak li g˙andha x’toffri Malta, lig˙alkemm pajjiΩ Ωg˙ir hija mimlijab’dak kollu li wie˙ed iknu jixtieq metajmur fuq btala.Ìeneralment, fl-img˙oddi meta kont
jiet. Irrid lil uliedi jsiru jafu aktar dwarMalta u dwar l-istorja tag˙ha li hijaferm aktar rikka minn dik tal-Aw-stralja.
Nixtieqhom jibdew jag˙tu kas aktaril-wirt kulturali ta’ Malta u minbarrali fuq xewqa tag˙hom stess ipprovde-jtilhom xi kotba ˙alli jsiru jafux’g˙andhom jistennew, bdew issajid˙lu fuq g˙add ta’ siti fuq l-Internetdwar Malta biex iΩidu l-g˙arfien tag˙-hom
Iam sure that I would be expressing thewish of the readers of The Voice of the
Maltese magazine in congratulatingJoseph Cutajar and Lawrence Dimechfor producing this magazine and onreaching this important stage, the 100thissue of this most informative publica-
tion. On behalf of the followers of this pub-
lication I also want to express, my heart-felt gratitude for the way you have keptthis high level of content and the attrac-tive way you present the articles.Now that you have reached this goal, I
pray that God gives you the strength tokeep up this good work.
Ìie rrappurtat lidg˙ajsa twila g˙oxrinmetru nqalbet fil-Ba˙ar Mediterran, fil-ba˙ar ta' bejn Lampe-dusa, Malta u l-Libja,b'madwar 900 ru˙ ab-bord. Huwa rrappur-tat li salvaw biss 28ru˙.
ja˙kem lill-Mediterran. Is-sena l-o˙ra, g˙arqa ta' tliet mija kienet ikkawΩata mill-kun-
trabandisti tan-nies jg˙arrqu dg˙ajsa apposta g˙ax in-nies ta'fuqha rrifjutaw li jiΩbarkaw g˙al fuq dg˙ajsa iΩg˙ar.
Dawn huma stejjer li jqallbulek l-istonku. Lanqas tkun tridtismag˙hom dwar annimali, a˙seb u ara dwar il-bnedmin.
Jien l-iskantament tieg˙i jiikompla, u jitkattar, meta naqra l-kummentarju politiku dwar din is-sitwazzjoni. U g˙al darba,m'inix nirreferi g˙all-politika tal-partiti, imma l-politika tal-pajjiΩital-Unjoni Ewropeja.
fl-1951 minn sitt pajjiΩi wara t-Tieni Gwerra Dinjija b˙ala l-Ko-munità Ewropeja g˙all-Fa˙am u l-Azzar. Wara, fl-1958 saret il-Komunità Ekonomika Ewropeja u fl-1993 l-Unjoni Ewropeja.L-Artiklu numru tnejn tat-Trattat tal-Unjoni Ewropeja jitkellem
Tuesday April 28, 2015 The Voice of the Maltese 11
are, abhor-rently, on aglobal scale.To exploit one
child is onecrime toomany, but thereare many chil-dren, especiallyin poor communities, who will neverknow a real, innocent and carefree child-hood. Every society, no matter how poor,must guard against the robbing of chil-dren’s innocence and dignity.Thankfully, most travellers do so to
work, for business, family reunions andholidays. Travel that is mostly tourism tocountries that have opened up in the lastdecade or two, usually involves con-certed efforts by tour organisers to visitschools and communities who graciouslyaccept any materials and other donationsto supplement the meagre basics suppliedby their governments.As I continue to plan my annual trip
overseas, especially every time that I alsoinclude some days in Malta, foremost inmy mind is to have a break from my nowfairly routine retired life. However, con-tinuing education is also a lure, as is myhobby of photography; not to mentionsupporting the local economies whereverI am. This is directly by making use oflocal facilities and hospitality, and alsoby “investing” in local products and me-mentoes which can pass through customson my return to Australia.So whilst, as with all things in life, there
are some downsides and harsh realitieswhen we explore the world around us,we can also look forward to the manypositive and educational experiences as-sociated with travel. Foremost, travel broadens our minds,
whether it is through learning anotherlanguage, trying different cuisines, mak-ing new friends or learning about differ-ent cultures. As the great Maya Angelou once said,
“Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry.But by demonstrating that all peoples cry,laugh, eat, worry and die, it can introducethe idea that if we try and understand eachother, we may even become friends.”As we approach the European summer,
when many readers head off on anothertrip, I wish all prospective travellers asafe and enjoyable time. Also, ensuringsmart travel; having appropriate travelinsurance; notifying family of yourplanned itinerary and making sure allyour travel documents are up-to-date.This will make for happy travelling andmany fond memories on your return.
tronic records are kept and backed manytimes over. As the “bucket list” becomesshorter, inversely the collection gets big-ger, so flash drives had to give way to anexternal hard drive.
I must say that, as much as I love travel-ling abroad, I take pride in having also ma-de an effort to tour across and around Aus-tralia, my second and adopted homeland.And certainly, the many aforementionedpositive personal self-growth and educa-tional experiences can be found in domes-tic travel adventures, regardless of thelength of stay; e.g. a caravan trip aro- undAustralia or a weekend cultural getaway toone of our adopted nation’s capital cities. One continues to be enthralled by the
sight of the “Gallery” in Kakadu nationalpark, with all the intricate ancient paint-ings; the frugal life lived to ensure careof land and their understanding of wherewaterholes were geographically, over themillennia of ice ages and droughts, infor-mation passed on by the elders, that Abo-riginal rangers now explain to tourists.Every aspect of their stories should be areminder to us all that the first nationsand tribes in Australia were very knowl-edgeable and careful with land and waterresources across the continent.The various trips opened my eyes also
to the abject poverty which besets remotecommunities in Australia, as well as inrural societies of many Asian countriesthat are, quite frequently, governed bycorrupt regimes. Local guides are oftentoo reticent to divulge much of what goeson outside the cities’ bureaucracies, forfear of retribution. The tourist dollar is very important to
prop up the economies of these countriesthat have been ravaged by wars. How-ever, it is not the ordinary workers whosee much or any of the wealth that ismostly in the hands of the ruling few.On a brighter note, travel, especially or-
ganised by companies for young peopleof certain age groups, can be an ab-solutely adventurous affair. Many ayoung couple have met on such toursaround the world, although the internethas now made such meeting places, tosome extent, redundant. Still, travel isusually a rite of passage for most youngpeople before they settle down to a moreresponsible life of careers and family.A blight on the travel industry is the re-
ality of shady and criminal charactersthat use travel for no other reasons thanto exploit children and young, underagepeople for their own perverse and ex-ploitative “enterprises”, namely pae-dophilia and child pornography,trafficking and slavery. Some networks
My fascination for overseas travelbegan as a teenager. It wasn’tuntil many years later, though,
that I was able to experience it firsthand.On my first trip abroad I boarded a boatfrom Malta to Sicily, from where Istarted a three-week tour organised bythe Youth Travel Circle. We used variousmeans of land transport and visited someremarkable European cities includingRome and Innsbruck until we got to aBavarian youth centre. The tour included many organised
physical, recreational and cultural activi-ties. It was also a great opportunity to so-cialise with like-minded people anddevelop friendships, some of which be-came lifelong and enduring.Having had a taste for meeting other
people and other cultures, I couldn’t waituntil my next trip. It was some years ofsaving before joining a group of otherworking young people on a trip to Lon-don and Paris and their regions. If thefirst trip was an adventure and an eyeopener, the second trip enhanced my ed-ucation as how best to get along with di-verse personalities; experience thebreadth and depth of art and culture inmuseums, art galleries and live theatre.Much more interesting than any class-
room Ancient History lesson were theguided tours to Rome’s ancient sites andmonuments, Pompeii’s relics, as well asAthens’ Parthenon, the site of the Oracleand, later in Turkey, walking the marbleroad in Ephesus, finishing in Kusadasi.
Over the decades, I continued to tick offitems on my “bucket list”. Each of thetour groups I joined over the years neverstopped to be amazed at the great creativ-ity and inventiveness of ancient culturesthroughout the world; across NorthernAustralia, throughout most of the SouthAmerican continent and across Asia. There were the pre-Inca and Inca em-
pires, whose peoples invented “Lego”, orinterlocking large blocks of stone tobuild massive walls which stand to thisday as testament to their engineeringability. They invented an uncannilymathematically precise system to record,using knots in twine, numbers and quan-tities of goods that were traded betweentribes and countries. Others recordedtheir contemporary history, knowledgeand important events by carving alongancient temple walls.All the places I’d been to have been
recorded in photos taken and compiledfor progeny and, as we do, for reminis-cence. Now, in the digital age, one couldnot possibly store photographs by thethousands in print form. Therefore elec-
An Educator at Large By Lucy Calleja
(Retired head teacher)Travel as an education ... and more ... or not!
12 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday April 28, 2015
Roundup of News About Malta
The tragedy at sea on April 19, whenan estimated 900 people died asthey were crossing the Mediter-
ranean from Libya when, according toItalian police the captain crashed theirboat by mistake against a merchant res-cue ship, has been dominating the news,evenmore so in Malta after the bodies of24 of the migrant were brought to Maltafor burial. Twenty-eight survivors – twoof whom turned out to be smugglers, andhave since been arrested, were alsobrought to Malta by the Italian coastguard vessel Bruno Gregoretti on Mon-day morning.
On Thursday, amidst a morose atmos-phere, in the presence of an emotionalMarie-Louise Coleiro Preca, the Presidentof the Republic, Prime Minister JosephMuscat, Opposition leader Simon Busuttil,various ministers and other mourning dig-nitaries outside the Mater Dei Hospitalmorgue, Malta held funerals for the uni-dentified migrants that included a 10-year-old boy, killed in the worst ever recordedcapsizing of a migrant boat in the Mediter-ranean. He was placed in a white coffin.The attendees also included Italian home
affairs minister Angelino Alfano and Eu-ropean Commissioner Dimitris Avramo-poulos.Migrants who themselves made the per-
ilous journey across the MediterraneanSea in search of a better life joined Mal-tese government officials and interna-tional representatives in a white marquee
erected on the helicopter pad outsideMater Dei hospital.
An interfaith ceremony conducted byImam Mohammed El Saadi and BishopMario Grech of Gozo, that included read-ings from the Quran and the Bible respec-tively, after which the migrants - with noknown families to return their remains to- were buried in common graves at theAddolorata Cemetery. In his speech, the Imam likened life to a
journey of migration. He said all thosewho had died were brothers before Godand told the congregation that all peoplewere migrants and that life was a journey.“We need to reconcile God to our livesonce again and carry out a thorough ex-amination of ourselves on this sad day,”El Saadi said.
On behalf of the Muslim community ofMalta he also thanked the Maltese and Ital-ian authorities and police and armed forcesas well as the various entities “that hadstood up for the migrants in the past in thename of anonymity and into our hearts asour neighbours,” he said. Bishop Mario Grech focused his reading
and speech on merciful love. He said thevictims were fellow human beings, re-gardless of creed, nationality or race.“These victims have escaped from a sit-
uation of extreme desperation to a betterlife, and they have died as unidentifiedpeople. We feel their loss as fellow hu-mans and this gospel shows us that mercyand love can bring these victims out
The latest tragedy brought the numberof deaths in such incidents so far this yearto 1,750.
Following the promptings of MaltesePrime Minister Joseph Muscat and theItalian Premier Matteo Renzi, on Thursdaythe European Union leaders held an emer-gency EU summit in order to find ways tostem the number of people risking theirlives. (See opposite page.)
More than 21,000 people are estimatedto have reached Italy alone this year, withanother 13,000 crossing in the easternMediterranean and 1,800 reaching Spain.
Malta, Italy and Greece have been ad-vocating for the EU to double resourcesfor maritime and border controls; a sys-tem for processing migrants on the gro-und in Africa; a fairer distribution ofgenuine refugees within the EU and mil-itary action against the traffickers in theMediterranean. This would be similar tothe anti-piracy operation in the Horn ofAfrica; a plan to improve existing search-and-rescue operations; sharing the burdenof settling the refugees more equallyamong EU countries. They also want theEU to take a more active role in conflictresolution in Syria, Libya and Iraq.
Italian prosecutors gathering witnesstestimony said that the migrants who tookthe boat that capsized on Sunday hadbeen kept on a farm outside the Libyancapital, Tripoli, for up to a month beforeembarking, and had paid smugglers€700-€7,000 each.
Malta holds funerals for sinking victims
Mediterranean migrants crisis: Imam Mohammed El Saadi and BishopMario Grech who conducted the serv-ice walk past the coffins with the bodiesof the victims of the April 19 tragedy
Malta is to host a special summiton migration between the 28EU countries, members of the
African Union and other key countries.The summit, which was called in thewake of the biggest migrant shipwreck inthe Mediterranean last weekend, will takeplace later this year.
This follows Thursday’s EU extraordi-nary summit called specifically after thelast tragedy at sea. Addressing a press briefing in Brussels,
Prime Minister Dr Joseph Muscat saidMalta would be rediscovering its “naturalvocation” as a bridge of getting together“the souls of this huge humanitarian cri-sis.
“We look forward to a genuine debateon an exceptionally thorny issue,” he said,adding that human rights NGOs will play ahuge role in the summit.
At the end of the meeting, Prime MinisterJoseph Muscat said it wasn’t a groundbreak-ing summit, but it was significant on two
fronts – efforts for (border control) OperationTriton would be trebled, though he admittedit isn’t enough. It was also sending a signalto criminals that the game has changed.
About the conclusions reached, Muscatsaid they were “a lot of what we expected”
with the consoli-dation of previousideas. “The no-table exception isthe very clear po-litical signal thatEurope is ready toact against thecriminal networkmanaging illegalmigration flowsand profiting frominnocent lives.”
The summit also
agreed to increase support to countrieslike Tunisia, Egypt, Sudan, Mali andNiger to monitor and control the land bor-ders and routes, and to deploy Europeanmigration liaison officers in key countriesto gather information on migratory flows.
Asked whether he was convinced thesummit would help stem the migrant dis-asters, Dr Muscat said: ‘Lives will be lostat sea just the same. It’s not enough. If wedon’t stop migrants from getting on rick-ety boats lives will be lost. We also needto show criminal networks that they willbe brought to justice”.Through Europol, the EU has agreed to
step up cooperation against smuggling net-works and by deploying immigration offi-cers to third countries.
The UK and France, both UN SecurityCouncil members will kick off discussionsin an attempt to obtain a UN resolution man-dating the destruction of boats used bysmugglers. The EU leaders have pledged considerably
greater support including vessels, aircraftand experts. It will allocate €9 million Fron-tex's Triton border mission and enhance itsoperational capability.
In order to try and stem the flow of suchtragedies, the summit agreed to strengthenits presence at sea; fight traffickers in accor-dance with international law; prevent illegalmigration flows, and reinforce internal sol-idarity and responsibility.
(Link for the summit conclusions:http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2015/04/23-special-euco-statement/)
Tuesday April 28, 2015 The Voice of the Maltese 13
Roundup of News About Malta
The government led byPrime Minister JosephMuscat celebrated what it
has described as a ‘historic’ vic-tory by becoming the first timethat an incumbent governmenthas won local elections during itslegislation. It secured the overallsuccess with 53.5% of the votes.The PM pointed out that this wasthe best result ever achieved by aparty in government in local cou-ncil elections.
Though Nationalist Party lostas it only obtained 44.6% of thevotes for the 34 localities, itsleader, Simon Busuttil also ex-pressed delight, as loss is 8.9%lower than the 2012 17-pointmargin. Two percent of the voteswent to AD and independent can-didates, but AD chairperson Ar-nold Cassola said he was happy
as they increased their supportdespite only having one counsel-lor elected out of their nine.
The Labour Party’s victory issimilar to the general and Euro-pean Parliament elections. It wasthe first local elections thatLabour contested as the party ingovernment.
For the first time, the LP ob-tained the leadership of Florianain Malta, and also Munxar inGozo that previously belonged tothe Nationalist Party. The PN thatgain votes from some Labourleaning southern localities, alsoregained the majority in St Paul’sBay after losing the locality toLabour in 2012.The PN leader said the results
show that the PM is no longer in-vincible and support towards DrMuscat is gradually melting aw-ay. He said that the PN was backin business and that it had re-duced the gap by half.
The Labour Party that hadgained the majority of seats inGozo in the 2013 general elec-tion, continued to make stronggains in the sister island.
Nineteen out of the 34 councilswill have new mayors. They in-clude four women and a numberof youths, foremost of who is 18-year-old Terence Agius who willbe the youngest ever Mayor.
Fra Matthew Festing, GrandMaster of the Sovereign Mili-
tary Order of St John (left), paid athree-day official visit to Malta dur-ing which he met the country’sleaders, President Marie LouiseColeiro Preca, Prime Minister Jo-seph Muscat, Opposition leader Si-mon Busuttil, Speaker Anglu Far-rugia and Archbishop Charles Sci-cluna.
He also made a visit to a numberof sites around the island, includingthe St John’s Co-Cathedral and theSt Ursula cloistered nuns in Val-letta, St Paul's Grotto in Rabat, theUpper Barrakka Gardens and
Birgu, where he was involved in the laying of a wreath at the GreatSiege Monument in the main square. The town’s local council alsonamed him an honorary citizen.Festing, an Englishman who was elected as the 78th Grand Master
of the Order in March 2008, succeeding Fra Andrew Bertie upon hisdeath, announced the donation by the Knights of Malta of a mobileclinic to be used at Haywharf for the medical examination of mi-grants who are brought to Malta.He said the Order was committed to help out, and that the whole of
Europe needed to concentrate its efforts on improving the situation.
Labour party wins local council elections by 54%- but everybody is happy
Terence Agius: Mayor at 18
Grand Master of Order of St John pays three-day state visit to Malta
Malta to host EU-AU migration summit
Prime Minister Joseph Muscat addressingjournalists in Brussels after the EU summit
Ma nafx jekk qattx qabel l-elezzjoni tal-Kunsilli Lokalili saret dan l-a˙˙ar kienx
Mhux ta’ b’xejn li quddiem mistqosijietb˙al dawn l-editur ta’ The Sunday Times, fl-editorjal tieg˙u Ray of hope for PN? Stqarr“While it is patently undeniable that Lab-our has lost votes this time around and thatthe Nationalist Party appears to be on theupswing, nothing, absolutely nothing can bediscounted.
“As such, he would do well not to under-estimate the power of incumbency and notcount those particular chickens before theyhatch.” Min-na˙a tal-editur tal-Malta Independent
on Sunday ikkumenta: “But, whether thisresult has any bearing on the next generalelection or not – it is extremely difficult tosee how Labour can lose a 37,000 majorityin three years’ time – it is the first time since2013 that the Nationalist Party has hadsomething to smile about.”
Min-na˙a l-o˙ra dan ir-riΩultat Ωgur li tanifs lill-Partit Nazzjonalista u l-aktar lill-mexxej tal-Partit, billi xi w˙ud kienu bdewjiddubitaw kemm kien qed jirnexxilu
il-PL, bl-eççezzjoni ta’ dik tal-KunsilliLokali tal-2012, dejjem kellu bejn wie˙edu ie˙or, reb˙a b’54% tal-voti. IΩda jibqa’ l-fatt li meta wie˙ed ixebba˙ l-elezzjonijiettal-Kunsill tal-2012 ma tal-2015, isib li l-PL mar lura sew kemm b˙ala perçentwal kifukoll b˙ala voti attwali.
Insomma hemm mod u mod kif wie˙ed jitrattakaΩijiet b˙al dawn u personalment na˙seb li l-Arçisqof ta’ eΩempju tassew tajjeb kif g˙andhomisiru l-affarijiet.
Fl-istess jum li saret l-elezzjonig˙all-Kunsilli Lokali sar ukoll
Fil-fatt l-istess Prim Ministrukemm-il darba stqarr dan u qalli jrid isir kull sforz biex dawk li˙aqqhom jinqdew. G˙al-kemmimbag˙ad min-na˙a l-o˙rag˙andek il-mexxej tal-PartitNazzjonalista jsostni li l-PartitLaburista reba˙ dawn l-elez-zjoni g˙ax xtara l-voti permezztal-pjaçiri li g˙amel.Dan jo˙loq problema o˙ra g˙al
Fr Mark Montebello (nofs) flimkien mal-koppjali birkilhom iç-çrieketHemm mod
u modIr-reazzjoni tal-‘Le’
A quick glimpse at AustraliaA quick glimpse at Australia
16 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday April 28, 2015
Rain, winds and flooding batter NSW
About a quarter of a million Aus-tralian homes and businesses hadno power, while about 4,500 peo-
ple were isolated by flood waters as theroads were cut off and a spokesman forthe New South Wales State EmergencyService said they would not be able toreach them for a few days after a "once ina decade" storm battered Sydney andnearby area last week.
Devastating winds lashed cars andhomes, and the storm system alsobrought destructive flooding that wash-ed away houses and brought down treesonto streets and buildings.The emergency services received 13,000
calls for help due to flooding and carriedout 144 rescue tasks. Entire houses were washed away in the
Hunter town of Dungog and 60 homeswere evacuated in Milperra, while count-less homes were damaged by fallen trees.
More than 200,000 homes and busi-nesses lost power and the SES receivedmore than 12,000 calls for assistance, per-forming more than 132 rescues.The damage bill is likely to be hundreds
of millions of dollars.Up till the time of writing, the storm had
already claimed four lives, and the dan-gerous conditions prompted the NewSouth Wales Police department to issuepleas on social media for people to not at-tempt driving through flooded areas.
According to Australia’s Bureau of Me-teorology, the adverse weather wascaused by an intense low-pressure sys-tem. The strongest wind gusts peaked at135 km/h (85 mph) and it was estimatedthat about 200 millimetres (7.87 inches) ofrainfall fell in the area on Tuesday April21 alone.
Climate scientist Professor MatthewEngland from the Climate Change Re-
search Centre said that Devastatingstorms in NSW are a sign of things tocome as global temperatures rise.He said that the eight-year gap between
a one-in-100 year storm in 2007 and an-other last week shows extreme events areoccurring more frequently.
He told ABC radio that records arebeing broken far more often than theyshould be.
An 86-year great grandmother fromGillieston Heights, named as Anne Jar-main, died while driving through floods.She when her car was washed away atMaitland. Reports indicate that she hadplanned to do a quick trip, to duck intoMaitland for some milk.
She had no power and dwindling foodsupplies two days after GilliestonHeights was hit in the horrific storm thatbegan on Monday night. Her neighbourshad tried to talk her out of it, but thestrong-willed great grandmother refusedto listen.Her small silver hatchback had joined a
procession of cars trying to cross floodedWallis Creek on Cessnock Road shortlybefore 9am when a car in front of itstalled. She tried to go around the stalledFalcon, but it was quickly caught in thefast flowing waters.About a dozen people ran into the water,but the car was swept away. Transport NSW, which provides public
transportation throughout the NewSouth Wales area, issued a warning thatmany public services across the regionwere disrupted because of the weather. Italso posted a video on its Facebook pageshowing CCTV footage of floodwatersrising in a train station.
Bureau of Crime Statistics and Researchfigures reveal that seven NSW Police of-ficers are physically assaulted every day,with those on the beat claiming they feellike “second-class citizens’’ because of-
fenders continue to escapepunishment.
According to statistic, lastyear alone, 2516 police offi-cers were assaulted on duty,which equates to 6.8 everyday. The data also shows 6528incidents of resisting or hin-dering an officer on duty, up6403 on the previous year.Police Association vice-pres-
ident Pat Gooley has been re-ported saying that the figureshould be zero. He called on the courts tostart cracking down on offenders and thegovernment to step up and introducemandatory sentencing.
He said: “It’s interesting that we haveseen a decline in the assault figures acrossthe state but no drop in assaults on police.No assault on a police officer is acceptable
but there’s no deterrent. It’s morale sap-ping; police aren’t punching bags. Thesepeople need to know that there will berepercussions.’’
Justice and Police Minister Troy Grantsaid he was working with the Police Com-missioner to look at ways to better protectofficers.
The Abbott government has announcedtough new stance on immunisation.
Parents who do not vaccinate their chil-dren could be prevented from accessingchildcare payments and family tax bene-fits.
Social Services Minister Scott Morrisonsaid about 14,000 out of 39,000 childrenwho had not met immunisation require-ments would be impacted by the an-nounced changes.
Data from the National Health Perform-ance Authority showed that as 2012-13,affluent areas, where families may notqualify for government payments, hadsome of the lowest percentage of childrenunder five who were fully immunized.These areas include South Yarra in Mel-bourne, Annandale, Manly, Paddington,Killara and Neutral Bay all in Sydney.
A quick glimpse at AustraliaA quick glimpse at Australia
Tuesday April 28, 2015 The Voice of the Maltese 17
Figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statisticsshowed dementia is now Australia’ second biggest
killer, overtaking stroke and other cerebrovascular dis-eases.
The bureau found Alzheim-er’s disease and other de-mentia accounted for about 11,000 deaths in 2013, an in-crease of more than 5 per cent over the previous year.About 330,000 Australians are living with demen- tia andthis is expected to grow to almost one million in 2050. A drug used to treat stroke could also be effective in the
fight against Alzheimer’s disease, Australian and Chineseresearchers have found.
Scientists from the University of South Australia andThird Military Medical University in Chongquing Chinafound that the drug Edaravone arrested the effects ofAlzheimer’s disease and improved the mice’s memoryand ability to learn.
Lynton Crosby, Australian electoral guruto British PM David Cameron angrily
rejected a Labor attack on his personal tax-affairs as a “made up negative story”.Labor called on Mr. Crosby to explain hislinks to two companies based in Malta, wellknown as a low tax haven for Europeanwealth.
The Evening Standard reported Labor’sclaim that Mr. Crosby was a director ofRuthland Ltd and a shareholder in RuthlandHoldings Ltd. Both companies share a Mal-tese address with Bentley Trust (Malta), a financial services firm of-fering “legitimate mitigation” of tax. Labor did not accuse Mr. Crosby (above) of anything illegal; however,
tax minimisation has been a hot topic in the led-up to May’s generalelection, with the British government criticised over the HSBC tax eva-sion scandal. Tax minimisation has also been prominent in recentmonths in Australia, linked with companies like Google, Apple, Mi-crosoft, BHP Billion and Rupert Murdock’s media empire.
Tax minimisation schemes
2516 assaults on Police on duty last year
18 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday April 28, 2015
Malta: It’s so much more thansun, sea and sandThe Maltese Islands are great for fam-
ilies. Malta, Gozo and Comino offera wonderful setting for a holiday inwhich parents and children can share thejoys of discovery, experience the thrill ofan action-packed vacation or just savourthe simple pleasures of relaxation. All ina safe and tranquil environment that fewother destinations can rival.
Summertime in Malta is synonymouswith outdoor living. There is no short-age of beaches to choose from: somefully-developed resorts offering all therequisite facilities, others more se-cluded, quieter and more pristine.
But Malta is so much more than justsun and sea. With a rich history datingback thousands of years, the islandsoffer endless opportunities for sightsee-ing and exploration.
Prehistoric temples, roman ruins, me-dieval castles and walled cities, formi-dable forts, splendid churches andwayside chapels... these are just a fewof the historical attractions that familiescan visit for that unique travel-back-in-time experience.Some of these locations are venues for
colourful historic re-enactments, pag-eants involving dozens of animatorsdressed as soldiers, noblemen andladies, knights in shining armour, withtheir swords and lances, muskets andcanons.
In 1990, Herbert Portanier founded thecompany Professional Freight Services
Pty Ltd (PFS) and soon after, along with hisMalta Agents, Tristar Freight Services, es-tablished a direct shipping service from Aus-tralia to Malta & vice–versa. The service hasnow been operating for the last 25 yearsserving the Maltese-Australian communitywith their shipping requirements.
With continuous movement of families ei-ther emigrating to Australia or Maltese re-turning to live or retire to Malta, the need forthe movement of personal and household ef-fects is always in high demand.
The introduction of containers has madethese moves a very attractive proposition asa container is delivered to the person’s doorand after loading all the contents; the con-tainer is shi-ped to Malta on a direct vesselthat now takes only 30 days.
The ships sa-il to Malta to the Freeport. Con-tainers from Malta can be sent direct to Mel-bourne, Sydney, Adelai-de, Brisbane or Perth.
For those who do not require a full con-tainer, PFS & Tristar offer a service to takesmall loads and they combine the containerswith various clients’ shipments.However, the most successful aspect of this
business has been the parcel service wherethe numerous visitors to Australia can senda carton back to Malta usually with souvenir,starting from only $40.00. The main attrac-tion is that the charge is based on the size ofthe carton with no weight limit.
PFS & Tristar also have an airfreight serv-ice where clients require their items to arrivefaster. This is handled as Airfreight ExcessBaggage and the transit is about one weekonly. Arriving at the airport with more thanyour allowance can cost you $1600 for 20Kilos whilst on this Unaccompanied ExcessBaggage service, the cost is only about$200.00.In 2010, Herbert Portanier retired from the
business with Eddie Ibrahim taking over. Heis still operating the business from the samepremises and the same staff, which is veryexperienced dealing with the Maltese, arestill employed by PFS. (More information as to rates turn to page 15)
Direct shipping service toand from Australia/Malta
Il-komunitajiet Maltin fl-Aw-stralja li jkollhom il-˙sieb li
jorganizzaw xi attivita` u jkunu jixtiequ li jg˙arrfu bihalill-qarrejja ta’ The Voice of the
Below are some interesting informationabout Australia, including the animalsfound on this continent, its major cities,highest mountain, unique landscapes,population, indigenous people and muchmore.* As of 2012, Australia has an estimatedpopulation of over 22 million people.* Australia is the world's 6th largestcountry by area.* Due to its large size and isolation fromthe rest of the world, Australia is some-times known as the ‘island continent’.* The largest cities in Australia are Syd-ney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth andAdelaide.* A desert area known as the ‘outback’covers much of the land.* The name ‘Australia’ comes from theLatin word ‘australis’, meaning south-ern.* It is estimated the humans have livedin Australia for around 45000 years.* The indigenous people of Australia areAustralian Aborigines and Torres Strait
Islanders.* The highestmountain onmainland Aus-tralia is Mt Kosciuszko, standing 2228m(7310ft) above sea level.* The world's largest reef system, theGreat Barrier Reef, is found off thenorth-eastern coast of Australia.* Australia has a range of different land-scapes, including urban areas, mountainranges, deserts and rain forests.* Australia is home to a variety ofunique animals, including the koala,kangaroo, emu, kookaburra and platy-pus.* Although they usually keep to them-selves, there are a range of dangeroussnakes in Australia, such as the BrownSnake, Tiger Snake and Taipan.* Australia has over 750 different reptilespecies, more than any other country inthe world.* Australia is a relatively wealthy coun-try with a high life expectancy.
Some Interesting facts oneshould know about Australia
Tuesday April 28, 2015 The Voice of the Maltese 19
Alfons Maria Galea twieled il-Belt Valletta fit-23 ta’ April 1861. Óa l-ewwel tag˙lim tieg˙uming˙and il-kittieb mag˙ruf Annibale Preca
G˙al bosta snin kien il-President tal-Anglo-Mal-tese Bank u aktar tard, fl-1915, la˙aq it-teΩoriertal-Kurja tal-Isqof. Alfons Maria Galea huwa mag˙ruf l-aktar g˙all-
pubblikazzjonijiet tieg˙u bil-Malti li kellhom l-g˙an li jedukaw u jg˙allmu lill-poplu bla skola,
b’mod speçjali lill-fqar. Bis-sa˙˙a ta’ Annibale Preca, Galea beda jik-
Mog˙dija taΩ-Ωmien li saru popolari ˙afna tant libaqa’ jippubblikahom sal-1915, san-numru 150.Is-Sur Fons kompla jippubblika x-xog˙lijiettieg˙u g˙al ˙dax-il sena, il-biçça l-kbiraminnhom bijografiji ta’ persuni li g˙exu ˙ajjaqaddisa. Huwa ttraduça wkoll u˙ud mill-Kotba Mqaddsa
Sur Fons kiteb b’sodisfazzjon: “F’˙ajjet Alla issag˙andkom il-Kotba kollha tal-Bibbja bil-Malti...minnkom jonqos jekk ma taqrawhomx; il-kelmatag˙hom hi l-kelma ta’ Alla, u mhux le tal-bned-min li kitbuhom.”Alfons Maria Galea miet nhar it-30 ta’ Lulju
1941 fil-Kunvent tal-Bon Pastur, f’Óal Balzan, fl-età ta’ tmenin sena.
Alfons Maria Galea: filantropu u edukatur (1861-1941)
4. L-Artiklu fil-Malti hu l-ittra (l) li tinhemeΩ b’sing
mal-kelma ta’ warajha. EΩ.: l-ors, l-arblu, l-g˙alqa.
5. L-artiklu quddiem il-konsonanti Qamrin jie˙u l-Vokali tal-Le˙en u jsir (il); u quddiem il-konsonantiXemxin jinbidel fihom. EΩ.: il-˙anut iΩda id-dar.
Price: $20 Adults, Children Under 12 Years old $15.
Includes: supply of band with Self Singers, dinner dessert,
and bottles of champaign on tables for celebration.
Tea and coffee with some cakes to be supplied late in the
night also included in the price.
All drinks can be bought from the Guild Bar for the nor-
mal Guild cheap prices.
Entertainment provided by 2nd Take BandBook early as that day is very close.
This event is being organised on the request of
some of the members
Book your seats From the president, Joe Briffa (Tel.: 8254
6988 or 0421 791 327), the secretary Rita Bornhoeft (Tel.:
8248 1008 or 0401 860 632), the v/president Mary Craus
(Tel.:8281 2329 or 0420 699 617).
All are welcome
Maltese Cultural Centre 6, Jeanes Street Beverley S A 5009Phone Tuesday’s only: 8243 0868.
AH: 8254 6988/0421 791 327
THE MALTESE GUILD OF
SOUTH AUSTRALIA INC.
Daylesford is a lovely country town in Victoria, withthe Hepburn Springs as its main attraction. This
town was the venue for the latest trip enjoyed by mem-bers of the Reskeon Seniors earlier this month.The group boarded the Midland coach from the car park
at St. Joseph the Worker Church in North Reservoir in themorning and then proceeded to the Calder Highwaythrough Woodend, stopping at Trentham for a cup of teaor coffee and some biscuits. After this brief stay we con-tinued on the journey to our final destination, Daylesfordwhere we arrived in time for lunch at a lovely park nearthe lake.
Some brought there own lunch, while others chose tohave lunch at the Daylesford Bowling Club where they enjoyeda hearty meal finished up with a glass of wine. We were welllooked after by the chef and the waiting staff. Back on the coach, and before starting the trip back home, we
visited the Chocolate Mill that specialises in Belgian chocolate.Everybody had the chance to sample the chocolates and somecouldn’t resist taking their chocolate purchase home. We re-turned back to Reservoir at around 4.30 pm.
With the help of our coach captain, Ron, it turned out to be amost enjoyable trip
Il-president u l-kumitat ta’ La Valette qedjistiednu lill-g˙aqdiet kollha Maltin g˙al
din il-festa u jie˙du mag˙hom il-bandalori jew standardi tag˙hom.
Dawk li jixtiequ jattendu g˙andhom jg˙arrfu lilFrancis jew iç-Çentru sal-25 ta’ April.
Tel.: 9622 5847
175, Walter Road Blacktown NSW
DAY COROWA - BRIGHT CHESTNUTS
PICNIC & POKIE WEEKEND COACH
TOUR SATURDAY May 16-17 2015
DAY 1: 7.00 am: Depart from next to Deer Park Hall at 50Station Rd, with “Around Australia Coach Tours” luxurycoach, and travel north to Nagambie and stop for morning tea.We continue journey to Mulwala. Visit “Club Mulwala” for a 3-hour stay,(no meal supplied). Try your luck at the Pokies. Afternoon travel to Corowa;check into motel with time to relax. NIGHT will make 3-hour visit to TheMulwala Ski Club, with dinner supplied. After enjoying the evening with achance to win the jackpot, return to motel for rest, and relaxation.
DAY 2: After breakfast depart to our motel in Corowa and travel to pictur-esque Alpine town of Bright to admire its beautiful autumm colours whilefrolicking around town and to satisfy our tastebuds with morning tea. Wecontinue to the John Valli Chestnut Farm for a hearty BBQ lunch includingdrinks in the fresh and pristene alpine air. AFTERNOON: Travel to Euroaor Avenel for afternoon tea; then start journey home, arriving early evening.
CONTACTS FOR RESERVATIONSFrank Mintoff : 9363 5325; Frank Galea: 9314 4231l Doris Bonello: 9743 9934;
Bill Deguara: 9366 9956; Christine Attard: 9364 5049l Joe Attard: 9361 1396
COST: $115. 00 per person Twin share – Single supplement $45.00Deposit: $50.00 on booking, to guarantee a place.
TOUR COST INCLUDES : *Five-str coach travel *Quality Motel accommodation *Dinner Day 1 & Continentalb’fast on Day 2 * BBQ lunch including drinks oin Day 2
Only two Pokie Clubs visited on tour
Every endeavor will be made to follow the above itinerary; however some changes may occur.
Kull qalb trid o˙ra
Biex tipproduçi magazine b˙al dan, liwara kollox hu frott tal-passjoni li
Classes are available for students from 6 years to adults at all levels of ability in theMaltese language. We have trained and experienced teachers qualified in
language teaching and with Maltese study credentials. Learn the Maltese language,the culture, lifestyle, cuisine, traditions and about the amazing history of the island.
Classes at: HORSLEY PARK - SEVEN HILLS - LUDDENHAM For more information and enquiries Call Mary on 9601 2189
Supported by the Minister of Education and Training and the NSW Community Languages Schools Programme.Member of the NSW Federation of Community Language Schools of NSW; Member of the Federation of
Maltese Language Schools of Australia; Supported by 16 Maltese associations affiliated with the MCCof NSW. The Maltese Language School of NSW is a Not-For-Profit organisation.
A Division of the Maltese Com-munity Council of NSW Inc.
Fuq Radju Malta (www.pbs.com.mt) kull nhar ta’ Ìimg˙a fis-2.30 p.m. TippreΩenta Josephine Zammit Cordina
Follow The Voice of theMaltese online magazineevery fortnight and alsojoin us on our facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/groups/thevoiceofthemaltese
22 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday April 28, 2015
Community NewsCommunity News
Meetings of DayCare Maltese
Groups in NSWFairfield Active Maltese SeniorsMeets on the first Tuesday of the Month
from10:00am to 12 noon. The group meets in the Parish Hall, cnr
of Stella Street & The Boulevard, Fair-field Heights.
Maltese Seniors Central CoastGroup Meetings for Maltese livingat the Central Coast: are held everysecond Monday of each month from
10 am to 12 at Wyong RSL, cnrAnzac & Margaret Street Wyong.
For more information Tel: 02 439 000 12 or 0414 267 652
On SBS Radio - Day Time Analogue DigitalTuesday: 12:00-13:00 SBS Radio 3Thursday: 12:00-13:00 SBS Radio 3Friday: 12:00-13:00 97.7fm SBS Radio 2Saturday: 14:00-15:00: 97.7fm SBS Radio 2To tune into digital radio you need receiveror device with a DAB+ chip.Tuning in is by station name not fre-
quency. Digital radio can also be heardon digital TV. SBS Radio 2 is on Chan-nel 38 and SBS.Radio 3 is on Channel 39. Analogue is
the present FMwavelength. Digital radiocan also be accessed by a smart phoneand/or by going online at HYPERLINK:http://www.sbs.com.au, www.sbs.com.au
Maltese Radio ProgrammesMELBOURNE, on 3ZZZ 92.3FM or onwww.3zzz.com.au. Mondays 5pm, Fridays5pm, Saturdays 10am.; Last Wednesdayeach month at 1pm.
MELBOURNE on 98.9 North West FM,each Friday 6.00 - 7.00p.m. Presenter Em-manuel Brincat.
MELBOURNE: STEREO 974 (93180930):97.4FM Wed (Maltese Magazine) & Thurs-day (Merhba): 6.00pm to 8.00 pm Co-ordi-nator – Ray Anastasi
In SYDNEY, listen to the MCC radio pro-gramme Sunday at 11am 2GLF FM 89.3, oron demand: www.893fm.com.au
In BRISBANE listen to the Maltese Pro-gram on 4EB on Tuesdays 6.00 -8.15am;Sundays 4.15pm to 5.15pm
UNCLE SAM DJ (Maltese Radio) tune into link: www.unclesamdj.com
The SBS MALTESE NEWS L-A˙barijiet on SBS TV twice a week nationwide Sunday at8.00 am on SBS2 (Chan. 32); Thursdays at 8.05 am on SBS2
*(All Groups are Sponsored by The Maltese Community Council ofNSW). Please contact the MCC Welfare Officer: Marisa Previtera JPon 0414 863 123. The MCC offices are at 59b Franklin Street MaysHill NSW (next to West Parramatta Primary School)
Daceyville Maltese SeniorsMeets on the last Wednesday of the
month in the Meeting Room One, No. 3General Bridges Crescent, Daceyville.Note: The Groups also arrange regular Bus TripsCome and join us and make new friends.
Merrylands Social Maltese SeniorsMeets every second Friday of the
month; Miller Room, Memorial AvenueMerrylands from 10.30am to 12.30 am
Llandillo Maltese SeniorsMeets on the first Wednesday of the
month at the Llandilo Community Hall,Seventh Avenue, from 11am to 1pm.
Greystanes Maltese SeniorsMeets on the second Monday of the
month n the George Preca Centre ofOLQP Church, 198 Old Prospect Road,Greystanes from 10 am to 12 noon
The Sutherland & St GeorgeMaltese Group
Ongoing: We meet every First Wednesdayof the Month from 10:00am-1:00pm
Our Meetings/Get Togethers are inter-esting, informative & entertaining. Come Join us and make new Friends
For more information contact our Coor-dinator: Charles Mifsud J.P.Phone (02)9501 5525 – mobile 0421 662 298.
VIVA MALTAVIVA MALTA on Central Coast
Radio: May: 7th (2nd year anniver-sary) and 21st; June: 4th and 18th -
from 6 pm -7 pm on COAST FM 96.3Community Radio in Gosford NSW.
Presenter: Nathalie Gatt. Web streaming on: www.coastfm.org.au.
The Maltese Language School ofNSW invites applications for
Maltese language classes at theAlfred Fenech Maltese Resource
Centre located at 59b FranklinStreet (corner with Young Street)
Mays Hill (next to ParramattaWest Public School).
Both young and adult students may apply.
For more information contactMary Pace-Feraud on 9601 2189 oremail:
GEORGE CROSS FALCONS CLUB Inc.GEORGE CROSS FALCONS CLUB Inc.(25-27 Lake Ave Cringila NSW 2502, (02) 4273 0906 [email protected])
Seniors’ Day Every MondayHome-made cooked two-course meal, tea
and coffee Bingo and dancing lessonsComputers available for usage.
Cost only $5.00. Sponsored by MCCI Illawarra.Phone 42 746121 and leave a message
UTS Sydney - Free English classes
As part of its Teachers Training for2015, the University of Technology(UTS) Sydney - Insearch is offeringfree English classes designed to im-prove one’s speaking and listeningskills. Following is the programme forthis year:
Up till May 28 (6.00pm-8.00pm Tues-day & Thursday evening)July 6 - July 31 (1.30pm to 3.30 pmMonday to Friday)August 11 - October 15 (6.00p.m-8.00pm Tuesday & Thursday evening)October 20 -December 23 (6.00pm-8.00pm Tuesday & Thursday evening)
If interested call 92188646, fax92114334 or email:
Prezz: Kbar $45; Tfal ta˙t it-12-il sena $20 G˙al tag˙rif u biljetti: Mary Said: 0421 285 698, jew George Zahra:
0407 424 651
ÓAMRUN ASSOCIATION LTD 100 Jackson Street, Marsden Park, NSW 2765 Ph: 02 9838 1111 Email: [email protected]: George Zahra 0407434651 Secretary: Robin McGarrigle 0407701004
Community NewsCommunity News
Full Programme for 2015
MAY 2 (Saturday): Mother’s Day function at Melrose MAY 16 (Saturday): Function at AlbioMAY 24: (Sunday): Half yearly meet t Parkville JUNE 20: (Saturday): Function at Albion JULY 18: (Saturday): Function at Albion AUGUST 21: (Friday): Feast Mass at ArdeerAUGUST 22: (Saturday): Feast dinner dance at Melrose AUGUST 23: (Sunday): 35th Anniversary feast at Ardeer SEPTEMBER 19: (Saturday): Functioin at AlbionOCTOBER 24: (Saturday): Function at Parkville OCTOBER 25: (Sunday): AGM meet at Parkville NOVEMBER 14: (Saturday): Function at Holy Eucharist DECEMBER 19: (Saturday): Xmas function at Melrose.
(For bookings or more information phone Victor: 0412 99 13 25)
MALTESE PAST PUPILS andFRIENDS OF DON BOSCO NSW
Spiritual Retreat - Sunday May 3: a retreat at Somersby in the Central Coast
A bus is to be organised to the beautiful surrounds of St Francis ofAssisi Retreat Centre, Lutana Rd, Somersby.
The retreat will be in English and past pupils and parishioners of St Marys are very welcome to join us.
Bus leaves Wenty Leagues Club at 8.30am. Back by 5.30pm. For bookings, contact Christine Sapienza on 9822 7549.
SAINT NICHOLAS FESTA COMMITTEE
Sunday July 5: Lejla fil-Buskett ; Sunday October 18:Spring Fiera; Sunday December 6: Feast of St Nicholas
For further information call Bill Schembri: 0416 261 415.
Important dates for the remainder of 2015
The Voice is not just a news portal; We comment,..... We get your message across... Wefight for your rights...... We believe in freedom of ex-pression... and we are read in the right places.
Tuesday April 28, 2015 The Voice of the Maltese 23
Hibernians were crowned Champions for the11th time in their history. They achieved thefeat three matches from the end, in Round30. Until then they were unbeaten and look-ing forward to going through the entire cam-paign without a defeat. But in the next round,on Sunday they were foiled as Balzan sur-prisingly beat them, 3-1. Victory took Balzanto wonderland as it won them a fourth placefinish and secured for them a historic placein a European competition, the EuropaLeague.
Hibernians’ achievement cannot be under-rated and we will look at their achievementsthis season in the next issue. They were thebest throughout the season but the day onSunday belonged to Balzan. Victory putsthem seven points ahead of Floriana andwith only two more matches to go till theend, they cannot be overtaken.
They achieved all this under the watchfuleyes of their very enthusiastic honorary pres-ident and main sponsor, Australia-basedAnton Tagliaferro, who must still be pinch-ing himself to find out if this is all for real.
He told The Voice of the Maltese: “It wasreally, really great, I felt very happy andlucky to be part of it. Just a fantastic team
spirit, the coach hasdone a brilliant job inthe dressing room;the team is veryunited.”
Since he arrived inMalta about a monthago, Balzan won alltheir four PremierLeague matchesfairly convincinglyscoring 15 goals andconceded only three.
“I like to think mypresence at everytraining session,meeting key playersfor coffee/lunch tosee that all is OKwith them and my pre-match short andpunchy pep talks made a little difference. “My speech before the gameon Sunday re-
volved around the message that Hibs are al-ready Champions but we have trained hardand well all week and we still need the points- with the key message which I kept repeat-ing being ‘remember boys when you are outthere, good luck to
Hibs, but we need the points, we need thepoints’. “And they gave their all. One player played
the second half with a concussion; the goal-keeper played with a hurt shoulder for thelast 20 minutes; lots of players with knocksbut still chasing every ball. Just brilliantteam-spirit, I was so proud!”
Parramatta (formerly Melita Eagles) figured in a scoreless drab drawat home against South Coast Wolves and then lost Saturday’s matchaway against Blacktown Spartans 1-0. Therefore they are still without awin since round one and are thirdfrom bottom with only four points.The teams below them are Marconi,
with one win, and Rockdale CS whoare still searching for their first victoryfrom seven outings.
Top team Sydney United lead thewqy with 16 points, two more thancrosstown rivals Sydney Olympic andAPIA.Parramatta’s next matches are, away
tp Bonnyrigg WE on Saturday andthen at home at the Melita Stadiumagainst APIA on May 9
Melbourne Victorystrengthen hold on top of standings
Spor tsSpor ts24 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday April 28, 2015
Australia A-League
Results: Round 27
Results Round 7Blacktown S v Parramatta FCSouth Coast v BrownriggSutherland v Rockdale CSSydney O. v Marconi SBlacktown C. v Manly U.Sydney U v Appia LT
Brisbane R. v Newcastle JetsWestern Syd. v Perth GloryAdelaide U v Melbourne C Wellington Ph v Sydney FCMelbourne V. v Central Coast
2-11-24-11-23-1
Football: PS4 NPL 1 NSWParramatta still without a win in last five games
Round 6Parramatta FC v Wolves Marconi v Blacktown SBrownrigg v Sydney UtdManly U. v Sydney O.Rockdale CS v Blacktown CAppia LT vv Sutherland
Following back-to-back victories,and with the other challengers
dropping points, Kevin Muscat’sMelbourne Victory have managedto consolidate the top positioninf theA-League. They now enjoy a three-point lead over Sydney FC.
Melbourne V, stand on 53 points.while Adelaide United and Weling-ton Phoenix stay incontention fourpoints behind Sydney.
Melbourne Victory secured theirplace with an entertaining 3-1 winat home to the Central CoastMariners .
They will now enjoy a week offbefore hosting a semi-final, whilethe Mariners, whose season is over,said goodbye to long-serving duo-John Hutchinson and stalwartstriker Matt Simon, who will be re-leased at the end of the season.
Round 26Wellington v Central CoastNewcastle Jets v Sydney FCWestern Syd. v Adelaide UBrisbane Roar v Melbourne Vic.Perth Glory v Melbourne City
3-23-42-10-13-1
PS4 NPL 2 NSW Bankstown C. v Mounties W 1-1St George’s Mounties W. 5-1
0-00-31-30-21-12-1
1-03-26-25-11-41-1
Adisappointing start led to Malta’s rugby union national team los-ing their second game in Division 2A against Switzerland the
thee points – 20-23 at the Hibs Stadium on Saturday. A shoddy defensive display cost the national team dearly early on
by the first 15 minutes the Swiss were leading 18-0 before the Mal-tese made a semblance of a recovery. They struck back on 24 min-utes with a try and a conversion for 7-18, and before the intervaladded three more points from a penalty. The Swiss again started the second half brightly to go 23-10 ahead,
with Malta replying with a try and a conversion, and then a penaltyfor a 23-20 loss.
Despite their efforts they failed to salvage anything.
Second loss in a row for Malta in Rugby
Hibs are champions for 11th time- Balzan in wonderland as they secure Europe place
