Rice on your doorstep - It's EU Aid

A friend of ours Mr Paul Barnes also from Gharb wrote an interesting letter on The Times called: "Gozo Bishop's festa appeal ignored".

As far as a know Mr Barnes is the first Maltese/Gozitan resident who commented in the local media about the FACT that people here qualify for EU food aid.

He rightly so commented that we have all received our donation of rice, pasta and biscuits marked "EU Aid, Not For Resale"

During the past months, I also found 3-5 1kg packets of rice on my door step.
At first I thought that somebody wanted to play a joke. Reading the pack then I read the following on each pack:
"EC Aid"
"Product not for sale"
"Reg (EC) 3149/92"
"Rice"

Then after some months I found again some more packets of this EU Aid product on my door step!

Look at the photos I took of one of these packets, and start believing.


People like Joe Tabone-Adami, is trying to ridicule Mr Barnes. Joe Tabone-Adami who says that he follows 'closely' Malta's relations with the EU" commented thus:

"Joe Tabone-Adami (8 hours, 4 minutes ago)

I am in the habit of following closely Malta's relations with the other EU members. I am afraid I have been missing all these years those dealing with Malta's qualification for food aid "along with Zimbabwe and Darfur". It is news to me that any of our countrymen (or guests, for that matter) have been receiving donations of rice, pasta and biscuits marked 'EU aid not for resale' in the past few days - or at any time since our renewed EU membership application back in 1998. It would appear that Mr Barnes is mistaken about this, too. Incidentally, where was Mr Barnes during World War II?"

Unfortunately Joe Tabone-Adami does not follow things closely enough!

I can confirm that yes, here in Gharb Gozo, people find EU aid food on their doorstep!

And therefore, unlike Joe Tabone-Adami, I agree with our Gozo resident and friend Mr Barnes that:

"Malta, along with Zimbabwe and Darfur, currently qualify for EU food aid (we have all received our donation of rice, pasta and biscuits marked "EU Aid, Not For Resale" in the past few days). Can we really afford to send so much money up in smoke?" - referring aerial bombardment of BOMBI during all the summer season.