Every year on the Saturday before Christmas, the country’s four leaders – the President, the Prime Minister, the Opposition Leader and the Archbishop – gather in Valletta for their traditional Milied Flimkien speeches.
This year there was a remarkable exception, with the President having forfeited her own time at the podium so as to allow children to have their voices heard.
And every year the political leaders preach their messages of unity in this intensely politically-divided country of ours. And every year those messages seem to fade away as quickly as the festive season.
But who knows, perhaps this year’s messages of unity, delivered yesterday evening, will stick. But if the past lasting power of recent Milied Flimkien messages of unity from our political leaders is anything to go by, this year’s platitudes don’t stand much chance of survival beyond next month’s resumption of Parliament.
Politicians need to put their proverbial money where their mouths are, and practise, at least in part, what they preach. Unity is not just about Christmastime, and our political leaders will earn more of the population’s respect if, at least every once in a while, they unite for the national interest.
It is true that the country has undergone, just six months ago, a decisively bitter general election, and the Opposition is, perhaps, still finding its feet with its new leader and administration. And it is true that there is a lingering undercurrent of multiple corruption allegations in this country.
It is also true that the government and Opposition clearly cannot agree on everything, but when there are possible points of convergence, they should be exploited and capitalised upon. Not only will the best results be achieved by pooling the resources and ideas of both sides of the House, but those instances of convergence will also send a positive signal to the nation that not all things political are black and white or, rather, red and blue.
l-Istrina: Give and give generously
It’s that time of the year again – Christmas, New Year… and, of course, l-Istrina. It is also that time of year to spare a thought, some hard-earned money and perhaps some time for those less fortunate.
And speaking of unity, it has been truly remarkable how the country manages to outdo itself year after year when it comes to donating to l-Istrina. This shows just how united we can be as a country, despite our sometimes bitter political divides, and how, when united, we can overcome just about any challenge placed before us.
As matters stand, the Malta Community Chest Fund is the only national fund that gives financial support to patients suffering from serious illnesses to undergo specialised chemotherapy and treatments for rare or chronic diseases.
Those funds, or lack thereof, affect those people and their families at the deepest level possible. And the MCCF helps them in their hours of greatest need, when they are suffering and their lives and families are in a state of complete turmoil.
It has been questioned why, given our welfare state, those who are sick and in need have to resort to charity for the treatment they so direly need. Nevertheless, until this situation is addressed by the powers that be, rely they must on the Community Chest Fund.
L-Istrina is about saving lives and if those lives cannot be saved despite the best of efforts, the aim is to give them a better quality of life when they are at their most vulnerable, and to provide some peace of mind for their families; families whose lives have been turned upside down.
Helping these people is what l-Istrina is all about, and that is what the MCCF is all about.
This year, we once again implore the Maltese people and businesses to give and to give generously – one never knows when the shoe will be placed on the other foot and you will find yourself in dire need of the MCCF’s help.
This is the time of year to embrace your fellow citizens, to lend a helping hand to those in need and to show unity and next Tuesday’s l-Istrina is a perfect way to do just that.