We live on a colourful Mediterranean island some 21miles long x 9 miles wide; most of the time the weather is sunny with no extreme cold or heat. We don’t have natural disasters like volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. We have a very rich heritage and some beautiful landscapes, not to mention the oldest free-standing structure in the world.

The population is less than half a million. We are moderate, with no violent extremists and rioters. The crime rate is relatively low and, in general, we are helpful people. Moreover we are hard working, very talented and the level of education is very good. Although Malta is a very small island we have all the technology we need at our fingertips. So yes, I can safely say that this is one of the best places to be in the world.

But what really annoys me is: Why are we not living in a heaven on earth? Why do we take the right decisions and implement them wrongly? For example, why do we have a state of the art hospital but don’t have enough beds? Why, in such a small island (smaller than most major cities in Europe), do we have a chaotic public transport system? Why do we have local councils and yet our roads and pavements are in a Third World state, and to add insult to injury, why our vehicles are subject to VRT? Why should a court case take more than a year? (Recently I read about some case that has been pending for 16 years!!) Why do we even talk of poverty when there is enough for everyone to lead a decent life? Why are policies designed in a way for justified wealth distribution?

For all the above questions I have one answer – wrong policies.

Do policy makers realise that with a bit of creative thinking we can use all the wonderful resources we have and live everyone’s dream life? Are we so foolish to think that only a strong economy makes a strong country? Can anyone realise that we have ended up giving a numerical value to the value of human livings?

Open your minds to a greater wisdom and stop this nonsense – we are moving in the wrong direction. The solutions are not always visible to those poor souls who seek physical evidence. Do they believe in their own existence if they don’t see their likeness in the mirror? Answers are around us and visible only to those who know how to see what they are looking at.

This first step is to stop mirroring what foreigners do − they make mistakes, so why should we follow them? We can do better. The next step... well I can only say: “seek and you shall find”.

Albert de Marco

MRIEHEL