It must be our Mediterranean nature.

We’re laid back, and careless too. This is so especially when we have to take care of something that is not ours. Or so we think.

Because what is public belongs to me just as much as it belongs to you. It belongs to everyone.

So it is a real shame that we continue to regard our streets as a dumping ground.

Would you ever throw a cigarette butt on the floor in your house? No, but you do when you walk in the street.

Would you ever throw an empty packet of snacks on the floor in your house? No, but after eating the snack in that public garden, you leave the empty packet on the bench?

Would you ever dispose of a napkin or a used tissue on the floor when in your house? No, you wouldn’t, but you do when walking on a promenade.

Would you allow your cat and dog to dirty your home? No, you wouldn’t, but then you allow your pet to dirty the streets and public places.

We are a nation of hypocrites, and this is true in our cleanliness too.

While we take extreme care to keep our homes in the best condition, we give little attention to what happens outside our doorstep.

It is a pity.

Our country is beautiful, but we are contributing to make it dirty.

Many times I have felt ashamed of being Maltese, when I see tourists looking disdainfully at overflowing skips – by the way, where are the local councils?

We have set up billboards to show what Malta can offer, and yet some of these billboards are situated very close to places which are a total mess.

On the one hand, these billboards tell us to be proud of our heritage and what nature has given us. On the other hand, just looking around it seems that we have no pride at all.

It is a shame.

David Camilleri

Sliema