Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1435356
3 LETTERS & EDITORIAL maltatoday | SUNDAY • 5 DECEMBER 2021 Mikiel Galea Letters & Clarifications Disabled want to be listened to 3RD December is the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. Its annual observance was proclaimed in 1992 by the United Nations General Assembly. The day is about promoting the rights and well-being of persons with disability at every level of society and development and to raise awareness of the situation of persons with disa- bility in all aspects of their lives. This year's theme is 'Fighting for rights in the post-COVID era'. We are celebrating the challenges, barri- ers and opportunities for people with disability, in the context of a global pandemic. In Malta, as happened in other countries, persons with disabili- ty were seriously impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. During the pandemic, the problems which were being faced by persons with disability became more prominent while other new ones surfaced. For quite some time, persons with disability living in residential homes were denied meeting their families; students with disability were forced to have their lessons online (whether this was beneficial or not is another story); persons with disability at- tending the day centres had to stay at home; persons with disability lost their jobs; the essential services, such as therapies, for persons with disabil- ity stopped; persons with disability and their immediate family started showing symptoms of mental health with no support available; persons with disability were being asked to keep themselves isolated resulting in regression of their social life and others. Persons with disability want a bet- ter life than the one before the pan- demic. First and foremost they want their voice to be present at all times and on all that relates to them. They want to be listened to and not just heard. They want to be participants in dis- cussions and decisions on all issues which effect their whole life. Persons with disability want to, and should be, at the centre of every discussion and decision pertaining to their needs and lives by all authori- ties and at all levels. We want good quality education; professional Supported Employment; decent work opportunities; personal assistance for a dignified independ- ent life; a healthy accessible environ- ment free from any barriers; to exer- cise the right to vote in a confidential manner; true value for the money being spent on disability. The Malta Federation of Organ- isations Persons with Disability (MFOPD) is the national umbrella organisation for the disability sec- tor. It is the voice of, approximately, 35,000 persons with disability in the Maltese islands. It has 33 enrolled member organ- isations all working within the disa- bility sector. Marthese Mugliette President, MFOPD The Eucharist... IT is almost de rigueur for J. Guillaumer to have a dig at the Catholic Church's various beliefs from time to time. But he does it with an uncanny knack of "complicate la vita" as the Italians say, by quoting Voltaire, the man vanquished by the Nazarene in the end. Without delving into theological and doctrinal tenets, it is very simple: the Eucharist is composed of a material and Spiritual ele- ment, just like a human being, possessing a body (material) and soul (invisible but intrinsic). The bread is the material and Jesus Christ is the invisible Presence for those who believe. Wine has been provided by nature since the creation. Rain drops water the vine and the tree produces grapes which are processed into wine. Only in the Eucharist, God makes it flashingly faster. Wine is transubstantiated into His blood instantaneously. Blessed be God, our Be- loved. Always mysterious and awesome. John Azzopardi Zabbar