I do not read l-orizzont, and I do not read it-Torca – the GWU’s “independent” newspapers. But I do follow the headlines as shown on TVM every morning. With three headlines daily, we have an average of about a thousand headlines in a year.

A thousand headlines reporting tragedies and disasters with monotonous regularity. Unemploy-ment, redundancies, factories and hotels closing down and sacking hundreds of breadwinners, a crisis in our tourist industry, discontent among farmers, pig-breeders, butchers, soldiers, government employees, importers and exporters, teachers, the self-employed, bus drivers, monti hawkers….

Then there are the dirty beaches and contaminated bays, the high cost of living, the overcrowding in our hospital, the long waiting lists for all sorts of surgical interventions, chaos in all government departments and in the law courts, our medical services cannot possibly get any worse and our educational system has gone to the dogs. Drugs, crime, theft and dirt all over the islands. The trade fair was a non-event, with businessmen losing money. All doom and gloom. Never, never, never one single positive headline. Never! We are a starving, impoverished nation of slaves. And yet…

This barren, peaceful and prosperous rock can feed about 400,000 natives plus a number of foreigners. And it can feed them so well that their problem is that they eat too much… too much rich food which is bad for their health.

The majority of families live in luxurious apartments fully furnished with oak and mahogany furniture, have more than one colour TV set, computers, internet, air-conditioners, heaters, fans and all sorts of expensive electronic equipment. There are two vehicles for every three people and the mobile telephone has become a favourite toy. Children’s toys consist of battery-operated machines costing many liri, remote-controlled or radio-controlled aeroplanes, boats, etc., and all sorts of electronic games. Now we are seeing hundreds of four-wheeled cycles and mini motorcycles which are used just for fun and some of which cost as much as a motor car.

The number of all sorts of sea craft is on the increase and a holi-day abroad is a must. Cruise liners are very busy and unless you book your cruise in advance, you’ll have to stay behind. The majority of families eat out at least once a week and even here, advance booking is advisable. All places of entertainment are normally fully-booked and thousands of people can afford to pay up to Lm50 to see their favourite pop-star. Others can afford to fly to England/Italy whenever their favourite football team has an important fixture. The more adventurous fly to far-away countries. In the mornings, cafes, snack bars and take-aways are frequented by hundreds of people who can be seen eating and drinking. Even our pet dogs/cats today are very expensive. Each pet is a status symbol!

And in spite of all this – in spite of the fuel surcharge – some can still afford to spend up to a hundred liri, or more, every month on smoking. We can financially help our political party, football or band club; we can help our churches, our firework factories and several philanthropic organisations: Dar tal-Providenza, Eden Foundation, Razzett tal-Hbiberija and others.

We can help foreign missions all over the globe and build schools, churches, hospitals in Kenya, Brazil, India – everywhere. We can help victims all over the world who are hit by natural and/or man-made disasters. There is no limit to our generosity.

And we all know – I do hope we still know – where we left from in 1987. Exceptions? Of course! How else can we confirm the rule?

Giov. DeMartino

Mosta