Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1464183
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 10 APRIL 2022 OPINION 3 LETTERS & EDITORIAL maltatoday | SUNDAY • 10 APRIL 2022 Mikiel Galea Letters & Clarifications Housing discrimination IN the context of media reports of dis- crimination in the access to housing, the National Commission for the Promo- tion of Equality (NCPE) highlights the importance of addressing racism and religious-based discrimination through actions at both the legal and social levels. The NCPE is aware that many resi- dents in Malta who are of minority race/ ethnic origin, or belong to minority re- ligions, experience discrimination when accessing goods and services particularly by being denied access when seeking to rent accommodation. According to Legal Notice 85 of 2007, this form of discrimination is categorically illegal. The NCPE has among its functions the power to investigate reports of discrim- ination and harassment in the sphere of goods and services, including in the ac- cess to housing. Harassment on the basis of race/ethnic origin may also amount to a criminal offence. Those who experience racism and religious-based discrimination in the access to housing are encouraged to report their case to the NCPE so that it can be investigated. We know that most cases of discrimination in the access to housing go unreported due to lack of awareness about one's rights, fear of reporting and a sense of helplessness. In this regard, the NCPE looks forward to the enactment of the Equality Bill since this would strengthen legal provisions against discrimination, including dis- crimination in the access to housing. The new equality framework would establish a Human Rights and Equality Commission (HREC) that, in such and other cases, can impose sanctions against those found guilty of discrimination, order remedial actions and award com- pensation to victims. However, the law alone, even if strengthened, can never be enough to address racism and religious-based discrimination in the access to housing since these discriminatory acts reflect broader attitudes of hostility and disre- spect towards certain social groups. To eradicate these harmful social attitudes there needs to be a concerted effort from the institutions, the media and the whole of society aimed at ensuring that every- one is valued equally and treated with respect, something that forms the very basis of a democratic society. Amanda Catania, NCPE No evidence of divine mercy DURING Pope Francis' visit to Malta, Malta's ambassador to the Vatican proclaimed in an article in a local newspaper that "The name of God is mercy". In another write-up, a Mal- tese priest described the pope as "a herald of God's joy, mercy and com- passion." "Divine" mercy and compassion were not evident for the 6,000,000 human beings who have lost their lives during the pandemic. Nor was there any evidence of such supposedly "divine" attributes during the flu pan- demic of 1918-19 - when an estimated 50 million people died – and during the Black Death of 1348-50, which killed an estimated one third of the population living between India and Iceland. God had no mercy or compassion on the thousands of migrants, includ- ing children, who have drowned at sea. The absence of "divine" mercy and compassion is most evident in the many cases of children who suffer a tragic death or die in a horrific man- ner. These cases included a five-month- old English baby which was snatched from its cot by two Rottweilers, dragged to the roof of the house, and there was mauled to death. Other incidents involved two Ca- nadian boys who were strangled by a python while they slept; an 18-month- old Russian toddler who fell and drowned in a sewer while out on a stroll with its mother; and an English girl who was savaged to death by a pack of dogs. There is no way that these horrific deaths can be reconciled with the belief in a benevolent God who looks after His children like a loving Fa- ther. God was not moved to render His divine assistance when He heard these children screaming as they suf- fered a fearful and agonizing death. Any human being in the vicinity of these screaming children would have rushed to their aid. Dostoevsky observed in The Broth- ers Karamazov, that no "inscrutable" divine plan can ever justify the suf- fering and death of children. "It's be- yond all comprehension why children should suffer." John Guillaumier St Julian's