Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1356256
15 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 28 MARCH 2021 NEWS tablished names helped them build up a strong following on- line and on food delivery plat- forms. "Sales picked up again in the run-up to Easter, as it did for Christmas and Carnival," Borg Bonaci said. "Thankfully, the Maltese love their sweets and most now look for quality." Weddings: no bliss, just blues For these catering companies, COVID-19's most devastating effect has been on the wedding industry, as prospective brides and grooms cancelled or post- poned their weddings. Friggieri told MaltaToday that Busy Bee had over 200 wed- dings cancelled or postponed in 2020 alone. And although the deposits paid could not be returned to clients, Friggieri said the company was doing its utmost to accommodate client wishes for alternate dates and redesigned menus. "We under- stand our clients' dilemma and the extra expenses they face because of the pandemic," he said. "Many of our clients are also understanding our limi- tations in currently not being able to guarantee anything for the foreseeable future." Elia Caterers face the same issues. Borg Bonaci said the company had over 130 wed- dings cancelled or postponed last year, with many couples postponing twice, some three or four times. "We will accommodate those clients that had to postpone their wedding because of COV- ID, but we are incurring heavy losses so these postponements will need to occupy dates that could have been booked by new clients. Companies like ours made losses over nearly every booking postponed, since we were left with a lot of stock in hand that could not be used," he said. "In fact, many times, we ended up giving it away." Borg Bonaci said mitigating measures had also introduced additional costs to weddings: with mandatory seating, cater- ers had to invest in additional tables, chairs, linen, flatware and tableware. And tables that could seat 10 guests could on- ly allow six guests to be seated – translating into additional costs for the couples too, who had to fork out an average of €20 per table and €7 per chair. "When seated, people tend to eat more and therefore couples had to pay for additional food for each guest," Borg Bonaci said. Couples had to absorb these additional costs, as well as new charges for postpon- ing transport, venue, florists, printers and wedding planners. "To somehow absorb these added costs, many of those couples who chose to go ahead with a sit-down wedding, end- ed up drastically reducing their guest list," Borg Bonaci said. In fact, from an average wed- ding of 400 to 500 guests, most weddings held in 2020 averaged between 80 and 120 guests. But even more worrying was the uncertainty as to the fu- ture, Borg Bonaci said. "If 2021 ends up being as bad as 2020 was, then we will find ourselves in a scary situation because we definitely will not be able to sustain the losses we did last year," he said. "This year was supposed to get better for us, with the possibility of extra bookings, when you factor in the postponements." Borg Bonaci said that the un- certainty was creating a lot of uneaseiness and that he was finding it difficult to explain to couples that he could offer them no guarantees on their special event. "I have had cou- ples crying in front of me, be- cause I cannot confirm that the wedding they want to book can be held without guests having to be seated," he said. "I do not know when the industry will be back to normal, so I cannot tell clients that things will be fine." "If 2021 ends up being as bad as 2020 was, then we will find ourselves in a scary situation because we definitely will not be able to sustain the losses we did last year" Pawlu Borg Bonaci Easter staple: the figolla, by Busy Bee Migrant charities and Church call on State to drop terror charges against teens THE Migrants Commission, JRS Malta and the Justice and Peace Commission have urged the authorities to drop the charges brought against three youths who are being prose- cuted for terrorism. Then aged 15, 16, and 19, the three youths were part of a group of over 100 men, wom- en and children who were res- cued by cargo ship El Hiblu 1 on 26 March 2019. The rescue was coor- dinated by an EU naval o p e r a t i o n that ordered the ship to take the res- cued per- sons back to Libya. This led migrants to protest their return to Libya and the ship was e v e n t u a l - ly allowed to dock in Malta – two years on 28 March 2019. But before arriving in Mal- ta, the Maltese Armed Forces stormed the ship. The three, who were teenagers at the time and had helped the ship cap- tain to as translators to calm the situation aboard, were ar- rested for allegedly hijacking the boat and forcing the cap- tain to take them to Malta. Upon landing in Malta, the three youths who had acted as translators for the crew were charged with terrorism and hijack of the vessel. Despite no one being harmed and the fact that there was no damage to the vessel, they were accused of very serious offences that could carry life sentences, just for opposing an unlawful re- turn to torture. If found guilty, these youths could face life imprisonment. "This takes their desperate actions out of the dramatic context within which they oc- curred. We believe that it is a travesty of justice to prosecute anyone who is resisting re- turn to a country where there is a real risk that they will be locked up in life-threatening conditions," the NGOs said. "In Libya, we know that they would have been imprisoned, denied access to medical care, and most likely have faced beatings, rape, extortion, and other serious human rights abuses. "In the words of Pope Fran- cis, 'you can't imagine the hell that one goes through there, in those detention camps.' We are all responsible if we stand by silently in the face of this injustice. "So, on the second anniver- sary of their arrival in Malta, we remind the govern- ment of the advice of the UN Com- m i s s i o n e r for Human Rights, to r e c o n s i d e r these dis- proportion- ate terror- ism charges. And we join our voices to the many civil society o r g a n i s a - tions who h a v e s p o k e n up in s u p p o r t of the three youths and urge the gov- ernment to drop the charges against them." Amnesty International's big- gest human rights campaign ever has also called on Malta to quash the charges. "These three boys fled Lib- ya. Now they find themselves in the dock just for oppos- ing the unlawful attempt of a ship captain to take them back there to face the violence and abuse they were trying to leave behind. International law prohibits the return of peo- ple to places where they their lives and safety would be at risk. Amnesty International is proud to be supporting their fight for justice and calls on the Maltese Attorney General to drop the baseless charges against them. No one should be punished for standing up for their lives and the lives of others," said Elisa De Pieri, Researcher at Amnesty Inter- national. Photo: Amnesty International