Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1240944
13 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 26 APRIL 2020 CORONAVIRUS CRISIS LAURA CALLEJA VARIOUS gay rights NGOs have registered an uptick in people in distress who are either losing their homes, or have become home- bound in unsafe places they are unable to leave. In the past weeks, the Mal- ta LGBTIQ Rights Movement (MGRM), Checkpoint Malta, and LGBTI+ Gozo, have received messages from people who have found themselves unable to pay rents or stuck in unsafe home en- vironments due to the COVID-19 isolation measures. Now the NGOs are reaching out to the public in the hope of creat- ing a register of places available for people to move out of their homes. "Unfortunately all the rooms and apartments we had been offered before the pandemic started are already full. This highlights how acute the situation is, leaving us without option but to turn away people," MGRM's Alex Caruana said. "The majority of messages are from foreign LGBT persons who are 'stuck' in Malta. One of the cases, in particular, was a trans- gender person who contacted us because she was facing some is- sues regarding papers because she is a third-country national [non- EU]. We had approached a person who had offered accommodation previously, however it transpired she was already hosting a rainbow family. "That alarmed us because it means families and individuals might not be contacting us be- cause they think we don't have the resources to help them. That is why we are asking the community for rooms or apartments to offer, so that if we are approached we would have resources to help." The NGOs are now trying to find accommodation for people at risk, or who have already become homeless, to build a database of vacant places that can be used for "altruistic purposes." Caruana said housing for LGBT people and minorities was already an issue even before the coronavi- rus epidemic began. "We already had some people who needed to get out of unsafe environments – such as foreigners, in particular Africans, because they find it very difficult to find alternative accom- modation when normally their jobs are low-paid. We have two currently living with their com- munity in a flat, and they are not comfortable at all." Caruana also said the MGRM had received an alarming amount of calls from HIV positive per- sons who expressed concern at calls from the health ministry for vulnerable people to self-isolated. "There is a huge stigma on HIV, and a lot of people don't even tell their parents, let alone their em- ployers that they are HIV positive. So on that side, we had a lot of people contacting us." According to the European Cen- tre for Disease Control, there are over 400 individuals known to be living with HIV in Malta. "First the government is silent and does nothing to destroy the stigma on HIV sufferers, and then out of no- where we're going to tell all HIV people, hundreds of them, to stay at home because of the pandemic. HIV persons still have to get their medicine every month from Ma- ter Dei Hospital. I get testosterone – but I go to the pharmacy of my choice, I don't need to go to Mater Dei every month. Now with the coronavirus, the situation has got- ten worse." lcalleja@mediatoday.com.mt Persons who want to assist the MGRM by providing temporary accommodation during the pan- demic can fill out the form at https://bit.ly/2KylFwN Rainbow NGOs seek homes for persons in unsafe environments Today 100 best recipes Today 100 best recipes FOOD Saying it aS it iS SAVIOUR BALZAN Volume I In volume 1 of 'Saying it as it is', Saviour Balzan tells the story of his journey from being an active environmentalist, to becoming a teacher, a politician, a journalist and finally, the owner of a media house. In his uncouth and abrasive style, he speaks frankly about the thankless job of being an investigative reporter and what running a media house truly entails. But perhaps more interesting, however, are the anecdotes and inside stories also embedded in the narrative, which pick up on key happenings over the past few years. The book also has a semi-autobiographical streak, as Balzan reminisces over the incidents that ended up having an effect on his writings. He uncovers the political networks and the friends and foes of the politicians who dominated the Maltese political scene for the past 35 years. Zoning in on events which he believes left a lasting impact on readers, Balzan expands on the background behind important news stories. In 'Saying it as it is', what emerges most clearly is that scandals have no political boundaries. Saviour Balzan takes us through a brief journey of his journalistic work. He also underscores the influence of politics and politicians in Malta, and the challenges of independent journalism. MediaToday Co. Ltd. Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann. SGN 9016, Malta www.maltatoday.com.mt Saying it aS it iS Volume I SAVIOUR BALZAN SAVIOUR BALZAN was born in Birkirkara, Malta in 1963. He was a biology and environmental science teacher for eight years and a part-time journalist during that time. He was active in the environmental lobby and later co-founded the Green Party in 1989 but left politics altogether in 1997. He worked for the newspapers il-Fehma, Alternattiva, The People, and The Independent. He was appointed editor of MaltaToday in 1999 and today co-owns that same newspaper, as well as the independent media company MediaToday based in San Gwann. At MaltaToday he built a reputation for running the most daring, investigative and independent newsroom. He hosted the TV discussion programme Reporter for seven years on PBS until his programme was stopped in 2009. He now hosts the same daily discussion programme on Favourite Channel. He lives in Naxxar with his wife and two children. €30 ISBN 978-99957-0-427-8 20mm All round Bleed DRAGONFLIES AND DAMSELFLIES OF THE MALTESE ISLANDS DRAGONFLIES AND DAMSELFLIES OF THE MALTESE ISLANDS Charles Gauci Dragonflies are large, oen brightly coloured, insects which few people would not notice actively flying over water, whether it is while walking along water reservoirs in valleys or while visiting gardens where water features are present. However, these are only one stage in their life cycle aer having spent a much longer period living under water as larvae. Most species of dragonflies and damselflies are highly habitat specific in both their larval and adult stages. e Maltese Islands lack most types of riparian habitats and as a result the number of species found locally is very small. is is compensated for by the high concentration of these insects at most water bodies. is book describes each of the nineteen species recorded in the Maltese Islands and each species is amply illustrated by photographs which, for the commoner species, illustrate most or all the stages in their life cycle. It is hoped that besides being of help and interest to nature lovers, it will also raise a much needed awareness among the general public about biodiversity and nature conservation,. e author spent fourteen years teaching Integrated Science and Biology at secondary State schools before moving to the Għadira Nature Reserve where he was Managing Warden until his retirement twenty four years later. He has been interested in dragonflies for the last ten years. Having been an avid bird watcher since his early teens, he co-authored a number of ornithological books – Bird Studies on Filfla, L-Agħsafar, A Guide to the Birds of Malta, A New Guide to the Birds of Malta and e Breeding Birds of Malta. He also co-authored several ornithological papers and was the editor of BirdLife Malta's scientific journal 'il- Merill' from 1986 to 1994. Since his initial interest in dragonflies in 2008 he has been so fascinated by these wonderful insects to the extent that they now oen take precedence over birds. ISBN: 978-99957-894-0-4 CHURCHES IN MALTA maltatoday PART 1 TOWERS, FORTS & BATTERIES IN MALTA maltatoday MALTATODAY ©2017 in collaboration with the MTA TOWERS, FORTS & BATTERIES IN MALTA maltatoday CHURCHES PART 2 maltatoday MALTATODAY ©2019 in collaboration with the MTA IN GOZO maltatoday CHURCHES IN GOZO MaltaToday is 20 this year! 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