Mark Anthony Sammut

One of the recent social projects implemented by the government and co-financed by EU Funds is the Me2, where persons suffering from disability were helped to integrate into the work environment. Such projects are to be lauded as they have multiple positive effects. First of all they help persons with disabilities discover their true potential and help them raise their self-confidence, making another step forward towards a more inclusive society. Secondly, such schemes help them achieve a more independent and fulfilling life, a life in which they can progress and move forward on their own abilities, abilities which might have been kept hidden had they simply be left to depend on others. Together with the government's drive to provide homes in the community for their care, this is a good example of how I believe welfare should be modeled in this day and age: focusing on empowerment and giving people the tools to become freer and more independent citizens, serving as a tr

The different emotions one man can generate are quite amazing. I don't know this man much. I was not yet born when he was Prime Minister. I just remember a few mentions of him when I was just twelve back in 1998, and politics was the last thing on my mind back then. Really, I am not in a position to either understand the people beatifying him, or to judge the people condemning him. For the former, I just wish they believe in themselves as much as they believe in a politician. For the latter, I just wish they manage to forgive whatever harm was done to them, as hate is a heavy weight which ultimately is burdening and stifling them and not the one who has departed. I find it strange though that those who speak about not being judgemental and about tolerance are the ones quick to judge when others don't share their same love. Sometimes, we might also need to respect those who suffered and failed to forgive. Not everyone is strong enough to do it. To respect the dead, we mu

A suggestion by the MUT in its pre-election document for political parties to consider abolishing school uniforms has sparked quite a discussion on the online media, especially on timesofmalta.com. At the beginning of this scholastic year, school uniforms were already on the agenda, and the parliamentary Social Affairs committee issued its recommendations in February this year, basically recommending simplicity and less frequent changes in uniform design, and no exclusive contracts with one supplier. The Education Ministry  had agreed with these proposals and said that most of them were already being implemented. I am of the opinion that uniforms should stay. First of all, the argument that uniforms are expensive and removing them would ease the expenses off parents' pockets does not hold water. On the contrary, kids would require more clothes, apart from the competitive element of what clothes to wear, risking a higher element of bullying on kids coming from poorer famil

This article was first published in the Times on 2nd August 2012 The third anniversary of the death of Cliff Micallef, a cycling enthusiast who was killed in a hit-and-run accident on the Coast Road while training for LifeCycle, fell last Monday. Three years down the line from this tragic accident and I still wonder about what efforts have been made to render the roads safer for cyclists. Only last week, a cyclist was injured after being hit by a bendy bus on the Coast Road. Three weeks ago, another cyclist suffered serious injuries after being hit by a car at St Paul’s Bay. Last April, a refugee cycling to work was seriously injured when he was hit by a car at Birżebbuġa. In the same month, another cyclist was injured after being hit by a car in Fgura. Two of these cases were a hit and run. Dozens of similar accidents have been reported in these three years, many more are not even reported and near-misses are experienced frequently by all those who cycle regularly.

There is a very positive development with regards to artistic freedom. A working group set up by Minister Mario de Marco is studying changes in the procedure used for prosecuting artists. This was sparked by the case of Realta' two years ago, when a student and writer were charged over an explicit short story published in a student newspaper. At the time, I was one of the few who spoke about the need of reviewing our censorship/obscenity laws with regards to theatre and literature, mentioning the Realta' and Stitching case in the PN General Council of June 2011 : "Ma nistgħux nibqgħu passivi meta...għandna lil min qed jirriskja l-ħabs għax ippublika storja fl-ogħla istituzzjoni akkademika ta' pajjiżna...meta għandna produzzjonijiet teatrali li jiġu ċċensurati mill-pubbliku adult." [We cannot remain passive in a situation where someone is risking jail-time for publishing a story in our country's highest academic institution...where theatrical production