The common mentality in Malta, the one that always presents itself as the standard reply, is to avoid becoming at all involved, not even when the very purpose you are there for is to precisely become involved, and to shift the decision onto someone else.
This is done by a well-honed set of skills which involve doors closing at just the time you arrive panting at the door, after having gathered all necessary and many documents together, got through traffic and finally found a tight parking spot, or it could be that the person that normally would handle the query is on leave or on break. Or it is the summer half day season and the window of opportunity is just so small that you would have to camp outside to manage being served. And so on. It is like an instinct they, the staff and management, are born with. A kind of DNA in Maltese people where they have these brain cells that are programmed to reject any commitment and sense of civic duty.
Lately we have been seeing the consequences of this condition more evidently around us in the traffic congestion and in the state of cleanliness and maintenance around our towns, especially the ones busy with tourists and tenants in rental flats and, no less, in the poor state of the pavements, roads and public gardens, fountains or monuments and in the public transport sector. When the citizens of the locality have actually formed a group to raise awareness or try to address the situation as best they can, the response from authorities has been the same all round – not our problem – we cannot do anything - we are not responsible. Matters that are normally – one would expect- falling within the remit of a local council, apparently, are the responsibility of the police who then inform you that they cannot do anything because the contravention happened on private property or because they cannot trace the owners or else due to lack of resources or ultimately because it falls under Transport Malta or the new warden set-up or similar. We have grown used to this now and simply despair. The poor funding of local councils too, seems to show the disregard that the government has for decentralising power and thereby, decisions that can affect this very predicament.
But the matter took a much more serious turn last week at the Paqpaqlighal l-istrina event at Hal Farrug. The way things are now, it is like a volcano which has been bubbling all along, rumbling every now and again, and now it is quite ready to erupt. We have lost all perspective of our realities as a small island and natural limitations too. I remember when we were trying to become a destination for golf tourism. Eventually, much later, this project had to be dropped because of the scale and competition involved. Now we want a race track and a shooting range. Without prejudice to the sport and its promoters, a reality check is needed. Not every idea is feasible.
Under cover of a Magistrate’s inquiry – maybe rightly so, but not civicly so – and it seems that these inquiries that are called (not this one because of the media coverage) weeks after the fox has left the coop are more of a smokescreen than a serious search for the truth especially when they remain buried in a drawer until found or present a conflict of interest – the organisers and the public entities involved have devolved responsibility and are keeping us in the dark about the procedure used in organising permits and safety for such an event. It wasn’t me, said the police. I like the air show. Unfortunately, though, the last time I attended one the traffic both getting there and back was such a nightmare that I did not venture there another time. Had there been an emergency that day, we might as well have been in the middle of the amazon.
Luckily, from that angle, it was not a problem with the tragedy in Hal Farrug as ambulances came and went and patrons were able to disperse.
It does emerge, however, that the gamble we have been taking with our lives has now seriously jeopardised our safety and it is something like a Russian roulette. Coincidentally or not, the study on gambling habits and prevalence of gambling amongst the population has just began to be discussed and the results of it are quite disturbing, with an ever increasing percentage of the population getting hooked on the habit and especially amongst senior citizens.
This risk taking, underestimating the gamble and consequences is growing ever stronger. It is as though, one might think, that because we have a labour government and the police can be asked to look aside, as with the “ blokkasilg” and the Gaffarenainvestigation and permits, and the demolition of MEPA reduced to a mule on a rocky hill to mention a few of the reasons, we are immune to order and responsibility and nothing can happen to us or to the realisation of our ambitions.
Gamblers, immune to loss. To prevail in our endeavour is the sole purpose. I am not selecting one event over another here. Using the cover of a charitable event to open doors and stimulate attendance and our conscience is also very convenient. The modus operandi is exalted to Presidential level. One cannot get higher than that or argue with it very much.
It has been pointed out on several occasions now, that the role of the President of Malta is not designed for such purpose and has become confused to say the least. The whole Community Chest Fund being given the prominence it has by H.E. the President, as one of her major functions of office, is misplaced and ought to immediately be delegated to another officer. The extent of the President’s personal identification with all these fund raising events has now blurred the boundary between the lady Marie-louiseColerioPreca, well- intentioned but not well advised, and the high office of the President of Malta. Now, with this latest tragedy well impressed on people’s minds, it will be very difficult for her to disassociate herself from the negative fallout. Certainly, committing funds from the CCF towards compensation to the injured is not helping at all. The money contributed by the Maltese public for the CCF is for that purpose and cannot be used for other reasons and it is not her decision to make anyway. Already, as it is, many NGOs have been deprived of fund raising because of the over bearing dominance of L-istrina and they are actually calling for a temporary moratorium on l-istrina so that they might have an opportunity to raise funds directly for their cause.
The risk taking going on all around us is now entrenched in so many events from fireworks within the village boundary to air shows that pass over inhabited areas, to school gates left open and unknown persons with citizenship and residence permits driving fast carsthat we have stopped to question the safety and precautions for our security. Attracting films to Malta too, may allow for risk taking with the heritage and environment as happened in the past. Anything goes. Organisers will claim that they have all the necessary permits and are experts in their field and have done whatever is needed to safeguard the people, but, as they become more and more obsessed in pursuing their passion, in reality we do not know what those permits are and who is ultimately responsible for auditing them and evaluating the risk assessment. Well, as people have pointed out, if we have not even seen the maritime risk assessment for the gas tanker in Marsaxlokk, little can be expected from other events.
The risk imposed by the tanker is extremely serious. Any serious government, who has even a shred of concern for people’s lives, their living and the economy would immediately halt the decision to place the tanker there, preferably find another solution, and at the very least, study very carefully and make public, all the implications, which are not to be underestimated. Otherwise, how are we to have any confidence that the proper conditions are being observed when it comes to our safety? Sources are saying that in Sunday’s event, with the chicane having been placed where it was, the spectators should not have been in that section at all because physics or algebra or motor science says that the energy of the car would be displaced towards the crowd in case of an accident, as happened. Therefore, people know about these things and can give a professional opinion and accidents can be avoided.
The time is up for amateurism in our way of doing things and the people deserve to receive proper attention to their complaints, without fear of being ridiculed or threatened and to be treated with due respect.Money, whether for charity or not, is not the single force of our life. Society and every individual deserves respect and that every human effort that can be made to protect health and safety should be observed.The Police Corps needs adequate funding and vulnerable locations, such as Paceville need special squads to tackle security. Accidents will happen but safety should not be compromised by a gamble. It is time too for a crime squad on the lines of the National Crime Agency in England. The thefts, robberies and crimes we have experienced these past years was of an international scale and local resources can only go so far. The Ministry of the Interior has also been conspicuous by its absence in its response to the incidents at the motor show and recently in Paceville. More is expected.