A report from the very aptly named Cleansing Services Department showed that they collected a staggering 3,677 (yes, three thousand, six hundred and seventy seven) tonnes of stuff dumped illegally in our countryside in the first three months of this year alone! This despite the fact that actually, in this country, we have the luxury of a service that will come to collect your large refuse free of charge. I would like to know the total cost of collecting all this, and perhaps someone should do a photo montage of what this island would look like with a sprinkling of nearly 4,000 tonnes of rubbish salt and peppered all over it.
Just as worrying, the day following this report a mattress, no less, was dumped in the middle of Portes des Bombes, almost as an act of spite or revenge, or just an amazing coincidence, but who can ever tell? There is definitely something in the air. There is no doubt that there are some who want to make the government appear to be failing on every count, and making this small island look like a rubbish dump is one sure way to obliterate any good news.
However there is also this mentality here which means that all good manners, all cleanliness stops at the front door. We have huge sense of family but no civic sense. We have a huge pride in family but no pride in our country. We are proud enough to think we are better than everyone, but when it comes to the crunch its an abstract gut pride, and not one which will translate into behaving politely and with respect to others.
This is what I hear from everyone who has been abroad lately to a variety of countries, from Italy to Iceland, from Canada to the Czech Republic. What is wrong with this country? Why is everyone so rude? Why are we still throwing papers and cartons out of cars, swearing and getting angry at every opportunity? For a mere 400,000 people to drop 4,000 tonnes of rubbish is a staggering achievement. Would we top the EU in this too? Are we the litter louts of Europe?
Most areas have dirty dumps. Yet most homes are spotless. So we know how to keep clean. Of course, most of the cleaning in Malta, in the home at least, is done by women. And I think it is fair to say that most of the dumping is done by a relatively small but significant group of men.
Heavy fines are on the cards but I doubt these will make a huge difference. I think we have lost a whole generation and we have to do much better with the next. At the end of the day we are going to have to spend a fortune cleaning up until a new generation of Maltese learns to look after what is ours to treasure. Not just our homes but the area outside.
This so struck me when I was in Switzerland, where comparable homes are so much more modest than ours. Here those you would think are not well off still have amazingly large homes, amazing furniture and high-tech equipment galore. Yet the minute we step outside our front door we become cavemen again, ready to pick a fight on anything, throwing rubbish around as if someone will pick it up for us, and all manner of uncivil attitudes.
In Switzerland it seemed different. There was less richness in the homes but so much beauty in the community environment that everyone has to cherish and share. This has to be down to education most of all. I do not think ad campaigns and fines are going to change a lot here, as they have not in attempts to have fewer deaths on our roads. It will take a lot of time and a lot of investment in a better form of education to change the Maltese into community loving Europeans.
Our system of education just creates a minority of winners and a majority of failures or losers. You cannot create a successful community with the sort of education system we have. Not everyone can learn to repeat reams of Dun Karm poems or whatever, but we can all learn, at least our kids can, to care about this little island, and at least to keep it clean
Till a better education system steps in and produces better citizens we are just going to have to lump it and waste our taxes on collecting all this waste!
What a waste ...