Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1337056
6 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 7 FEBRUARY 2021 OPINION LAST month, a young woman who was unknown to the gener- al public found herself becom- ing an internet sensation when someone stumbled upon her YouTube videos. Simply entitled Doris & Joel's Kitchen, the YouTube channel could not have been more basic. Filmed, as the name indicates, in the couple's kitchen, Doris demonstrated her recipes and Joel (presumably) was the cam- eraman. So far, so what? There are probably tens of thousands of such home-made videos all over the Internet. What caught the public's at- tention, however, was Doris's, shall we say, 'creative' food com- binations which would definite- ly disagree with you if you suffer from a delicate palate. A strange assortment of frozen vegeta- bles, eggs, yoghurt and anything else which came to hand were chucked in together, sometimes in an air fryer, as Doris patiently and sweetly explained the in- structions. However, what really caught my eye was not so much what Doris was saying or doing, but the public's reaction to her vid- eos. As they moved from being shared on a private WhatApp groups and migrated on to Face- book, the comments about the videos took the inevitable ugly turn. People no longer restricted themselves to mocking her reci- pes, but it became a vulture-fest to see who could tear this poor woman apart the most. Everything, from her mod- est kitchen and utensils, to her leopard-skin bathrobe and of course, her heavily accent- ed English, became fair game to those who always seem to be lurking in the background, sharpening their knives so that they can readily skewer their next hapless victim. This being Malta, politics and social class also had to come into it, and of course, she was then also sneered at for being a Labour supporter from a working-class background. This dark side of social me- dia, which brings out the worst in people, has always bothered me, but when news portals en- courage this behaviour because it is easy clickbait, it is made a million times worse. The easy, casual cruelty of some online remarks, which try to pass themselves off as being witty, always takes my breath away (not to mention the twisted iro- ny that some of these same peo- ple have always been the first to protest at being the victims of similar hate speech). Thankful- ly, the comments also included many who chastised Lovin Mal- ta for carrying this 'story' in a way which instigated even more unkindness and ridicule against this woman. But it was Doris herself who taught all of us a lesson on how to handle haters gracefully and with dignity. Following several weeks of intense media scruti- ny, she posted a short video and explained that she was upload- ing her easy to make recipes for those who might feel lonely during the pandemic. Without missing a beat and with her trademark charming smile, she added, "I can understand that there may be people who dislike my videos and to those I say, please, do not see my videos and see other videos that you like." Not one word was uttered in retribution against her crit- ics, nor did she attempt to hit back in the same nasty way she was addressed by com- plete strangers. I watched it al- most speechless, in awe of the classy way she handled it. She showed everyone that she has the strength of character and self-confidence to rise above those who seemed hell-bent on destroying her simply because she dared to do her own thing. After all, she was not hurting anyone with her videos, and as she quite rightly pointed it out, if you don't like them, don't watch. To be honest, it really would not hurt any of us to look at life in such a positive, uplifting way. Maybe we should all try to be more like Doris. The cost of living this life of ours On Friday, Caritas issued the findings of its report for 2020, 'A minimum essential budget for a decent living'. The re- search study is based on three low-income household catego- ries, and the minimum amount per year was calculated on eight categories: food, clothing, per- sonal care, health, household goods and maintenance, educa- tion and leisure, transport and housing. These amounts came to at least: • €13,946 for two adults and two school age children • €11,038 for single parent with two school age chil- dren • €8,157 for an elderly cou- ple (65+) The reactions to the re- port were mostly of disbelief, with many protesting that the amounts were not realistic and that they verged on poverty rather than a living wage. How- ever, it must also be pointed out that, not for the first time, many threw in a comment based on just a headline. On further reading of the report, it is clear- ly stated that other expenses such as the costs of having a car, eating out regularly and paying rent would shoot up the above figures to 25k, 22k and 18k re- spectively. Having said that, it is also true that the cost of living in Malta, when compared to the average income (and compared to oth- er countries), is exorbitantly high. If one wants to eat well, by which I mean buying fresh fruit and vegetables on a reg- ular basis, as well as meat and fish, one's grocery bill can easily skyrocket. It is no wonder that the cheaper, but less healthy options such as pastizzi and fast food can be found at very cor- ner, whereas if you are trying to maintain better eating habits when you are dining out, you can easily end up spending €12 for just a salad. What saves many families from being destitute is our ro- bust social welfare system – so- cial housing, free healthcare, free education, free childcare, free school transport and a host of other benefits which many on the minimum wage qualify for. But it is also true that for many people (especially pensioners), eating out is an unheard-of luxury and they have to count their pennies to make sure they last until the end of the month. They are frugal with their use of water and electricity and noth- ing in the household goes to waste. They don't buy the lat- est fashions every season and they certainly don't give away bagfuls of hardly worn, or even new, clothes every year. I often see Malta as an island of extreme contrasts where some think nothing of buying the latest expensive iPhone or PlayStation "because they must have it", and nonchalantly ditch the previous model without a second thought, while others gasp in downright shock when told of the price tag. There are those whose designer homes, wardrobes and storage spac- es are bulging with items they don't even know they have, while some discreetly try to obtain second-hand items from recycling pages or chari- ty shops. It is an unjust state of affairs because there is no fair distribution of wealth. However, if we had to be com- pletely honest with our own spending, there are many things which we could cut out, ruth- lessly, if our backs were against the wall and we absolutely had to do it. There are people who have lost their jobs over the past year, or who have had their paycheques drastically reduced, who have had to do just that. It is at that point that you will be forced to focus on the bare necessities such as food and shelter, and it is perhaps at that point that one wakes up to the realisation that, for some peo- ple, this way of life is all they have ever known. For this reason, rather than just looking at the headline, everyone should read the rec- ommendations made by Caritas in their report, where they give concrete solutions on how to improve the situation for those at risk of poverty. Just to men- tion one idea, they suggest re- ducing food waste from super- markets by donating food with a close expiry date to food banks or other NGOs who are in touch with vulnerable low-income in- dividuals or households. Rather than merely telling us what we already know, I believe they have come up with practi- cal ideas which make sense all round. It would not hurt us to be more like Doris Josanne Cassar Everything, from her modest kitchen and utensils, to her leopard-skin bathrobe and of course, her heavily accented English, became fair game to those who always seem to be lurking in the background, sharpening their knives so that they can readily skewer their next hapless victim