On this last Sunday of 2020, we reflect on what the past year has brought with it – the hardships we endured, and the lessons learnt and which we can carry with us into the New Year.
Over the past 12 months, the country has gone from political turmoil on levels unwitnessed since the 1980s to a worldwide pandemic that has changed the very way we live and interact with our peers.
It started off just as 2019 ended: with a political crisis that led to the downfall of the ‘Invictus’ Joseph Muscat and many of his close collaborators. The first month of the year saw the resignation of one Prime Minister and the rise of another.
The new government formed by Robert Abela lacked some very familiar and controversial faces - people like Keith Schembri, Konrad Mizzi and Chris Cardona – individuals who had been embroiled in their fair share of scandals.
This by no means meant that political controversies ended in Malta. In fact, the endless list of corruption cases first uncovered by, or which were directly linked to the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia, keep making the headlines.
The public inquiry, which is now nearing the completion of its mandate, served to uncover much more from the murky world of politics, and so did the independent media.
Unfortunately, we do not seem to be any closer to knowing who was behind the journalist’s murder, for the criminal case against the man accused of being a mastermind has hit many snags and delays, and other individuals linked to the crime are yet to be prosecuted. Hopefully, the new year will see that chapter closed.
2020 gave Malta not only a new Prime Minister, but also a new Police Commissioner, a new Attorney General and a new Leader of the Opposition. Yet despite these major changes in the country’s top posts, the situation remains dire.
The Opposition is gaining ground but remains relatively ineffective and does not yet present much of a choice. The police still lack resources to work on and solve serious crime, and the prosecution of top officials who were allegedly involved in big corruption remains elusive, and allegations of corruption or wrongdoing by Cabinet members have kept surfacing until the very last month of the year.
But at the same time, these past 12 months have made us more demanding of our politicians. We have come to expect higher standards of them and are less tolerant of corruption and more likely to speak up against it. We cannot let the upcoming return to normality drive us back into our previous slumber.
Undoubtedly, besides these political events, the Covid-19 pandemic took centre stage during 2020. A few months back we seemed to think that we could close off the airport and remain unscathed. Nine months later, we have seen our lives upended. Everything has changed: the way we work, our social lives, the way in which we interact with family and friends and even the way we behave in public.
The first batch of vaccines arrived yesterday, bringing promise of a return to normality, but our lives will not go back to normal any time soon. The Covid-19 pandemic did not just change our everyday lives, but also exacerbated a number of social issues, like domestic violence and our collective mental health. Some of these effects will take time to heal. Some others will take time to show.
The pandemic also brought about a sense of duty and responsibility among us. We have largely managed to stick to the rules and look out for each other. It also showed the entrepreneurial and innovative drive many of our businesses have. We have quite successfully adapted to the reality of Covid-19 to the point where some of the common-sense practices adopted can be retained even in a virus-free world.
The concept of teleworking, for example, is something that can be easily retained, at least partially, giving us more time to spend with loved ones at home and possibly helping us slow down our pre-pandemic rushed lives. The partial lockdown has also had great benefits for the environment, with less traffic on our roads, and this can prevail even after the vaccine has done its job.
So, 2020 has been a year of sacrifice, but it has also taught us a lot. It has taught us the importance of looking out for our health and wellbeing, the importance of family.
Many of us are eager to go back to how things were before – a world where one can go out freely, unencumbered by a face mask or visor, and without worrying that any surface we touch could be infected with the Coronavirus. But we must be careful not to go all the way back.
Yes, we will all be glad to leave 2020 behind us but let us not forget the little good that came out of it and carry it with us into the new year and beyond.