Watch: Franco Debono Identifies Three L-Istrina ‘Flaws’ And Calls For Telethon Revamp
L-Istrina has been a feature of Boxing Day in Malta for 28 years, but Franco Debono believes the time has come to revamp its format.
In a new interview with Lovin Malta, Debono said the telethon’s current format of raising money for people in serious need contains three “errors”.
“I believe we are disfiguring the meaning of charity,” he said. “The essence of the traditional meaning of charity is that you don’t promote yourself while doing acts of charity. Indeed, self-promotion is the antithesis of charity. Therefore, while the goal is a noble one, I believe the format goes against the true meaning of charity.”
The lawyer and former PN MP said the second mistake is using L-Istrina as some kind of barometer to gauge the generosity of the people of Malta and their solidarity with people in need.
“We pat ourselves on the back and say it is in our nature to be more generous than anyone else, the our people are more generous than others, that we are more untied than others,” he said.
Finally, Debono argued that in a “prosperous” nation, people with serious and terminal illnesses should be helped out by the state and not rely on charity.
“Is our welfare state that weak that it cannot cater for these people? In the eventuality that people decide not to donate, what will happen to these people? Won’t there be funds to help them out?”
He said that while L-Istrina’s format made sense in past decades doesn’t mean it need to be updated.
“I do not doubt that many L-Istrina volunteers have good and noble intentions and they are best placed to come forward with ideas for a new format or formats.”
Has the time come to revamp L-Istrina?
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