When something on a large scale happens somewhere in the world, we tend to take time and reflect on the event
My first thoughts go to the first earthquake that hit Christchurch in New Zealand. It made the news for a few days, and was then completely forgotten by the media, as other events unfolded. What happened there has been forgotten by the world, but not by those who suffered its consequences or the families and friends involved in this horrible natural disaster.
We then had Tunisia that revolted after a hawker had his licence revoked, with Egypt following suit. The long-drawn protests ultimately forced the leaders to make space for new blood. Tunisia now is preparing for new elections while Egypt had a referendum.
What sweeping changes in a matter of a few weeks.
Now we have the Libya situation that has troubled the region, closer to home. This time, the media is not able or capable to give the world the true account of events. News items are contradictory to each other. It does resemble a basketball game, with so many points scored on either side. To declare a winner is going to take some time; however, I cannot see a one Libya under one leader. One of the sides has to lose.
The Libyan effect is probably bigger on Malta than the world recession, selfishly speaking. There has been and will be an impact on our people, jobs, exports and investments.
It is a really worrying situation, not only because of the immediate loss, but also because of the foggy future, as no real solution seems evident, at least at the time of writing this article.
It is yet another difficult situation for the Maltese government, as if it did not have enough during these past three years. This government is in constant athletic mode – mostly because it is as if it is taking part in an obstacle race. We are facing one hurdle after another.
I do fully agree with the prime minister’s handling of the situation, and declare myself as against having a military base here in Malta. Others can do that job, as the same countries did not lift too many fingers when we became a refuge for illegal immigrants.
Our proximity might make some tourists feel uncomfortably close. However we are a safe place, where tourists can come freely. It was unfortunate that certain comments coming out from Malta have been badly interpreted by foreign media, causing some hiccups here and there.
I am glad to note that the Maltese Parliament is united on the Libya issue, and clearly a good understanding is in place. Let us all hope that this situation will clear out fast, as nobody needs it, least of all the Libyan people. Hopefully they will, one day, be able to vote freely for a government, and the will of the majority in a true democracy can prevail.
These people are dying to have a free vote, while we here in Malta tend to stay away from voting on some pretext or another.
All these events make me reflect on how good a life we lead. Notwithstanding all our grievances, we are in a lovely place, lead a comfortable life, and do not have so much problems after all. If only we appreciate this.
We can and should do more. We can help out more. There are cases that I have been made aware of, and I have alerted higher echelons on this suffering. Passing the buck is no solution; it’s arrogance at its best. We should turn words into action, and help those in need. Otherwise those who speak about values and claim to be saints, are just hypocrites of the highest degree.
To me, I would rather help, as a government, people in need and not spend money on useless propaganda, personal official openings of gardens or the like. Our Christian values are such that should take us beyond making personal propaganda out of government funds, when others are suffering because of our lack of attention. I doubt how many persons would rise to this occasion, stop spending our taxes, and reflect.
It is a time of reflection as we are during Lent; however it’s hard to act on the very words one tends to profess.
Robert Arrigo is parliamentary assistant in the Finance Ministry