Empowerment for freedom

Last Friday’s celebrations of Freedom Day brought memories of my first public speech 17 years ago, still young and inexperienced but already with a strong determination to serve. It was then a great honour to address hundreds of people, many of whom still

Irecall that I had highlighted the intrinsic sequence between true political and economic freedom and the people’s social wellbeing. Seventeen years ago, I likened the harsh uphill walkway to the symbolic monument to the hardship Maltese and Gozitans had to endure in order to earn their living and acquire a respectable social status. I had augured that society would work harder to lighten the burdens of vulnerable people. It is still very vivid in my memory that I had then underlined the point that real freedom is best translated into daily efforts for equality and equity for all. Little did I know then that 17 years later I would be leading a dedicated team in implementing the Labour government’s vision for a fair society.

Freedom secures equality and equity

Freedom day happens to be close to autism awareness day. Last year we really took a leap forward for persons within the autism spectrum. We brought all stakeholders together to take stock, evaluate and establish a national policy on the autism spectrum. Parliament eventually approved the bill I had tabled – the Persons within the Autism Spectrum (Empowerment) Act, which is one of a kind at international level.

Through that and several other initiatives, we highlighted the importance the Labour government has been giving to the disability sector which I have the honour to care for. Our social policies start with the basic principle that all people, irrespective of their abilities, have their own rights and society is expected to provide all that they deserve. We emphasise the fact that we are a community made up of smaller but likewise important units which are a community in their own right – the families. It is therefore my duty to show the government’s gratitude to all families and to the hard-working NGOs that are the indispensable foundations of the disability agenda. We feel the urge to provide the necessary support to them as we fully recognise that, without their commitment, our act as a nation will not be complete, let alone succeed.

Empowerment is freedom

It may sound anachronistic that in a country which boasts of its long-standing values, politicians have to speak of laws and law enforcement when referring to the rightful inclusion of people with a disability. I must admit that since taking up office as Parliamentary Secretary, I have better appreciated the vast range of duties implied in the designation “for the rights of people with disability”. And I must say that I really appreciated what Hon Claudio Grech said this week in Parliament about the matter and what as politicians we ought to do.

Much has been done since the post war years and later in the early seventies when the Mintoff-led Labour government introduced State attention and support for people with a disability and their families. Perhaps very few of us recall today that such persons were until then kept locked up in the darkest of rooms, hidden away and inaccessible to any visitors outside the immediate family. Not only was it a social stigma and humiliating for the parents and siblings, parents also had to struggle incessantly to make ends meet, even at the risk of poverty.

Unfortunately, there are some who want to re-write history and dismiss such reminders about the genuine and factual origins of social solidarity in Malta and Gozo. But I hold that we all need to be aware of what these people have been through in order to pull up our sleeves further and work harder to establish and secure full rights for them and for their families. This is our collective challenge – the State taking the lead with these same people, their families, employers, caregivers, therapists, academics, NGOs and the community at large to join hands.

Legal tools for effective freedom

It is a constant in all my Secretariat’s plans that people with disabilities are at the very core in all decisions that concern them. Suffice to mention a law we had enacted to ensure that people with disability are included with those appointed to boards of various entities. The obligatory standards are indeed a tangible step forward in favour of these people and their rights, since what was until now just a set of guidelines are now formal and legally binding standards.

We have pushed further with an old legislation that expected employers to secure a two-percent of their workforce with disabled employees. Although recognized in principle for decades, the law had to be revived and applied in practice. Its success is there for all to see. Despite all this incessant work, we strongly believe that there is a long way ahead of us to fully guarantee that disabled people will have what they are entitled to in terms of human dignity and human rights.

Zero tolerance for abuse

Reiterating that empowerment and dignity are the basic elements for personal freedom, and in spite of implementing a number of measures to safeguard the wellbeing and the protection of the elderly, many cases of abuse often remain unnoticed or unreported. The unfortunate reality is that in many cases the elderly and persons with disabilities end up suffering alone. At times, they are not even aware that they are being abused or exploited.

I must underline over and over again that there is zero tolerance to any form of abuse on the elderly. We know that abuse can take many forms, including physical, verbal, psychological and even financial. Irrespective of the severity of the abuse, all cases should be reported and abuser kept in check. We keep a watchful eye on residences to ensure that necessary changes are in place to ensure greater monitoring of abuse and prevention of abuse. Through Aġenzija Sapport, we also monitor what goes on within the community care sector and this is precisely where our dedicated professionals intervene, despite knowing that for many years no government had heeded to their requests for a legal framework for their own protection.

This week, I initiated a public consultation process in preparation to moving through Parliament the Older Persons and Persons with Disability Protection Act. Many might not be aware that, according to statistics, there were around 200 cases of abuse of the elderly that had been re- ported annually since 2010. We also know that similar cases are reported to the disability sector, but with Aġenzija Sapport, the National Commission for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities ably handles such cases, more so now that we have upgraded its role as a regulatory body. What these professionals had needed for years on end for their safe and legally structured intervention will now be soon implemented by the Labour government, as promised in its electoral manifesto.

The Gozitan link

Recent debate on the Gozo link and the possibility of additional autonomy to the island have been given public exposure, and rightly so. The constant effects of Gozo’s double insularity are a continuous challenge to us. When I spoke on Freedom Day 17 years ago, I had hinted about such concerns and might have surprised many when I addressed the gathering as “dear Gozitans and Maltese”, parting from the usual template.

So, many years on, I now feel proud to have established a better and more effective solidarity link for my fellow Gozitans in that I am constantly bringing nearer to home a fairer share of what the whole country has to provide for all the vulnerable persons in our society. And it is with the same spirit that I deem it really significant that for autism awareness day, the Cittadella was lit up in blue. It was indeed and honour for me to have Mrs Michelle Muscat, a true inspiration for us, who mentioned the endeavours directed by my Secretariat towards the autism agenda in Gozo. This makes the constant efforts of this government truly national, especially concerning those who are voiceless and vulnerable. This is indeed the modern freedom we must all strive to achieve.