Those people who have as yet to visit Mdina following the paving and other work that was carried out to embellish the old capital city should make a point of doing so. And perhaps they should go there twice, once in broad daylight and a second time at night.

The Silent City remains silent whether it is morning or dark, but one will be able to admire its different characteristics at the different times of the day. History is the highlight of a morning visit, while a walk in the narrow streets at night refreshes the spirit.

Mdina is just one of the many areas that, over the past years, have been given a new lease of life with the work that was carried out, mostly by the Resources and Infrastructure Ministry. Several open spaces, including chapels, village squares, monuments, church parvis and public gardens have been given a much-needed facelift. In most cases, these popular places have been transformed into “modern” areas while at the same time keeping their historical importance intact.

The ministry has spent hundreds of thousands of liri, possibly a few million, on such work, which is mostly carried out by government employees. There have been times when the cost of the work went over the initial budget, and there have also been times when the work was not completed within the established deadline because of certain complications, but at the end of the day what matters most is that the areas in question were made more beautiful.

Unfortunately, not everybody seems to appreciate such work, as there have been several cases of acts of vandalism committed in areas that have been embellished. The repeated attacks on the Portes des Bombes in Floriana and the vandal attack on Wied Babu earlier this year are but two examples that one could give of irresponsible action.

The people who have committed such acts remain as yet unpunished, in spite of police investigations, and this newspaper will repeat what it has written several times that, once caught, the perpetrators should be given a punishment that will act as a deterrent to other people who might be considering resorting to such action, be it in protest against some kind of government policy or simply a vile act.

Such acts are an attack on society, and should always be condemned by one and all. But then there are other types of vandalism that ought to receive the same kind of condemnation, although they are not as serious as the kind of attacks mentioned earlier. We are referring to the fact that people still have to understand that public property belongs to everyone, and nobody has the right to spoil what belongs to the rest of the population.

Public places are there to be enjoyed by everyone – locals and tourists – and as such should be taken care of by everyone too. Many of us have the ugly habit of simply ignoring our basic civil duties, and act in public places the way we would never do at home. It is so sad to see so many people keeping their homes spotless but, once over the doorstep, behaving so differently.

It is unfortunately a kind of culture that is ingrained in our population and that will be hard to overcome if the younger generations take the cue from their predecessors. Several campaigns have been held in the past to raise more civic awareness, but these have fallen on deaf ears.

Still, it is never too late to give up hope. And this is where schools play an important role. It is hard to stop a 50-year-old from disposing of unwanted material illegally because he has been doing so all his life, but if a 10-year-old is reprimanded for doing the same thing, then there is a greater possibility that he will learn from his mistake.