Maggie Hughes was back at the Committee today, giving a general presentation to the Section on Employment, Social Affairs and Citizenship about the challenges she faced when her son, Robbie, was badly injured in an attack whilst on holiday abroad. She was last here in March, pursuing her campaign for some sort of EU-level standard of help and support for the relatives of those who encounter difficulties (accidents, attacks, thefts) whilst abroad. Thanks in no small part to her efforts, the European Commission has heeded the call and a proposal is in the pipeline. The presentation was timely, with us all fresh back from our holidays. As Maggie pointed out, it is when something goes wrong on holiday that people start to encounter other parts of the country they happen to be in – the police, the judiciary, hospitals and the health system, insurance companies, etc – that, despite their best intentions, are not necessarily geared to working with foreign nationals. Nothing can bring back the Robbie Maggie knew before the attack that injured him so badly but, in line with her philosophy, something good is going to come out of something bad, and not just the legislation, for Robbie has been shortlisted to play paralympian football for his country next year. Here’s how London ITV covered her visit.
Leave a Reply