Dear readers, as the tempo of the electoral campaign for the 3 June general election steps up, I would like to share with you the views of a Maltese woman living abroad. I vouch for the veracity of this opinion as it has been penned by a dear childhood friend who has recently been in touch to express her frustration on how things in Malta are panning out. Please read on:
“I am Maltese. I have been living abroad for 20-odd years, and still have very strong family ties, business connections and friends in Malta, so what happens in Malta does affect me.
“Over the last three years, I have been reading Maltese papers and following news and social media with growing horror. As a Maltese living in the UK, I am proud of my nationality – my heritage, my language and my culture – so anything which taints it leaves me steaming with anger. All of us living abroad are natural ambassadors and speak highly of Malta at any opportunity. For such a small island nation, many prominent and respected Maltese have made their mark internationally in many fields. And everyone who knows me knows I am Maltese and admires me – and our country – for what we continually achieve.
“Growing up, I devoured our rich and chequered history. I saw us as a small but proud nation: strengthened with courage forged in the face of huge adversity; a kind people with integrity, and a social backbone that abhors poverty and cruelty in others. From a young age, schooling encouraged me to read, to think, to challenge and to look beyond our shores. I heard adults say “Our word is our honour”, and that was indeed a value I grew up with among many others, such as integrity and honesty. Maybe this was because we were still living in post-war / independence/republic years and we needed a strong identity.
“Unfortunately, the 70s and 80s were politically very dramatic and challenged my thinking. Certainly not Malta’s finest hours, but possibly reflective of a young nation still forging its future and making mistakes. In my mind, I can still see and hear meetings and marches, tear-gas and lock ups for students, paint splashed on cars, threats, incessant chanting, closed schools, lessons in teachers’ homes and studying subjects just to get points for university. Then the jobs –or lack of them. “Brain-drain” they used to say. When change happened and it felt like we had found our road again, life was less dramatic. We grew up, and many friends and colleagues that had gone abroad considered returning. We were busy with families, jobs, responsibilities… and we were enjoying the economic stability in the country. But times move on, we take the familiar for granted and think that people change too, forgetting why the change had happened in the first place.
“When Labour was elected in 2013, it was a shock, and I was certainly not looking forward to the next five years. Having actively worked to promote Malta wherever possible, I was yet to be reassured that Malta would still enjoy a sterling reputation as a small nation that punches above its (size and) weight. Colleagues marvelled at our fluency in languages, our “can-do” attitude and ability to be creative and deliver quality. Unfortunately, on recent trips to Malta, I started to realise that maybe I had been missing for too long. I no longer always understood the Maltese attitude. I was seeing examples where the fabled “can-do” attitude resulted in shoddy work, where our approach was slapdash and integrity was no longer regarded as a prized value. Even worse, it seems that most of the people I spoke to were blinkered and could not see what was happening, preferring to ignore (head in the sand syndrome) or worse, accept it as “mhux hekk, b’daqshekk, x’gara?”
Before the last election, I was surprised to see many old friends and colleagues switch and start spouting “Malta Taghna Lkoll”. Memories of the 70s and 80s were still there, but I thought times have changed, we have moved on and it was time to give up the football mentality (red v blue, Italy v England!). So as a thinking adult, removed from the island’s politics and its narrow thinking by geography, I was up for giving the new legislation a chance to prove that change has truly happened. After all, I believe in a healthy Opposition. Unfortunately, a few conversations early on in the term soon put a quick stop to that… discussing a possible opportunity I was told “you aren’t one of us, so sorry no”. Notwithstanding, here in the UK, we ignored our gut-feeling and played down the signs, thinking that they couldn’t really damage much of Malta’s hard-built reputation in five years –especially in financial services and related industries. Looking back, I feel so stupid. Over the last three years, the news lurched from gossip to embarrassing “u iva, mhux xorta” stories. It was the breaking scandals, and the ensuing lack of response that made me mad. It takes decades to build a reputation and we were tearing it down in three years!
“I would scan the papers every night and go to bed depressed. When the Panama Papers scandals broke, that truly was the cream on the cake. Colleagues and acquaintances had seen Malta’s profile steadily rise and I was proud of it. All of a sudden, they started talking about Malta and Panama in the same breath. There were hushed comments, and in the last 12 months, talk of money laundering, fraud and corruption. Today, Maltese who do not live in Malta see and feel that the Island is losing credibility internationally. They keep their heads down, hoping the talk will go away. The funny thing is that people in Malta think we are overstating it. I can assure you we are not.
“The calling of an early election is a gamble, a clever one as Muscat attempts to hold on to power by any means. If he can manage to keep his head above the stinking bog of scandals that is pulling him and most of his henchmen down, then he will win again. We see democracies in action and politicians resign when there is doubt. It seems in Malta, we celebrate their ingenuity and elevate them to demi-gods. Yes, Labour will probably win again, purely because most of the electorate that voted for PL – die-hards and switchers – feel comfortable that everything is okay and they are personally doing well. But everything is not okay. Away from Maltese shores, there are many waiting to see how the Maltese public will vote. Will it elect Muscat for another five years, giving him a mandate to continue stripping and selling off Maltese assets while pocketing kickbacks and commissions, or say Stop! and clean up your act.
“I know Maltese don’t like being preached to by Maltese who live abroad. Guess what? We are still Maltese. We are still very proud of our nationality and heritage; it shames us and kills us to see so many blinkered fellow Maltese being so short-sighted, led like sheep to slaughter with promises of money and positions. And it is a pity that a lot of us cannot vote, even though it seems that new Maltese citizens who bought their passport and don’t live in Malta are given this privilege! Please vote responsibly.”
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Ms Galea is a PN Candidate for the 4th District (Fgura, Gudja, Paola, Sta Lucija, Tarxien)