Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/578494
2 maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 23 SEPTEMBER 2015 News Youths urge government to grant work to unemployed refugees National Youth Parliament calls on government to grant refugees' children same educational rights as Maltese citizens, urges school clampdown on xenophobia TIM DIACONO THE government should provide work to asylum seekers as soon as they pass a medical test, with their salaries coming from either the Treasury or EU Funds, youth in the National Youth Parliament have proposed. They also called on the govern- ment and the Chief Justice to introduce harsh fines for people who employ immigrants off the books and to set up examina- tions to ascertain whether the asylum seekers are professionals with valid certificates. Neverthe- less, those should still be made to spend a period of time studying in Malta, so as to integrate and learn about the Maltese system. Several proposals centred on education, with one propos- ing that refugees' children be granted the same rights to free education as Maltese citizens and another that the government provide them with teachers so as to learn new skills that would help them integrate. They also suggested that the government launch a school campaign about asylum seekers and their voy- ages, as well as about the legal differences between the terms 'refugee' and 'illegal immigrant', and that schools clamp down on xenophobia and racism. Earlier, MPs from both sides of the House appealed to the Mal- tese public to look at Europe's ongoing refugee crisis from a hu- manitarian aspect, with Labour MP Silvio Parnis describing the situation as a "challenge that we must welcome". Quoting an Illum survey, he said that 75% of people are against the arrival of further ref- ugees on Malta's shores. "This is an issue that Parlia- ment must take very seriously, and one that both sides of the House must take a common stance on," he said. Nationalist MP Francis Zam- mit Dimech went a step further, calling for the debate to be about welcoming an opportunity, rath- er than tackling a problem. "There is unity in diversity, when people of different nation- alities, races, ideas and religions come together," he said. "We must never forget the human di- mension of the refugee crisis. We always tend to talk about them in numerical terms as though we were speaking about a stock ex- change, but they are human be- ings too at the end of the day." 'Give us four-day school week… to combat traffic' PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHRIS MANGION YOUTHS at the annual National Youth Parliament have come up with a novel strategy to ease Malta's notorious traffic problem – having schools open only four days a week. According to the proposal – one of 102 transport-related proposals drawn up by 17 youths aged be- tween 13 and 18 years old – schools should be divided into five groups, each of which will shut its doors on the five weekdays, the day of which will be decided on an annually ro- tating basis. However, the team – spearheaded by Therese Lia – said that they have no intention of reducing school hours, ostensibly meaning that schooldays will be extended. With regards means of reduc- ing traffic, the youths vehemently rejected schemes aimed at loading the financial burden on private car ownership, arguing that this would lead to social injustice – with people living on the poverty line unable to purchase a vehicle. Instead, they urged the govern- ment to incentivise alternative means of transport – such as by reducing the cost for motorcycle licenses, setting up bicycle lanes across the island, and propping fer- ry stages close to bus stops. Eventually, they also envisage a light railway system, based on the London Docklands Light Railway. They also suggested that all schools and tertiary education in- stitutions leave ample parking room for bicycles, pedelecs and motorcy- cles at their doors, that local coun- cils dish out harsh fines for people found double parking, and that more controlled vehicular access schemes be introduced. Attributing Malta's continuous traffic increase to an inefficient public transport system, the youths called for further investment in the bus system – included Wi-fi access on board, travel information on eve- ry bus stop and enhanced security. They also said that the buses' tracking devices should be made accessible to the public, so that they will be able to track the bus that they are waiting for. They also suggested that more direct bus routes to university and sixth forms be set up and that bus drivers be trained in people skills. Moreover, bus routes with stops in close proximity of each other should be shortened. They also called for a national mini-bus scheme, whose vehicles will pick up people from bus stops brimming with people. Shadow transport minister Mar- these Portelli said that Malta should seek means of incentivising more people to use taxis and minibuses, both as a means of generating jobs within the industry and of reducing traffic congestion. She also also suggested the setting up of minibus terminus within lo- calities across Malta. "Traffic isn't a new phenomenon but it has continued to increase in recent years, and is now at satura- tion point," she said. "The time is ripe to start thinking outside the box." She also suggested that roadworks be coordinated more adequately, that businesses receive incentives for carpooling schemes, and that the collection of waste doesn't coin- cide with peak traffic hours. Moreo- ver, she argued that a lot of Maltese workplaces are far too consolidated in certain urban areas such as Val- letta, Sliema, and Fgura – leading to heavy rush hour traffic congestion in certain areas. Despite a change in the service provider, she warned that public transport is still not up to scratch – with people still concerned about bus punctuality and packed buses, two problems that discourage them from using public transport. However, she sounded a pessi- mistic tone over proposals to create bicycle lanes, questioning whether Malta's road infrastructure will per- mit them and whether many people will actually make use of them. Highlighting the economic cost of traffic, she claimed that half an hour a day in traffic for people earning €5 an hour is equivalent to them losing €900 a year through a waste of pro- ductivity time. She also argued that a high volume of cars places a strain on the roads, leading to a necessity to strengthen the tarmac. "The effect of any proposals put forward for alternative means of transport should not be seen or con- sidered in isolation," she said. "Pro- posals and their impact have to be studied well holistically, taking into consideration the economic, social, health and environmental aspects. We must move from sporadic pro- posals to a holistic plan." Youths claim embryo freezing is 'state- sanctioned eugenics' A proposed new law that would allow embryo freezing will lead to "state-sanctioned eugenics", a youth group forming a 'party' at the National Youth Parlia- ment said. A proposed law will increase the number of ova that can be fertilized, from two to five eggs, and a maximum of two embryos will be able to be im- planted in the mother at one go. If out of these eggs, more than two embryos are produced, the remainder will be frozen to be re-used by the couple for an- other cycle. Unused embryos will be offered for adoption. However, in front of a Parlia- ment that was eventually filled by Cabinet members heading down following a meeting, the youth group warned that this could lead to "state sanc- tioned eugenics", with doctors implanting the two healthiest- looking embryos in the moth- ers' wombs and freezing the remaining ones. "Eugenically handpicking embryos is illegal, as well as damaging to human dignity," the group warned in their re- port, warning that the unused embryos will be locked into a freezer indefinitely "as a com- modity of their parents". "Moreover, 30% of frozen ba- bies [sic] die during the thaw- ing process, while others suf- fer serious damages and are allowed to die," it said. Fleur Abela from the Law Students' Association chal- lenged this claim and insisted that embryo freezing is all about giving people the right to have a family. She was sup- ported by health parliamen- tary secretary Chris Fearne, who delivered an off-the-cuff speech, arguing that the pro- posed IVF update is all about using cutting-edge technology to help as many people as pos- sible create life. However, this was rebutted by Sara Portelli, who argued that several alternatives exist – including Natural Procreative Technology, Gamete Interfal- lopian Transfer, and adoption. The group also opposed any introduction of surrogacy and sperm donation, arguing that such practices deny children the right to develop a relation- ship with their natural parents. From a feminist standpoint, they also argued that surro- gacy reduces a woman's womb to an object for rent and that its allowance can lead to peo- ple exploiting other people's wombs for financial purposes. Moreover, they proposed a Constitutional update to grant people the right to life from the moment of conception, point- ing at legal 'loopholes' that grant a maximum life prison sentence for people found guilty of murdering a newborn baby, but only three years' im- prisonment if said baby is still in the mother's womb. YOUR FIRST CLICK OF THE DAY www.maltatoday.com.mt Union ultimatum for bus company THE General Workers' Union has given Malta Public Transport a 48-hour ultimatum to meet its demands over new work hours for bus drivers. If it fails to do so, the GWU warned that it is ready to order the "necessary directives in its members' interests". The union's demands include a salary increase for all MPT em- ployees, a guaranteed 30-minute break for every six hours of work, and a fixed day of leave every week. They also insist that bus drivers should be granted al- ternating weekly morning and evening shifts, and that all driv- ers must be allowed the week- end off at least once every seven weeks. "After weeks of discus- sion, we were expecting the com- pany to accept our requests that are ultimately in favour of its own drivers' standard of living," the GWU said. "If they don't accept these requests within the next 48 hours, we will order any direc- tives that we feel necessary to de- fend the MPT's workers' rights."