Watch: Some Maltese People Don’t Have An ID Card And Couldn’t Even Apply For Booster, Friar Recounts
Franciscan friar Marcellino Micallef has opened up on the stark reality of poverty he encounters every day at a soup kitchen in the heart of Valletta that he helped set up last year.
“There are Maltese people out there who don’t have an ID card because they don’t have a home address, which means they couldn’t even get their COVID-19 booster,” Fr Micallef told the press today.
“We pulled some strings and helped them get their booster, but in our society, there are Maltese people who don’t have an ID card. I feel this is a right no one should be denied.”
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Since opening its doors in August 2021, the Valletta OFM Soup Kitchen has served around 8,600 guests, the vast majority (91%) of whom were Maltese.
“There are also many Maltese people who need help but who don’t come here because they feel ashamed and fear that others will blame them,” Fr Micallef said.
“It’s so easy to shake off responsibility to assuage one’s guilty conscience; just take a look at Facebook and see everyone passing judgement on others.”
The friar urged the authorities to set up an emergency shelter for homeless people as a matter of urgency.
“We don’t have a response to those people who come here and tell us they’re going to sleep on the streets,” he said. “You can’t have dignity without a roof over your head, and the more society evolves, the more people there will be who sleep on the streets and in garages.”
“There are many reasons behind this; for example, everyone at the YMCA shelter has a job, but it’s problematic if you’re on the minimum wage and have to pay €400 a month in maintenance.”
Fr Micallef, along with AI expert Alexiei Dingli and CEO of the Malta Council for the Voluntary Sector Mauro Pace Parascandalo, addressed the press this afternoon to launch a new app intended to encourage supermarkets to donate food they don’t need to food banks and charities.
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