We seem to be getting better

The other day I decided to go around Malta to take some photographs of the bad and the good things happening around our country. (I am doing this because I am compiling a short user-friendly seminar for children and youths, which includes a power point presentation, about the importance of young people in Malta looking after their country and how this is so essential for their future.)

This seminar is being compiled for presentation at the new social branch of the Millennium Chapel (WOW) in Paceville. I feel so strongly about the need to educate our youngsters about this problem that I will be conducting these seminars personally.

Hopefully, they will be interesting and helpful in a very acceptable way to the younger audience and I shall be ready to give as many of these seminars as there are youngsters willing to listen.

As I was driving along, I found that I really had to look hard and very critically to find things that were extremely unacceptable. I am not saying that things are perfect, far from it, but I certainly found that things were generally much better than they were a few years or even months ago, especially in the more visible public areas.

Councils seem to be doing their jobs with varying degrees of success. There was not so much rubbish dumped, rubble walls are not so neglected especially on the main roads, there is not so much graffiti on walls and broken signposts are now a rarity. Streets and roads were clean and flowers were evident along most roads and roundabouts. Maybe its finally getting into people's heads that we just have to look after our country. If this is the case, we must not stop here but make sure that we improve much more and also make sure that we keep up the good work and effort.

There were, however, still some horrible faults.

The roads in general are still very bad, especially St George's Road, Paceville, the Mellieha Bay promenade is a disaster, The Crafts village in Ta' Qali is still as untidy and tourist-unfriendly as ever. People are still dumping rubbish, especially, and, unfortunately, in the areas where it is very important they don't - those frequented by tourists. There is still horrible pollution from buses and trucks, most of which couldn't possibly have passed any sort of roadworthiness test. The gardens outside Spinola Palace are still in a physical mess but not so full of rubbish as they used to be a few months ago. Building sites are still full of dust and oil spillage from defective contractors' trucks.

But definitely there seems to be a change in the air and a good change at that. A good example to this effect is the effort that has been made at St George's Bay.

In my opinion, it is vital for the general appearance and long term good of our country that anybody who sees that there is something wrong, either physically or socially in our country, reports it to the local councils, ministries and, if necessary, to the media. This way things may get done. If nobody reports them then there is a very good chance they will not.

Sometimes, notwithstanding all the best intentions, people responsible to sort out problems that occur are so busy they can't or else don't see the wood for the trees. It is therefore our responsibility to remind them and to keep on reminding them.

We should not have to pick up brooms and brushes to clean up the mess ourselves nor should boy scouts or members of any foreign armed forces visiting the country. (How very embarrassing!) There are people and departments assigned to do such work. They just need to be reminded and, as time goes by, maybe they may not need to be reminded often. Perhaps they will get used to doing a good job regularly, without the need of prodding.

frank@homesofquality.com.mt