Djar tal-Gvern

Hi miżura tajba ħafna li l-gvern mhux sempliċement se jipprovdi aktar binjiet ta’ “housing” soċjali. Biħsiebu jissorvelja t-tmexxija tal-binjiet u jiżgura li r-residenti ġodda jibqgħu jtejbu l-pożizzjoni tagħhom sakemm ikunu jistgħu jitilqu għal rashom.

Mhux se tkun biċċa faċli. Sal-lum, l-esperjenza li kellna bid-djar li pprovda l-gvern rat it-tajjeb u l-ħażin. Matul is-snin, il-politika f’dal-qasam kellha tal-aktar żewġ miri.

Il-mira li tinħoloq provista ta’ residenzi biex jinxtraw jew jinkrew mill-kotra ta’ familji ġodda bi dħul medju jew baxx; dan fi żmien meta l-provista kummerċjali ta’ djar kienet batuta jew wisq għolja fil-prezz. It-tieni mira kienet dik li persuni u familji bi dħul baxx wisq (foqra?) jinstabilhom fejn joqogħdu.

Għalkemm il-livelli tal-għajxien tjiebu sew, jidher li politika aġġornata dwar il-“housing” trid terġa titfassal biex tlaħħaq maż-żewġ miri flimkien.

IŻOMMU JEW INEĦĦU?

Forsi tlift il-fil… imma eżattament xi trid il-familja tas-sinjura Caruana Galizia? Li l-libelli kontra tagħha jitwaqqgħu minn min għamilhom? Jew li jinżammu?

Fil-bidu nett, niftakar li kienu insistew li riedu li l-libelli jitkomplew sal-aħħar, ħalli l-allegazzjonijiet li wasslu għalihom jintwerew bħala minnhom.

Imbagħad, il-kelma kienet li dawk li żammew il-libelli għamlu hekk biex jivvitimizzawhom u anke jintimidaw lill-ġurnalisti Maltin. Talanqas hekk tmexxiet l-istorja fost id-deputati Ewropej.

Issa ħareġ attakk kontra min waqqa’ l-libelli li kien beda, bħall-Ministru Chris Cardona. Għamel hekk, intqal, biex ma toħroġx informazzjoni fuq l-allegazzjonijiet li dwarhom għamel libell.

Diffiċli tikkonkludi li din l-inkoerenza mhijiex intenzjonata… dejjem jekk ma tliftx il-fil ta’ li jinsab għaddej.

DNUB…

Dnub li domt daqshekk biex niskopri ktieb mill-isbaħ li ħareġ fl-2007: “Carmelo Mangion – His life and Works.” Ġie f’idejja dan l-aħħar. Barra milli jagħti informazzjoni dettaljata dwar il-ħajja ta’ dan l-artist eċċezzjonali, il-ktieb jirriproduċi f’ritratti mill-aqwa, ħafna mill-ħolqien artistiku tiegħu.

Jagħti ġieħ lil Mangion li matul ħajtu (1905 – 1997) ma kisibx il-fama ta’ xi Emvin Cremona jew Esprit Barthet. Wara li studja f’Ruma u Pariġi u qatta xi żmien New York, ġie jgħix għal kollox f’Malta, fejn għallem l-arti u telaq għall-itinerarju artistiku tiegħu. Ftit li xejn esebixxa jew biegħ mill-produzzjoni tiegħu għalkemm hi folta sew.

Meta fl-1995 flimkien mal-ħabib tiegħi Joe Vassallo (tal-Mellieħa) laqagħni fid-dar tiegħu Triq Mrabat, Tas-Sliema, bqajt impressjonat għall-aħħar bix-xogħlijiet numerużi li weriena, kif ukoll bil-viżjoni artistika profonda li fissrilna.

Il-ktieb miktub u ppreżentat b’ħila kbira minn Joseph Paul Cassar f’publikazzjoni lussuża tal-Midsea Books ġabli lura tifkiriet ta’ dik iż-żjara.

English Version – Government housing

The government has rightly decided to not simply provide more buildings to serve as social housing. Beyond this, it plans to monitor how the buildings are run and to ensure that the new residents continue to improve their economic situation till they can find accomodation on their own, without having to rely on state support.

It will not be an easy task. As of now, the results obtained by government’s social housing policies have had their ups and down. Over the years these policies had at most two objectives.

One was to create a supply of accomodation units that could be bought or rented by cohorts of new families having an average or low income – this at times when the commercial supply of housing was either on the low side or too pricey. The second objective was to provide accomodation for individuals and families with very low incomes (the poor?).

Though nowadays living standards have improved greatly, it seems like an updated housing policy must be deployed to again satisfy both objectives simultaneously.

***

To retain or to drop?

Perhaps I lost some part of the storyline… but exactly what does the family of Mrs Caruana Galizia want? To have the libel suits against her dropped by those who filed them? Or that they be retained?

In the very beginning, I remember they had insisted to have the libel cases retained till the very end, so that the allegations that led to them would be shown to be justified.

Then the word was that those who did not drop their libel suits did so to victimize the family and intimidate Maltese journalists. At least, that was the story circulated among MEPs.

Now, attacks have materialised against those who did drop the libels they had triggered, like Minister Chris Cardona. He did this, so it was claimed, in order to prevent the publication of information that would have confirmed the allegations that led to the libel case he instituted.

It is difficult to conclude that this incoherence is unintentional… unless that is, I have missed some part of the ongoing plot.

***

A pity

It’s a pity it took me so long to discover a very beautiful book published in 2007 which I was offered recently: “Carmelo Mangion – His Life and Works”. Apart from giving detailed information about the life of this exceptional painter, the book contains superb reproductions of much of his artistic output.

It is a fine homage to Mangion who in his lifetime (1905 -1997) was much less wellknown than say Emvin Cremona or Esprit Barthet. After having studied in Rome and Paris, then lived for some time in New York, he returned to Malta and spent the rest of his life here, teaching art while following his own particular artistic itinerary. He rarely took part in exhibitions or bothered to sell his works though his output was very wideranging.

When in 1995, with my friend from Mellieħa Joe Vassallo, I visited his home at Mrabat Street, Sliema, I was totally impressed by the variety of the many works he showed us, as well as by the profound artistic vision that he explained to us.

The book written and presented with great skill by Joseph Paul Cassar in a high quality Midsea Books production took me back in memory to the evening of that visit.