Is the NBN coming or what? -- L-NBN ġejja jew?

 

Those living in Australia are certainly aware of the ambitious project by NBN Co., which is intended to provide modern fixed land based telecommunication services, capable of carrying the services of tomorrow.

 

This was a project started by the Labour government under Kevin Rudd.  It was innovative for many reasons, amongst them the decision that by the end of the project, all addresses would have a minimal service that would be much better than that available today, preferably over thin glass fibres, and if not through land based radio or satellite.

 

Passing a telecommunications network throughout a country is very hard.  Even today, after decades, conventional companies carrying the plain old phone service don't reach all addresses in the country.  This is true in Australia, which is an island-continent, and was also the case when I was working with TeleMalta in the land of our forefathers, which is only a few small islands.

 

This is no less difficult with fibre, however with the strategic decision to use radio-based technologies, and more recently with the Multi Technology Mix (see below), should lead to the service being delivered in less time, and although the service will be quicker than that possible today with copper pairs and ADSL, it will remain having less potential than fibre.

 

Those with technical knowledge of telecommunications knows that fibre is the technology of the future.  Copper has served us, and served us well, however today we need something better, even if copper has a bit more life in the transition.  The driver for this is doubtlessly coming from the internet, multimedia applications and others that are yet to be invented.

 

In Australia, insiders of the industry spent a few anxious years, while the Liberal/National coalition, then in opposition, from 2010 began threatening to dismantle everything and start anew.  After many months, the position changed when Malcolm Turnbull who covered telecommunications for the Opposition, while shouting about waste of money of the project, managed to turn this around to keeping the project with some modifications.

 

The main decision was that about a quarter of the fibre network still be terminated in homes and businesses (FTTP - Fibre To The Premises), with the rest of the network use copper that is used today for telephony with the installation of road cabinets (FTTN - Fibre To The Node) and on that used for cable TV (HFC - Hybrid Fibre Coax).  These technologies are collectively called MTN - Multi Technology Mix.  The plan to use land-based radio and satellite was retained.

 

This change became government policy, after the Coalition assumed office in 2013.  I was lucky that where I live in Blacktown be part of the technology of the future, although frustrated that after the fibre was passed in early 2015, today almost a year later work is not yet complete and I can't use the serviceI've been waiting for for a long time.

 

Nevertheless, compared to the rest of Australia, I should consider myself lucky, as the work in the rest of the country is only expected to be completed in 2010.1

 

I won't be drawn into the major political controversies of this, which are whether the MTN will result in

1. (a)the project be considered completed in 2020 according to the current plans, or whether there will need to be another project to replace the remaining copper with fibre as originally planned,  

2. (b)the total expenditure be less than was originally planned, or be about the same or even greater,  

3. (c)if the MTN will result in the project being completed before when originally planned - a question that can never be answered definitively. 

 

This is not because I don't have an opinion on the matter, as I fully believe the future lies with fibre, with copper can only be considered a transitional technology.

 

Nevertheless, at the end of the day, the country has embarked upon the necessary road in the evolution of telecommunications.  For many years, one could compare this industry to a cash cow.  A strong investment in the future, missing for so many years, is really necessary.

 

When the primary construction is over, the details and controversies will be forgotten, as people and businesses will be able to use the services of tomorrow, many of them not invented yet, without the problems and limitations of today.

 

Australia is not the first country to take this step, to begin walking the road of renewal in the telecommunications sector.  Today many countries have made big steps in this direction.  Even in Malta, this development is being driven by private companies, with Go starting to build a FTTH network in 2012 and aiming to cover the country by 2020, Melita operating an HFC network and Vocafone offering fibre services to companies.

 

The difference, and difficulty in Australia is the sheer geographical scale of the project, due to the huge distances and the relatively small population.  I auger that the work proceeds as and when planned.

 

Is the NBN coming or what?

 

-------------------------------

 

 

Min jgħix ġo l-Awstralja ċertament jaf bil-proġett ambizzjuż tal-kumpannija NBN Co., li huwa ntenzjonat li jwassal servizz modern tat-telekomunikazzjoni fuq l-art, li jiflaħ għas-servizzi ta' għada.

 

Dan kien proġett mibdi mill-gvern Laburista fi żmien Kevin Rudd.  Kien innovattiv għal diversi raġunijiet, fosthom id-deċiżjoni li jiddeċiedi li mal-aħħar tal-proġett, kull indirizz ikollu servizz minimu li jkun ferm aħjar minn dak li hu possibbli llum, preferibbilment fuq fibri rqaq tal-ħġieġ, u jekk le permezz ta' trasmissjoni bir-radju fuq l-art jew minn satellita.

 

Li tgħaddi netwerk tat-telekomunikazzjoni mal-pajjiż kollu huwa diffiċli ferm.  Anke llum, wara għexieren ta' snin, kumpanniji tat-telefonija konvenzjonali ma jirnexxilhomx jilħqu lill-indirizzi kollha fil-pajjiż.  Dan huwa veru fl-Awstralja li huwa pajjiż-kontinent, u niftakar li kien ukoll il-każ meta kont naħdem mat-TeleMalta f'art missirijietna li hija biss ftit gżejjer żgħar.

 

Dan mhux inqas diffiċli bil-fibri, però bl-għażla strateġika li jintużaw teknoloġiji tar-radju, u iktar riċenti bil-Multi Technology Mix (ara iktar l-isfel), għandu jwassal biex is-servizz jasal fejn għandu jasal f'inqas żmien, anke jekk is-servizz, li jkun aħjar milli possibbli llum bil-pari tar-ram u l-ADSL, għandu xorta inqas potenzjal mill-fibra.

Min huwa tekniku tat-telekomunikazzjoni jaf li l-fibra hija l-medju tal-futur.  Ir-ram qdiena, u qdiena sew, imma llum hemm bżonn ta' xi ħaġa aħjar, għalkemm ir-ramm se jkompli ftit ieħor fit-transizzjoni.  L-għaġġla għal dan bla dubju ġejja mill-internet u l-applikazzjonijiet tal-multimedja u oħrajn li għad iridu jinħalqu.

 

Fl-Awstralja, min kien midħla tal-industrija għamel xi snin fuq ix-xwiek, waqt li l-koalizzjoni  Liberali/Nazzjonali,  dakinhar fl-opposizzjoni, mill-2010 beda jhedded li jħott kollox u jibni xi ħaġa kompletament differenti.  Wara ħafna xhur, il-posizzjoni nbidlet meta Malcolm Turnbull li kien ikopri t-telekomunikazzjoni għall-Opposizzjoni, waqt li għajjat bil-ħela ta' flus tal-proġett, irnexxielu jbenġilha li fil fatt jinżamm il-proġett b'xi modifikazzjonijiet.

 

Id-deċiżjoni prinċipali kienet li kwart tal-fibrijibqgħu jiġu tterminati fid-djar u l-impriżi (FTTP - Fibre To The Premises), bil-bqija tan-netwerk lejn id-djar u l-impriżi juża r-ramm li jintuża llum għat-telefonija bl-istallazzjoni ta' kabinets ġodda fit-toroq (FTTN - Fibre To The Node) u fuq ir-ramm li jintuża għat-televiżjoni fuq il-kabil (HFC - Hybrid Fibre Coax).   Dawn it-teknoloġiji jissejħu kollettivament taħlita ta' teknoloġiji multipli (MTM - Multi Technology Mix). Il-pjan li jintuża r-radju fuq l-art u bis-satellita ma ntmessux.

 

Din il-bidla saret il-politika tal-gvern, wara li l-Koalizzjoni ħadet il-poter fil-2013.  Jien kelli x-xorti  li fejn noqgħod f'Blacktown ikun parti mit-teknoloġija tal-futur tal-FTTP, għalkemm iffrustrat li wara l-fibra tgħaddiet fil-bidu tal-2015, illum kważi sena wara x-xogħol għadu ma tlestiex u s'issa ma nistax nuża s-servizz il-ġdid, li ilni nistenna għal żmien twil.

 

Madankollu, ħdejn il-biċċa l-kbira tal-Awstralja, nista' ngħid li xxurtjat, għax ix-xogħol fil-pajjiż kollu mistenni li jitlesta fil-2020.1

 

Jien m'iniex se nidħol fil-kontroversji politiċi kbar f'dan il-qasam, li huma jekk l-MTM se jwassal biex

(a) il-proġett ikun ikkunsidrat mitmum  fl-2020 skont il-pjanijiet preżenti  jew jekk fil-fatt wara jkun hemm bżonn proġett ieħor li jistalla l-fibra minflok ir-ramm kif kien originarjament propost,

(b) l-infiq totali jkun inqas milli kif kien ippjanat oriġinarjament, jew bejn wieħed u ieħor ikun l-istess jew anke iktar,

(ċ) jekk l-MTN hux se jwassal biex il-proġett jitlesta qabel ma kien maħsub oriġinarjament - li hija mistoqsija li qatt ma tista' tiġi risposta definittivament.  

 

Dan mhux għax m'għandix opinjoni fuq il-qasam, għax nemmen fis-sħiħ li l-futur jinsab fil-fibra kull fejn huwa possibbli, u r-ramm illum jista' biss jitqies bħala teknoloġija ta' transizzjoni.

 

Madankollu, għalija fl-aħħar mill-aħħar, il-pajjiż qabad it-triq bżonnjuża tal-evoluzzjoni fil-telekomunikazzjoni.  Għal ħafna snin, wieħed jista' jqabbel lil din l-industrija ma' baqra li tinħaleb (cash cow).  Investiment għall-futur, wieħed qawwi, huwa bżonnjuż, għax għal wisq żmien dan kien nieqes.  

 

Meta x-xogħol tal-bini prinċipali jispiċċa, d-dettalji u l-kontroversji jintesew, għax in-nies u l-impriżi jkunu jistgħu jużaw is-servizzi ta' għada, li ħafna minnhom lanqas biss ma ġew ivvintati, mingħajr il-ħafna problemi u limitazzjonijiet li jeżistu llum.

 

L-Awstralja mhix l-ewwel pajjiż li ħadet dan il-pass, li tibda' miexja fit-triq tat-tiġdid tal-qasam tat-telekomunikazzjoni.  Illum hemm ħafna pajjiżi li għamlu passi kbar f'din id-direzzjoni.  Anke f'Malta, dan l-iżvilupp qed iseħħ minn kumpanniji privati, bil-Go tibda' tibni netwerk tal-FTTH (Fibre To The Home) fil-2012 u beħsiebha tkopri l-pajjiż kollu sal-2020, il-Melita topera netwerk tal-HFC u l-Vodafone joffru servizzi fuq il-fibri lil impriżi.

 

Li hemm differenti u fl-istess ħin id-diffikultà fl-Awstralja hija l-iskala ġijografika kbira tal-proġett, minħabba d-distanzi twal u l-popolazzjoni relattivament żgħira.  J'alla x-xogħol isir kif u meta ppjanat.

 

Dak l-NBN ġej jew?

 

1NBN Corporate Plan 2016, Table 2

1NBN Corporate Plan 2016, Table 2

Standards for whose service? -- Standards għas-servizz ta' min?

 

Coming to Australia, I was sure to find some obvious differences, like longer distances, a varied geography, different ethnicities etc., and that these would be balanced by many familiar items, like driving on the left (remnants of British rule) and the ability to utilise domestic machinery brought over from Malta (as the voltage and its frequency is the same as that in Europe, and not that found in the US and other countries).

 

Even here though, I found what were (for me) curiosities.  For example, in NSW, a U-turn, i.e. crossing over to the other side of the road and driving back, can be done at traffic lights only if marked as allowed, and in other crossroads anywhere else except where marked as prohibited.  However when I went to Queensland, I found that a U-turn in any traffic lights is not allowed except where marked otherwise.

 

To my way of thinking, wouldn't this cause confusion amongst drivers?  Especially in the case of towns divided by a state's border, like Coolangatta (Queensland) and Tweed Heads (NSW), which have roads one side in one state and the other side in the other, you could go to work and freely make a U-turn, and coming back be pulled over by police for doing the same thing.

 

Another strange thing I noticed straight away, as soon as I went into the first bathroom, was the presence of a standard electrical power socket, almost touching the sink.  As an engineer educated in Malta, I had got used to the rule that this was considered a health danger due to the risk of electric shock, and if one decides to install one in a new house, you can be sure that the house would not pass its post-build inspection.

 

Surely this house wouldn't have passed in Malta, I said to myself.  How did it pass here?

 

My amazement grew as I found almost all bathrooms I went into here have a power point.  Finally I  found that building standards here allow this with some conditions.

 

Isn't it a health danger to have an electric power socket in the bathroom?  Perhaps Australians have another lining on their skin and don't get an electric shock.  Or perhaps those making standards are not qualified?  Or don't care?  Or perhaps after all the risk isn't that great?

 

On a similar note, I remember in Malta the insistence on bathrooms having a window leading directly to the outside.  Again, if a bathroom didn't have this, it would fail the inspection.  Over here, having an extractor fan in the roof pulling air outside of the bathroom is sufficient.

 

These changes aren't just cosmetic, and reduce one's faith in the need for some regulations, or the process leading to their establishment, at least to my eyes.  It would be some much better having a bit more consistency in this respect.

 

There's one other thing that annoys me.  In Malta, we build with double layers of Maltese limestone at the front and 'double' brick at the back of a house, that is wherever is exposed to the elements.  This helps to keep the temperature inside of house as low as possible in summer, and as high as possible in winter.  This is possible as the external layer shields the temperature extremes (blazing sun in summer and the winter cold), while the inter layer has a high thermal mass that keeps the internal temperature rather stable, and these layers are separated by air.

 

In Australia, a popular type of construction is called brick veneer, where the outer shell of the house is made of brick to withstand the extremes in temperature and weather, however the inside shell is very thin, usually made of plasterboard, a thin sheet of maybe a centimetre, made of compressed gypsum.  This sheet has hardly any thermal mass, and so when the external brick shell is heated by the sun, the house is guaranteed to become and stay hot even during the night, as the thermal mass is on the outside!  On the other hand, when the external bricks are freezing cold, the house freezes also.  Three cheers for air conditioning, and shareholders of energy providers!

 

It's true that nowadays, to compensate somewhat, with this kind of construction, an insulating layer has started to be added between the bricks and plasterboard, however many houses have been built as I described before.

 

My question is, to whose benefit have these standards been made?

 

I wish I could understand!

 

---------------------------------

 

Meta ġejt l-Awstralja, kont persważ li għalkemm se nsib differenzi ovvji, bħad-distanzi ħafna ikbar, varjeta'  fil-ġijografija, etniċitajiet differenti eċċ eċċ, biex nibbilanċja kont se nsib ħafna affarijiet familjari, bħas-sewqan fuq ix-xellug (wirt tal-ħakma Brittannika) u l-abbilta' li nħaddem makkinarju domestiku li ġibt miegħi minn Malta (minħabba li l-vultaġġ u l-frekwenza tal-elettriku huwa l-istess bħal dak tal-Ewropa, u mhux bħal dak tal-Istati Uniti u pajjiżi oħra).

 

Imma anke hawn, skoprejt xi (dawk li għalija kienu) stramberiji.  Nagħtu każ, f'NSW, U-turn, jiġifieri li taqsam minn naħa waħda tat-triq għan-naħa l-oħra u ssuq lura, tista' ssir mad-dwal f'salib it-toroq biss jekk hu mmarkat li hu permess, u fi qsim it-toroq oħra f'kull post ieħor ħlief fejn immarkat li mhux permess.  Però meta mort Queensland, skoprejt li U-turn fi qsim it-toroq ma jista' jsir imkien ħlief fejn hu mmarkat li jista' jsir.

 

Allura ngħid jien, dan mhux konfużjoni jista' joħloq fis-sewwieqa?  Speċjalment f'irħula li huma maqsumin mill-fruntiera, bħal Coolangatta (f'Queensland) u Tweed Heads (f'NSW), fejn hemm toroq naħa minnhom fi stat u n-naħa l-oħra f'stat ieħor, jekk tkun sejjer għax-xogħol u tagħmel U-turn tista' tagħmel dan bil-liberta' kollha, u jekk tkun ġej lura jista' jwaqqfek pulizija għax tagħmel l-istess ħaġa.

 

Stramberija oħra ndunajt biha kważi mallewwel, malli dħalt fl-ewwel kamra tal-banju, kienet il-preżenza ta' plakka tad-dawl, kważi tmiss mas-sink.  Bħala inġinier li kellu l-edukazzjoni tiegħu f'Malta, kont drajt ir-regola li xi ħaġa bħal dik hija periklu kbira għas-saħħa minħabba r-riskju ta' xokk elettriku, u jekk ifettillek tagħmel waħda f'dar ġdida, tista' tkun żgur li d-dar ma tgħaddix mill-ispezzjoni ta' wara l-bini.

 

Sewwa, għedt bejni u bejn ruħi, din id-dar ma kinetx tgħaddi f'Malta!  Din kif għaddiet hawn?

 

L-iskantament tiegħi iktar kiber meta skoprejt li kważi kull kamra tal-banju li dħalt fih hawnhekk għandha plakka tad-dawl.  Fl-aħħar skoprejt li l-istandard tal-bini hawnhekk jippermettiha din il-ħaġa b'xi kundizzjonijiet.

 

Mela mhix periklu kbir għas-saħħa li jkollok plakka tad-dawl fil-kamra tal-banju?  Jew forsi l-Awstraljani għandhom ġilda nfurrata u ma jeħdux xokkijiet?  Jew forsi min jagħmel l-istandards hawn ma jifhimx?  Jew ma jimpurtahomx?  Jew forsi wara kollox ir-riskju mhux daqshekk kbir?

 

Xi ħaġa simili, f'Malta niftakarhom jinsistu li l-kmamar tal-banju jrid ikollhom tieqa li tagħti għal barra.  L-istess, jekk il-kamra tal-banju din ma jkollhiex, id-dar ma tgħaddix mill-ispezzjoni.  Hawnhekk, jekk ikollok fann fis-saqaf jiġbed l-arja 'l barra mill-kamra tal-banju biżżejjed.

 

Dawn id-differenzi mhumiex biss kożmetiċi, u jistgħu jnaqqsu l-fiduċja ta' dak li jkun dwar il-bżonn ta' ċertu regolamenti, jew tal-proċess li wassal għalihom, talinqas f'għajnejja.  Ikun ħafna aħjar jekk ikun hemm iktar konsistenza f'dan il-qasam.

 

Hemm xi ħaġa oħra li tkiddni ħafna.  F'Malta, nibnu bid-dobblu tal-ġebla Maltija fuq quddiem u dobblu tal-konkrit fuq in-naħa ta' wara tad-dar, jiġifieri fejn hu espost għall-elementi.  Dan jgħin sabiex ġewwa d-dar tinżamm temperatura kemm jista' jkun baxxa fis-sajt, u għolja fix-xitwa.  Dan possibbli għax il-qoxra ta' barra tilqa' l-estremi tat-temperatura (ix-xemx tiżreġ fis-sajf, u l-kesħa tax-xitwa), filwaqt li l-qoxra ta' ġewwa għandha massa termali kbira li żżomm it-temperatura ta' ġewwa pjuttost stabbli, u dawn il-qxur għandhom l-arja fin-nofs.

 

Fl-Awstralja, hawn tip ta' kostruzzjoni popolari ħafna tissejjaħ brick veneer, fejn il-qoxra ta' barra tad-dar tkun tal-briks li tilqa l-estremi tat-temperatura u tat-temp, imma l-qoxra ta' ġewwa hija rqiqa mmens, aktarx magħmula mill-plasterboard, folja rqiqa forsi ta' ċentimetru, magħmul minn ġips magħqud.  Din il-folja m'għandha massa termali ta' xejn, u għalhekk, meta l-qoxra tal-briks tkun taħraq bix-xemx, id-dar tkun garantita li tkun taħraq u tibqa' taħraq mal-lejl għax il-massa termali tinsab fuq barra!  Mill-banda l-oħra, u meta l-briks ta' barra jkun inġazzat bil-kesħa, id-dar tinġazza wkoll.  Viva l-arja kkundizzjunata, u min għandu l-isħma tal-kumpanniji tal-enerġija elettrika!

 

Veru li daż-żmien, biex ipattu ftit, meta ssir din il-kostruzzjoni, bejn il-briks u l-plasterboard saru jżidu folja tal-insulazzjoni, imma ħafna djar inbnew bil-mod kif iddeskrivejt qabel.

 

Allura nistaqsi, dawn l-istandards għall-benefiċċju ta' min saru?

 

Ħawwadni ħa nifhem!

 

 

 

Adoption and Abortion: a Proposal -- L-Adozzjoni u l-Abort: Proposta

 

 

Lately, some news items about adoption caught my attention.

 

One of them came from Australia, where last week came the 'news' the number of adoptions occurring every year in Australia was very low.  In the year 2014-2015, there were only 209 from Australia and 83 from foreign countries.1  It was also noted that the total number of adoptions decreases year on year.2

 

This number is so small, and the wait time so long (averaging 5 years!) that many couples interested in this process give up or perhaps not even try.  I remember years ago an officer from the NSW Department of Community Services (DOCS), when asked on how many couples were on the waiting list, replied that this statistic is not held - you can imagine why!

 

There are historical reasons which are thought to be behind this low number.  First of all, the stigma of having a child before or outside wedlock is no longer what it used to be.  Secondly, the availability of abortion is legal in Australia.  Thirdly, there is the experience of the Stolen Generation, where aboriginal babies were taken from their families to be adopted by white parents in the first half of the twentieth century, leading to attitudes in general to adoption in Australia being rather negative.3

 

Australian authorities are thinking of changing the regulations, so that children which are currently in foster care may more easily be adopted instead.  Today this doesn't happen very often, as authorities prefer to wait as much as possible to try and reunite children under foster care with their biological parents.  Although this is a positive goal, is seems that in practice the situation in the original parents' home rarely permits this to happen, and children end up losing the opportunity of having adoptive parents before they come of age (at 18).

 

This situation led me to question whether there might be another solution to the low number of adoptions.  I thought of the sad reality where girls and women decide to undergo an abortion, when they decide they are unable or unwilling to raise the children they are carrying.

 

The idea that came to me was this - why not attempt to turn two negative situations to a positive one?  Why not create a structure and organisation that makes an offer to these girls and women who don't want the children they're gestating, the opportunity of matching them with couples who are ready to adopt?  I'm sure not everyone would be interested, but equally sure there will be some.

 

For this process to be of interest to the biological mother, it has to be guaranteed, i.e. at the end of the day the biological mother needs to be assured she will no longer be legally responsible after birth.

 

This process perhaps already exists, however if so I have the impression it's only on a small scale.  From my perspective, if it exists it is not very visible, and I'm amazed by this.

 

It is thought that the amount of abortion procedures in Australia is high, though no one knows exactly how many are undertaken.  The reason for this is that not all states and territories keep relevant statistics.  I've seen an estimate of an average 75,000 procedures a year in the period 1995-20044 and another estimate of 84,214 in 20035.  A more recent figure is 57,380 in 2014.6

 

Given these figures, the possibility is clearly there.  Even if just 1% of abortions are diverted into an adoption process, in 2014 an additional 570 local adoptions would have occurred, almost an increase of 300% on the 200 that occur today.

 

I can see an opportunity for those organisations which state their opposition to abortion, as are the Christian churches, to unite and instead of just speaking against the practice and preach about the morality of their position, offer a practical solution to those girls and women who may end up not wanting to raise the babies in their womb.

 

Therefore, I propose that such organisations seek to partner up with the Department coordinating foster care and adoption (in NSW today called the Department of Family and Community Services), in Malta the Department of Social Security) and pursue an agreement to identify from their communities women who are ready to give up their child upon birth.  This can be promoted through notices during liturgical celebrations and other occasions as well as media campaigns.

 

From their part, government departments already have information on couples wishing to adopt, and can prepare them as they do today, with the difference that the number of them undergoing the process would be higher than it is today.

 

Naturally, not everyone actively considering an abortion would agree to this.  We have to accept that  a woman considering termination has her reasons for thinking this way, and may have experienced violence, rape or other difficult situations.  Thus, the final choice should always be hers and hers alone, and respected without condemnation.

 

Nevertheless, I think that with such a scheme and a national campaign, I think a good proportion may accept this call, and society can only benefit.

 

I would encourage all those interested in this subject, especially those who have some influence in the organisations involved, to consider this suggestion.

 

 

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Dan l-aħħar kien hemm xi aħbarijiet fuq l-adozzjoni li ġibduli l-attenzjoni.

 

Waħda minnhom ġiet mill-Awstralja, fejn il-ġimgħa l-oħra kien hemm l-'aħbar' li n-numru ta' adozzjonijiet li jsiru kull sena fl-Awstralja huwa żgħir ħafna.  Fis-sena 2014-15, kien hemm biss 209  mill-Awstralja, u 83 minn pajjiżi barranin.1  Huwa nnotat ukoll li l-figura totali ta' adozzjonijiet tonqos sena wara sena.2

 

In-numru tant hu żgħir, u l-istennija tant hi twila (medja ta' madwar ħames snin!), li twassal għal diversi koppji li jkunu interessati fis-suġġett li jaqtgħu qalbhom jew forsi lanqa jippruvaw.  Snin ilu niftakar uffiċjal fid-Dipartiment tas-Servizzi Kommunitarji ta' NSW, meta mistoqsi kemm kien hemm koppji jistennew fil-lista, irrisponda li din l-istatistika lanqas tinżamm - tista' timmaġina għaliex!

 

Huwa maħsub li hemm raġunijiet storiċi għaliex dan in-numru huwa baxx.  L-ewwelnett, illum m'għadx hija daqshekk qawwija l-istigma li jkollok tarbija qabel jew barra ż-żwieġ, jew li trabbi tarbija waħdek.  It-tieni, hemm il-possibiltà tal-abort, li huwa legal fl-Awstralja.  It-tielet, hemm l-esperjenza tal-Ġenerazzjoni l-Misruqa, fejn trabi aboriġeni kienu meħudin mill-familji tagħhom u adottati minn ġenituri bojod fl-ewwel nofs tas-seklu għoxrin, għalhekk fl-Awstralja fil-fatt l-attitudni fuq l-adozzjoni hija pjuttost negattiva.3

 

L-Awtoritajiet Awstraljani qed jaħsbu biex jibdlu r-regolamenti, sabiex tfal li bħalissa qegħdin taħt it-trobbija ta' terzi persuni (foster carers) ikunu iktar faċilment jistgħu jiġu adottati.  Dan illum ma tantx isir għax l-awtoritajiet iktar jippreferu jistennew sabiex jekk jista' jkun jerġgħu jlaqqgħu lit-tfal mal-ġenituri bijoloġiċi tagħhom.  Għalkemm dan huwa għan pożittiv, jidher li fil-prattika s-sitwazzjoni fid-dar tal-ġenituri rari tkun tali li tippermetti dan, u t-tfal jispiċċaw jitilfu ċ-ċans li jkollhom ġenituri adottivi tagħhom qabel ma jiġu tal-età (ta' tmintax-il sena).

 

Din is-sitwazzjoni ġegħlitni naħseb ftit jekk hemmx soluzzjoni oħra għan-numru baxx ta' adozzjonijiet.  Ħsibt fis-sitwazzjoni tad-dwejjaq fejn tfajliet u nisa jiddeċiedu li jagħmlu abort, meta jiddeċiedu li ma jistgħux jew ma jridux irabbu t-tfal li qed iġorru.  

 

Ġietni din l-ideja - għax ma nfittxux li minn żewġ sitwazzjonijiet negattivi tinħareġ waħda pożittiva?  Għax ma tinħoloqx struttura u organizzazzjoni li toffri lil dawn it-tfajliet u n-nisa li ma jridux lil uliedhom li qed iġorru fil-ġuf, l-opportunità li jlaqqgħuhom ma' koppji li jkunu lesti li jaddotawhom?  Persważ li mhux kulħadd ikun interessat, imma ċert li jkun hemm min ikun.

 

Biex dan il-proċess ikun ta' interess għall-omm bijoloġika, irid ikun garantit, jiġifieri fl-aħħar mill-aħħar l-omm bijoloġika tkun ċerta li ma' tibqax iktar legalment responsabbli wara t-twelid.

 

Dan il-proċess  forsi diġà jseħħ, imma jekk iva għandi l-impressjoni li sseħħ fuq skala żgħira ħafna.  Ngħid għalija, jekk teżisti ma tantx hi viżibbli, u niskanta bis-sitwazzjoni.

 

L-ammont ta' interventi tal-abort li jsiru fl-Awstralja huwa maħsub li huwa għoli, għalkemm ħadd ma jaf eżatt kemm hemm.  Ir-raġuni hi li mhux l-istati u t-territorji kollha jżommu statistika fuq dan is-suġġett.  Rajt stima ta' medja ta' 75,000 proċedura fis-sena fil-perjodu 1995-20044 u stima oħra ta' 84,214 fl-2003.5  Figura iktar riċenti hija ta 57,380 fl-2014.6

 

Ċertament, b'dawn il-figuri, il-possibiltà hemm qiegħda.  Imqar jekk 1% biss tal-interventi ta' abort jiġu ddevjati f'proċess ta' adozzjoni, fl-2014 kien ikun hemm żieda ta' 570 adozzjoni lokali, kważi żieda ta' 300% fuq il-200 li jseħħu issa!

 

Jien nara opportunità hawnhekk għal dawk l-organizzazzjonijiet li jgħidu li huma kontra l-abort, bħall-knejjes insara, li jingħaqdu, u minflok sempliċement jitkellmu kontra l-abort u jippriedkaw il-moralità tal-pożizzjoni tagħhom, ifittxu li joffru soluzzjoni prattika għal dawk it-tfajliet u n-nisa li jaslu jiddeċiedu li ma jridux irabbu lit-tarbija fil-ġuf tagħhom.  

 

Għalhekk, nipproponi li dawn l-organizzazzjonijiet jidħlu fis-sħab mad-Dipartiment li jieħu ħsieb il-proċessi ta' trobbija (fostering) jew adozzjoni tat-tfal (f'NSW illum jissejjaħ id-Dipartiment tal-Familja u s-Servizzi Kommunitarji, f'Malta d-Dipartiment tas-Sigurtà Soċjali) u jagħmlu ftehim biex mill-komunitajiet tagħhom jidentifikaw nisa li lesti jċedu lit-tfal tagħhom mat-twelid.  Per eżempju, jistgħu jagħmlu avviżi waqt iċ-ċelebrazzjonijiet liturġiċi u okkażjonijiet oħra kif ukoll kampanji fil-midja.

 

Min-naħa tagħhom, il-dipartimenti tal-gvern diġà għandu l-informazzjoni ta' koppji li jixtiequ jadottaw, u jippreparawhom bħal ma jagħmlu llum, bid-differenza li n-numru jkun ħafna ikbar milli hu llum.  

 

Naturalment mhux kull min qed jikkunsidra li jagħmel abort ikun konvint minn dan.  Irridu nirrikonoxxu li mara li tkun qed tikkunsidra li tittermina t-tqala tagħha għandha r-raġunijiet tagħha, u tista' tkun għaddiet minn vjolenza, stupru jew sitwazzjonijiet diffiċli oħra.  Għalhekk, l-għażla finali għandha tkun tagħha u tagħha biss, u rrispettata mingħajr ma' tiġi kkundannata.

 

Madankollu, jien naħseb li b'din l-iskema u b'kampanja nazzjonali, naħseb li jkun hemm persentaġġ tajjeb li jaċċettaw din is-sejħa, u s-soċjetà tista' biss tirbaħ b'dan.  

 

Inħeġġeġ lil min għandu interess fis-suġġett, speċjalment dawk li għandhom influwenza fl-organizzazzjonijiet involuti, biex jikkunsidra dan is-suġġeriment.

 

 

 

 

1Adoptions Australia 2014--15, Australian Institute of Health & Welfare, Fig. 3.1

2Ibid., Fig. 4.1

3http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/adopting-a-child-in-or-out-of-australia-is-far-from-simple-20150326-1m837i.html, retrieved 29/12/2015

4http://www.childrenbychoice.org.au/info-a-resources/facts-and-figures/unplanned-pregnancy-profiles-of-abortion-adoption-and-parenting, retrieved 29/12/2015

5Use of Routinely Collected National Data Sets for Reporting on Induced Abortion in Australia, Australian Institute of Health & Welfare, December 2005, p.32

6http://www.johnstonsarchive.net/policy/abortion/ab-australia.html, retrieved 29/12/2015

1Adoptions Australia 2014--15, Australian Institute of Health & Welfare, Fig. 3.1

2Ibid., Fig. 4.1

3http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/adopting-a-child-in-or-out-of-australia-is-far-from-simple-20150326-1m837i.html, retrieved 29/12/2015

4http://www.childrenbychoice.org.au/info-a-resources/facts-and-figures/unplanned-pregnancy-profiles-of-abortion-adoption-and-parenting, retrieved 29/12/2015

5Use of Routinely Collected National Data Sets for Reporting on Induced Abortion in Australia, Australian Institute of Health & Welfare, December 2005, p.32

6http://www.johnstonsarchive.net/policy/abortion/ab-australia.html, retrieved 29/12/2015