At times, we people feel that something is amiss with us, yet we frequently attempt to assure ourselves that all is well and that everything has returned to normal when, in truth, we ought to seek medical advice.

In the Luqa region, where the new 'flyover' is currently situated, there used to be a small monument with two tiny figures resembling pottery, positioned low to the ground and barely visible. It depicted a mother assisting her young child as he took his first step. Indeed, if my memory serves me correctly, the phrase 'L-Ewwel Pass - 1979' (The First Step - 1979) was inscribed beneath that memorial. In addition to standing for safety, trust and a deep emotional connection, the figurines also offered guidance in a difficult time. This was a period when the nation was still moving forward both economically and socially. In the world of painting many known artists are often mentioned, such as Van Gogh, Raphael, with his Madonna della Seggiola and Leonardo da Vinci's Madonna of the Rocks. The small sculptures we made were not created by any of these artists. However, anyone who passed by that monument and saw it could feel that it carried great meaning for us Maltese.

It marked the start of Malta's industrial and social history, as well as the birth of the island's socio-economic development. In 1992, Mary Spiteri sang 'Tfajjel Ċkejken' ('Little Child'). The song and the vocalist continue to make us Maltese proud. The song also conveys a powerful message about a mother's role in raising and nurturing her child.

Although sustainable development and growth are desirable characteristics of an economy and governments endeavour to achieve them, overdevelopment and overpopulation can cause significant challenges for a country, particularly a small island like Malta.

The challenges produced in the health and transportation sectors, as well as growing prices in the building sector, are side effects and pathologies of this type of overdevelopment. Not to mention the problems that the Maltese culture and language are experiencing as a result of these abrupt economic and social upheavals. Although several non-governmental organisations and the opposition have responded to these economic and social ailments, it appears that the majority of the Maltese population has remained passive in the face of economic and societal issues resulting from overdevelopment and overpopulation.

Pliny the Elder (AD 23 - AD 79), a friend of Emperor Vespasian, was the first to write in his first-century Natural History that ostriches feel their entire body is covered when they stick their heads in a bush. Given that Pliny was not much of a naturalist, people in society have used this phrase over the centuries to denote a refusal to confront difficult issues or accept unpleasant realities. One acts as if trouble does not exist.

Gareth Rice in openDemocracy, an independent international media organisation, argued that "an 'ostrich nation' is a place where a near majority of people and the politicians they voted for behave like they are ignoring reality with which they are faced." This refers to a country's authorities or inhabitants burying their heads in the sand rather than confronting evident risks, economic problems, or harsh truths.  On the other hand, Laila El Baradei in the Cairo Review of Global Affairs, stated that "we may sometimes assume that people and their governments automatically act rationally and base their actions on logic, but unfortunately this is not always the case" (2014),

It is clear that the image of the mother nurturing her infant has been shattered much like a mirror breaking on the tranquil waters of the Mediterranean basin.

It was partly destroyed because of our denial. Today's scenario cannot continue where the island's infrastructure is collapsing and immigrants are being substituted for Maltese citizens. The study of denial in sociology refers to a process where individual groups and societies collectively ignore, harsh truths. Authors such as Eviatar Zerubavel in his book The Elephant in the Room: Silence and Denial in Everyday Life (2006) and Thomas Hylland Eriksen have respectively viewed denial as a social custom and a developmental psychological phenomenon in modern society where well-to-do societies overlook global issues. However, the most significant work is that carried out by Stanley Cohen in his study States of Denial (2001) who, in his analysis, includes political factors. He looks at how these forces shape what people see and what they choose not to talk about. Political denial happens when leaders or people claim that serious problems, like crises aren't real at all.

The power of money, its use and availability, enables individuals to continue supporting the current policies that govern Maltese society. In his Contribution to the Critique of Hegel's Philosophy, Karl Marx describes religion as the people's opium. Although Marx's thoughts on the matter are worth exploring,  the concept of  "opiate of the people" can be applied to the power of money in contemporary culture. Today, more than ever, money seduces and inebriates people, and their need for it is limitless. It has influenced how people feel and act by altering their empathy and personal control. This intoxication has also led to the wasting of valuable land in one of the tiniest countries globally for the benefit of business people whose primary concern is certainly not the welfare of Maltese communities.

Given that the current environment and political system are the ingredients that support the population's current 'happy and comfortable way of life', it stands to reason that people simply wish to maintain the status quo and prefer to reject a different model or lifestyle. Furthermore, present financial structures are designed to isolate people and can calm practically any emotion, even grief and solitude. In other words, the financial system helps to keep the current state of affairs running. This is accomplished by easy access to capital via credit cards. As a result, people are distracted from taking collective political action and hence, the decision to succeed or fail in life is entirely up to the individual.

In contrast, in a close-knit society like Malta there used to be a special emphasis on collective cohesion and shared responsibility.  Today, the idea has been advanced that in today's society, the individual has grown dominant, egoistic and that, in order to live, a person must rely on an established system of clientelism for political support and votes  -  a system of favours and of  "friends of friends". As a result, there is a deep dread of losing authority particularly political power and the routines to which we have grown accustomed, as well as a general psychological concern about being unable to manage future events and outcomes.

Much has been said and written about the so-called 'economic model,' which is really a formula that will lead to the island's demise.

It is evident that the Labour government is dedicated to this approach of 'economic' measures, an 'economic' strategy of a government relying on inadequate, short-term, and ineffective solutions, a government pursuing its own reflection to the harm of its people and tourists to these islands. As members of society, we must ready ourselves, especially for the social, economic, and psychological effects that await us from the ongoing execution of this 'economic strategy.'

As Pascoli proposes in his 'Il Fanciullino' (1897) that an eternal, innocent child lives inside every adult, serving as the true source of poetic inspiration and pure wonder, Malta, nonetheless, in today's dynamic world of economic and political unrest will always need to be taken care of through wise leadership and direction. Our connection with this tiny island in which we have grown, set up families, and buried our forefathers cannot be distorted by the pull of money, denial and, personal interest that is hovering over our nation. 

"So we passed on. And in a weedy place among the rocks was a man with his head buried in the sand. And I said to my soul, "We can bath here, for he cannot see us."

"Nay," said my soul, "For he is the most deadly of them all..."

...Then we left that sea to seek the Greater Sea."

Khalil Gibran

The Greater Sea

Godwin Ellul is a reviewer and translator of books into Maltese, including the Medical History of Malta by Dr Paul Cassar.