A systematic snubbing of ramblers

There has never been in Malta so much unhappiness at the way countryside lovers are being ignored. We all know how strong attendance is at protests against development and land destruction. If these protests are not held very often, it does not mean that lovers of nature and healthy living are not frustrated, angry and full of grudge against those who are ignoring them. This has been happening for so long that I can only appeal to all ecologists to ignore at the ballots those individual and collective politicians who just smile, agree and do nothing. It is time to threaten foghorn politicians to move their backsides in practice not in rhetorical samba.

The general meeting of the Ramblers' Association recently brought out the anger that had been gathering in the hearts and minds of thousands of nature lovers all over Malta and Gozo. These are only after the preservation of Malta's remaining countryside - and the health of our children in an increasingly polluted island.

It is saddening to hear exasperated remarks by ramblers about the way their representatives are continuously being ignored. The following quotes make their ire quite clear: "... the outcome of meetings with ministers and officials, who should have acted to remove irregularities, had only led to false hopes and empty promises". "Our blind optimism has been completely shattered as we sadly witness our countryside being systematically clawed away." "When all civilised countries have passed new laws giving citizens the right to walk and roam unhindered in the countryside, Malta is still bogged down by medieval laws." "A petition requesting Parliament to issue a White Paper on the state of the countryside has fallen on deaf ears."

At the same time we often hear hypocritical blabber that it's important to listen to the people, to have one's ears to the ground. But which people? Which ears? Which ground? During next March 10 local council elections I encourage nature lovers to ignore those who have been ignoring them.

Spoilsports

When there was a massive increase in the water and electricity surcharges, this was called "upward adjustment" by the government and sundry propagandists. I liked this sweet expression so much that I wanted to have an upward adjustment applied to all my bills. Now this is a year of downward adjustments and the spoilsports are calling it a rate decrease. How horrible, how vulgar, what a bunch of wet blankets! My angst knows no bounds. Of course, I understand that the price of petrol has experienced a downward adjustment. Or else an election is approaching.

Far right and divorce

The most vociferous anti-divorce lobbyists are members of the far right, followed by the right. I have always thought there was little difference between the right and the far right.

If only!

If you wriggle your tanga in a private nightclub where only adults over 21 years of age are allowed, you are angering the Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs. If you project a film in a public cinema for all ages full of blood, dismembering, decapitations, bruises, kicks, fist blows, wounds, knife wounds, bat blows, gunshots into the eyes, in the forehead, chest and abdomen etc you are a law-abiding entertainer. In spite of the fact that these cinema scenes turn our youths into delinquents and increase the crime rate in the country.

If only the Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs decided to persecute and raid entertaining promoters of violence!

Civic stink

Lord Byron, who walked in some local streets with a clothes-peg on his nose, would have done the same nowadays. Take a typical Maltese street, Triq il-Gejza, Swieqi. Some residents sweep their dirty, smelly water over their balcony. Others feed scores of non-neutered, permanently pregnant, eye-infected cats in used, stale, stinking butter containers and tins full of green water and infested by large flies. Cars, door steps, pavements and doorways in this street smell like pig sties due to the cat colonies. (Department of Health please note and visit the place to book whoever is responsible.) Let's face it, this street is becoming a slum with property prices bound to go down.

Credit cards

From time to time we hear of an economic crime involving stolen chequebooks or credit cards. At the same time banks throw at us adverts full of sweet nothings trying to impress us on how important their clients are. I believe that importance given to clients is related to concrete consideration of their suggestions.

I have been suggesting to a bank that it is now easy to print the photo of a client on cheque-book pages and credit cards. This would render their use by crooks practically impossible. My suggestions have had reactions calling them "interesting" and "worth considering". Their lack of adoption has never been followed by serious argument in favour or against.

I am convinced that the first bank that prints clients' photos on credit cards and chequebooks will have an upsurge (read that upward adjustment to be in line with consultants) in business.

Bedfulls of emptiness

I believe that politicians surviving in the same group should have the decency to consult each other before emitting contradictory information. Let's take Mater Dei Hospital for example. Louis Deguara, Minister of Health (whose ministry has, strangely enough, no longer total responsibility over the hospital), has declared he can't tell if the hospital will have patients in its beds on July 1. Tonio Fenech - who should have insisted that the total responsibility of Mater Dei remain under Dr Deguara - stated that the hospital will have patients in its beds on July 1, 2 or 3. Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi declared that the hospital will definitely have bedfulls of patients on July 1.

Now this is quite confusing. Suppose you have a friend or relative in hospital. If you listen to Dr Gonzi, you will look for him at Mater Dei as from July 1. If you listen to Mr Fenech, you will shuttle between St Luke's Hospital and Mater Dei every day between July 1-3 until you find him in one of the beds. If you listen to Dr Deguara, you will neither be able to find your relative at St Luke's nor at Mater Dei.

Which will make you wonder what the health authorities and/or the political administrators of this land have done with your relative. This inevitably leads me to appeal for a Limbo Hospital to be reinstated so that relatives of sick persons may have a third option where to look for their relatives.

Dr Licari teaches psycholinguistics, sociolinguistics and geolinguistics at the Department of French of the University of Malta.