More reliable reporting by Kurt Sansone
timesofmalta.com tells us:
Muscat visits elderly parents of disabled child
The provision of community homes for people with disabilities was one of the most important commitments the Labour Party was making, Joseph Muscat said this evening.
He was visiting an elderly couple in Zurrieq, who have a 43-year-old daughter with disabilities living with them.
Grace and Alfred Hayman spoke about their concern on what would happen to Denise when they are no longer able to care for her. Alfred, 70, was diagnosed with cancer three years ago.
Dr Muscat said a Labour government would create structures so that people like Denise would be able to continue living in the community when they could no longer be cared for by their relatives. Hospitalisation was not the answer to cases like these, he added.
“We have not pledged many things but this is a commitment we are making,” Dr Muscat said.
The Labour leader was accompanied by his wife Michelle, who was visibly moved by the family’s story as Grace recounted the problems they encountered.
The media was allowed in for the first few minutes as the meeting with the Muscats continued in private for some time after.
If reporters were told to leave after the first few minutes, how does Kurt Sansone know that Michelle Muscat was visibly moved at what was said?
Most women are great actresses, though not all of us bother putting on an act. Does Kurt Sansone know the difference between ‘visibly moved’ and ‘genuinely moved’?
Sansone did not notice the inherent flaw in what JosephMuscatDotCom said, and so much in awe is he of his Labour hero that he doesn’t seem to have bothered asking him any questions about how these ‘community homes’ are going to work.
Apparently, The Times are paying him to trot along and act like a 13-year-old girl reporting on Justin Bieber. Got a bit of a boy-pash there, have you, Kurt?
This is the flaw in JosephMuscatDotCom’s promise: there are not enough severely disabled people in a single town/village community to justify a care home, let alone enough severely disabled people whose parents and siblings happen to be dead at the same time leaving them with no one to care for them.
This family lives in Zurrieq. How many severely disabled people with nobody to look after them are there in Zurrieq?
Exactly. So who is going to live in this community home?
Malta is 17 miles by nine with a population of around 450,000. The idea of setting up a community home in every town to look after severely disabled people whose parents have died is quite obviously impossible and unworkable. The home would be empty most of the time.
Yet that is what a ‘community home’ means – a home in your actual community, to keep people in the environment they are used to.
There is obviously going to have to be one centralised home, and even then it will probably be practically empty too. The very sad and dreadful nature of these situations is that the parents, or at least one of them, invariably outlive their severely disabled son or daughter, whatever their worries to the contrary might be, and a close look at reality makes this clear.
I think it is absolutely terrible the way everyone, most especially JosephMuscatDotCom, talks as though Dar Il-Providenza does not exist and hasn’t existed for 50 years. All the residents there are severely disabled people of all ages who have nobody to look after them, not necessarily because their parents have died but sometimes because their difficulties are so extreme that their parents can’t cope.
Two of the people who were instrumental in helping the home get going in those early years were the parents of a very badly disabled child who would have been my age had she lived (her parents, as it happens, outlived her). They had the means and the will to do something, so instead of sitting about getting angry at the government – which would have been pointless anyway, with Mintoff, and even before him – they did something positive and while they were at it, they helped others too.
It is one of the reasons I am thoroughly dismayed when two prominent gentlemen, both of whom have the means, abilities, contacts and education to do something positive pro bono, campaign all over the media for a Labour government to do things for them and their children instead of throwing themselves into the cause and doing it for themselves and for others.
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Why? Entitlement mentality.
Soon, various people will start demanding extravagant remedies for any condition they have.
Feeling depressed? The government needs to pay for a holiday in the Alps or a happy cruise to lighten my spirits.
Do I have a particular hobby, which is not widely popular such as classical music? Then, the government must build a classical opera house, and bring one or two international artists to perform here, even if the government would incur a loss.
L-entitlements taghna lkoll.
Another extravagant remedy by Labour is to build an underpass or a bridge because two teen age girls were killed by a car while crossing the Mriehel Bypass.
The mother of the girl who died tried to find a justification for the innocence of her teenage adventurous daughter by stating that it was the government’s fault for not building a bridge between Qormi and Santa Venera.
Mary Louise Coleiro Preca rode the emotional bandwagon started by this mother and championed for this unneeded bridge.
To patch things up with Coleiro Preca, Joseph made a sort of ‘promise’ to build this bridge.
One has to keep in mind that such a crossing should be accessible for people with disabilities, and that there is enough pedestrian demand to justify its construction.
A thing worth noting is that one still sees people crossing Marsa’s Triq Aldo Moro, where there is a footbridge, the Birkirkara Bypass where there is an underpass. In Floriana where there is a subway , temporary pelican lights became a permanent fixture.
When asked on Bondi+ about the amount of these homes needed when there are already around thirty on the island, Karmenu Vella said he didn’t go into that detail,Lou pressed on and asked him “Than how did you make the costings if you did not quantify the amount of homes needed?”
The Haymans should have been told by Karmenu Vella who also hales from Zurrieq ,that at present their daughter could be cared for at San Vincenz , wether she’s bedridden or running around.
San Vincenz is not the place for disabled adults. San Vincenz is for old people. As Daphne rightly said, Dar tal Providenza is there for that purpose.
I am a sibling of a disabled adult and I find that people who have no experience in such matter have no right to tell us families what to fight for.
Why should you put down the people who are trying to fight for the rights of disabled people. How dare you all act as if you know what it feels like to belong to such families! The ultimate role of any government should be to take care of its people. Do you honestly believe that disabled people are well catered for in Malta? The people who need the most help.
From what I understand these gentlemen are proposing that the Government builds a retirement community for disabled people so if disabled adults do outlive there parents, they will be taken care of in a retirement home. This is not catered for at Dar tal Providenza.
All disabled people have different needs as Anon clearly pointed out. How can you suggest that we put all disabled people of different disabilities and ages in one home. You have no idea what it requires to cater for a disabled person, so what gives you the right to comment and tell us what to ask our Government for.
I do admire your strength and courage Daphne and I do really enjoy your blog. However I feel slightly hurt by your commentary as I do not think you know what emotional pressure it is having a disabled sibling or child. These men are fighting for the nations rights and not their own. People like my family. I really do not feel like you should poke your nose in such sensitive issues and more try to undermine the efforts that are finally being made.
P. Shaw how dare you say that, fighting for a home for my disabled brother, ensuring he is well cared for, an ‘extravagant remedy’ and compare it to musical needs. How ignorant and self centered are you?
If this thing were genuine, Vella should have mentioned working hand in hand with the church and its institutions.
Bondi’s question nailed him, what do they intend to do, herd these somewhere to tick another box on their ‘manifest’?
What really matters, it seems, is getting someone’s property portfolio off their back.
Maria, San Vincenz is the place where people with disabilities normally end up .
I visit the place and know what I’m saying.
Even the Prime Minister some years ago spoke of a letter he received from a totally paralised person who is a resident at San Vincenz and operates his computer with his eyelids . Need I give you more examples?
San Vincenz is a public entity , Dar tal-Providenza is a private entity run by Azzjoni Kattolika and funded by charity, and the Maltese Diocese.
The Haymans are resisting to send their ‘child’ to a public institution, that’s what the report says in The Times.
Karmenu Vella and Joseph Muscat think that another service should be provided for such people, “cost is immaterial” Karmenu said on Bondi+.
From the ‘manifest’ where “Labour Party” or the new emblem is nowhere to be seen.
“A scheme would be introduced to give a stronger legal title to businesses which leased property from the government.”
How fair is this to those who rent their premises from the private sector? Is Labour Safe for business?
“There would be a commissioner for animal rights.”
Animals have no rights.
If it is illegal to eat a cat, than how is it that we eat chicken?
Or(wellian), some animals are more equal than others.
Why shouldn’t there be a commissioner for plant rights.
Joseph, shouldn’t plants have a right to live also?
Oh that’s sweet, let’s create a two tier system.
Muscat at his bloody best, looking after the interests of a particular category. Ixtri Malti all over again.
I am in favour of animal rights, but can you imagine an animal making a complaint with the Commissioner for Animals?
Is Kurt one of Joseph’s plants?
No amount of watering seems to make him grow, though.
Headline in tomorrow’s Times (yeah, sure):
‘Labour’s List of Politically Achievable Reforms Now Down to Just Three Minor Changes in Traffic Codes’.
There are not enough severely disabled people in a single community to justify a care home
On what basis are you justifying this? Where may one access such data?
[Daphne – Severely disabled people are generally born that way, unless they have become that way as a result of accidents (very rare). The congenital cases are generally calculated as a percentage of all live births, so the statistic should be available. You are generally looking at Down’s Syndrome, spina bifida, cerebral palsy and other, rarer conditions, some of them caused by problems at birth, either in the past when forceps were used badly during delivery or through denial of oxygen. The ‘disabled’ figure – those registered with the authorities as officially disabled – is not what you should be looking at. A man with a walking-stick can be registered as disabled. You will understand that such a person can do his own cooking, cleaning and laundry and does not need to be in a community home.]
The number of disabled people in Malta is c. 32,000 (NSO 2011 Census). I still have to find information regarding their distribution and whether it makes to have a home in every town. One also has to question the size, capacity and running costs of such homes. Yesterday il-Guy (on Bondi Plus) gave the impression that money is no problem….bloody parallel universe.
[Daphne – We’re not talking about disabled people here, but about people who are so severely disabled that they need constant care. The 32,000 figure includes people like Joe Grima tal-Labour, who is classed as disabled because he is too fat to move about properly. He has a disabled parking slot outside his Sliema flat. Lots of others are simply adults who have walking difficulties, but who can still look after themselves and do so. The figure for the severely disabled would be much, much lower than that because mainly (excluding people rendered paraplegic through accidents) they are congenital cases and are generally calculated as a percentage of live births.]
I suggest that the website of Kummissjoni Nazzjonali Persuni b”Dizabilita http://www.knpd.org should be consulted. Daphne got her facts 100% right.
I am involved in disability issues as I am classified as a person with a disability due to a car accident during the “the Golden Years” when the doctors strike was on.
aha…the distinction between disabled and severely disabled is important here.
Just want to congratulate you on your clear-headed and logical thinking in the above and other comments and pieces.
The most recent piece I read was about the difference between homosexuality (as a state of being) and sodomy (as a physical sexual act).
An interesting and illuminating blog (besides being refreshingly entertaining).
In Malta there is an average of 250 births per year with congenital malformations. But the majority of these are of minor importance (e.g congenital naevus) or else can be surgically treated.
The number of births that have severe, non-treatable conditions is of around 30 per year.
Unfortunately, around a third do not make it beyond the 6th year of life, and for the rest the mean age at death would be around 50 years.
If one had to estimate that these would need a home from say 25 years of age, then the number of individuals in this age group would be of around 25 x 20 = 500.
The number is evenly distributed per region, and as Malta is divided in 5 regions, this gives the grand total of 100 per region. Unfortunately, the register does not give a breakdown per town, but one would expect that the largest towns would have the highest figures and thus there is a very good possibility that in smaller towns, (i.e. the majority) there would not be enough to fill these homes.
The idea of regional homes for the disabled has actually already been implemented by government (there are 14 homes with 119 occupants, and some have spare capacity). What the moviment has done is take a well studied idea, implemented by professionals and not politicians, and offered it as the proverbial pie in the sky in an attempt to gain cheap votes.
Yesterday on Bondi+ Karmenu Vella was asked about the costings of this particular proposal. No reply (as usual) was forthcoming.
Will Labour ever put forth just one proposal that is well thought through?
We have not pledged many things but this is a commitment we are making,” Dr Muscat said. WTF?
Full marks for pointing out that the Labour leader is speaking as if many of the things that he says he wants to implement do not exist already.
I find it humiliating and abusive that individual hardship cases are being exploited in this manner for political expediency.
Independent journalists should not allow themselves to be turned into the mouthpiece of any political party, but should report critically as well as faithfully.
Not if those so-called ‘independent journalists’ are planted there or they themselves have a hidden agenda. Just like Sabrina Agius, for example – anyone remembers her?
Sorry for changing the subject slightly.
Good news from The Times.
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20130208/local/luqa-roundabout-monument-back-to-its-former-glory.456649
Now is the time for JosephMuscatDotCom to close off the Luqa road and set up his ‘portable urinal on a pedestal’ and ‘Malta taghna biss’ sign with the roundabout as a background while he explains how he intends to fix Malta.
Didn’t the government launch/create a home for disabled people to live in community but independently in the past few month? wouldnt this be what jm is promising?
From what I know the homes you mention are for disabled persons whose disability does not prevent them from living “quasi” normal lives.
They need help, but the advantage of these homes is that they live together as a “family”, are in the community and have helpers on hand all day long.
Daphne’s explanation above is spot on.
From now on I suggest using the phrase ‘note-taker’, instead of the highly inappropriate ‘journalist’, when describing these people.
I am a parent of a child with a disability and I agree with you that a community home in every town is unworkable.
Our parish organizes a monthly meeting for us parents.There are only five of us. Most of the ‘ children’ are adults roughly my age so obviously there is a generation between them and my son and their needs are so different.
I think carers in their own residence is best where it ispossible and trying our best to make our sons and daughters as independent as can be.
Kurt Sansone is clearly biased in favour of Labour. The board of the Allied Newspapers should intervene.
A community home is “one-size-fits-all”. Typically Labour.
People with disabilities have specific individual needs.Typically PN.
Joseph Muscat and his cohort appear to be purveyors of the paving stones of the road to hell, with their manifesto being the catalogue.
They are selling good intentions but without any detail thought behind them.
Typical example is Karmenu Vella’s (non) reply to Lou Bondi when asked how the system of the ‘people’ appointing their representatives to Government and para-statal Boards is going to work.
43 a child?
Malta is a the size of one real community Joseph. We are just a rock so you don’t need a home in every village.
Gone are the days when people did not venture out of their own villages – or are we still that parochial? if there are people who are, then the last thing he should be doing is pandering to them. But again he says what people want to hear…..
What we do need is to ensure that Dar tal-Providenza can continue doing what they have been doing for so many years, helping countless of families in caring for the daily needs of their disabled family members. By centralising all our resources or the disabled here, we can ensure they have the best facilities and care that they could possibly need.
Why would Michelle be visibly moved? Has she not been exposed to special children before?
I’ve grown up having known quite a number along the way. From my friend’s little brother, to a school mate, to a teacher who I used to carry up the stairs.
My step-child is severely disabled and I just can’t stand people giving that pitiful look. They cannot understand how rewarding it all is.