“Progress is a nice word. But change is its motivator. And change has its enemies.”
These words, spoken by Robert F Kennedy about five decades ago, still reflect the society we live in, unfortunately.
Many people think that we as pressure groups doing cleanups don't do anything else other than cleaning up. Some may think that we won't succeed in our mission due to it being a “mission impossible".
On top of this misconception, there are also some thinking that we shouldn't interfere with their habits. They should be able to live as they wish no matter what effect it has on the one thing we share, the environment. They seem happy to turn a blind eye and pretend that the issue isn't present, when it is straight in front of them.
What they don't realise is that we are all in the same boat and we need each other's support and cooperation to save ourselves, not the earth. The earth will be perfectly fine with or without us humans. But the humans won't survive if we don't take care of the environment. That is a fact.
By working together we can tackle this issue must faster - alone isn't strong. The more influence we have, the bigger pressure groups become. Lately I have been meeting up with politicians to discuss certain topics and a new issue arose - the issue of labelling.
I have fought this war as a person; not an NGO, not as a political person nor as a company. I fought it as myself, with all my supporters by my side. However the political climate in Malta has put me up for some unexpected issues along the way.
It only takes one photo of me next to a politician and minutes later I receive messages like “Oh, so you are with PL now?” or “Stay out of politics, by posting a photo of yourself with a PN politician you’re kind of choosing sides”. Yes, this is the reality. One photo and I get labelled by some who think that I have some kind of hidden agenda.
People need to understand that no matter what I think about certain politicians, I as a neutral pressure group, work with everyone. I can't care less what colour they have politically. As a pressure group I need to listen and learn from them all, get to know them and try to influence them to take decisions in favour of the environment. In this sense I am very much involved in politics - with all parties. What I would vote for as a private person doesn't even belong in this debate, nor does it belong to my voluntary work with Malta Clean Up.
When will we learn to see beyond colours? When will we learn to understand that united actions and long-term visions are the only way we can achieve some sustainable change? It's time for teamwork across borders.
I have for many years pushed for consumers, and government, to take responsibility. There is one more piece in this puzzle of responsibility - the one of the producers and companies. We need to stop blaming each other. The consumer says that the companies enable products they never knew they needed. The companies say that customers are demanding them. And the government saying that with laws that are too harsh, the companies will complain, and then we are back again with the consumer complaining that the governments are failing to boost the country's economy.
Do we really have to sink to kindergarten levels and this ‘blaming sickness’? Can't we all do our part instead? Do we really need laws to understand the impact we have; as a private person, company, producer, politician or whatever.
Why are we making it all so much harder than it actually has to be? Speaking about kindergarten, I think we all were told at one point that 'not all things in life are fun, but we still have to do them’. That doesn't seem to be the case when we need to stop some bad habits for the sake of our survival. Balloon releases are still seen as ok, although the law clearly states that you can't 'drop litter’, and fruit and vegetables still wrapped in billions of plastic bags. All at the same time as we all pity the dead entangled sea turtle.
People seem to put more energy into labelling people with political colours, rather than solving issues. It removes the focus from the main goal and it's a real energy thief.
Change indeed has its enemies, but those enemies have to educate themselves about the difference between constructive feedback and moaning. And even more importantly, they need to realise that the changes needed to be made are the ones possibly one day saving our lives.