How many people living in a relationship are satisfied or very satisfied with their relationship?

Judging from media coverage one would get the impression that most are not satisfied and such dissatisfaction is greater among married people. A recent editorial in The Malta Independent strongly criticised Prime Minister Gonzi for saying that he wants studies to base policies on them. In the opinion of the editor the Prime Minister has buried his head in the sand as half the marriages in Malta have problems. It seems that some believe that an editor of an esteemed newspaper does not need to care about facts before he forms an opinion. He has the liberty (at least most journalists believe so) to make up his own “facts” and expect the rest of us to believe without questioning.

We mere mortals do not have such luxuries and we are expected to look at facts before we form an opinion. Therefore, I looked up the 2007 Lifestyle survey of the National Statistics Office. According to this study “Overall, Maltese adults are satisfied with their lives. Generally, it emerged that married individuals have the greatest life satisfaction while persons who co-habit are the least satisfied with their lives.” The study also states that eighty-eight percent (88%) of persons in current relationships (the vast majority being married) say that they are satisfied or very satisfied in their relationship, and 3.2 % say that they are dissatisfied or very dissatisfied.

“Zwieg bla divorzju”

The Moviment Zwieg bla Divorzju which was launched this morning has committed itself to the respect of full and complete information and total respect of facts as it participated in the divorce debate that the country is passing through. This is welcome news.

It is very positive that such a movement has finally been set up. It should help the country have a more balanced debate. It is very positive that it is made up of lay people and that the composition of the group that addressed the press conference this morning is very varied. Three out of seven are women and three are media personalities. There are young people and those not so young; professionals and non-professionals; and people with different political beliefs. The mix is much better than that of the pro-divorce movement. The Movement is promising that in the coming days more names of supporters of Zwieg Bla Divorzju will be announced and these will include MPs from both sides of the House. The Moviment is open to all and can be contacted on 27203518 or info@zwiegbladivorzju.com

The Moviment Zwieg bla Divorzju says that:

“What brought this group together was the conviction that we owe it to our country and to our children to take an active part in the debate on whether divorce should be legalised or not. While fully respecting the right of others to favour its introduction in the laws of Malta, we believe it is our democratic duty to ensure that the views of those who are not in favour of divorce are also heard.

“We are convinced that it is possible to have an intense yet civil debate on the issue, based on full respect of the person with differing views and of the facts. The final decision can only be reached if the information made available is complete and accurate.”

Political parties must take a stand

I think that it is very positive that civil society is taking the limelight in the debate on divorce. Both sides have now taken up a structured public position.

This does not mean that the political parties should stay on the sidelines. They should participate as well, and they should take an official position on the subject while respecting the conscientious objections of their members who could be of a different opinion. It is not acceptable for political parties not to have an official position on the introduction or otherwise of divorce legislation.

The Moviment is correct to emphasise that statistics available show that the marriage and family crisis is not a big as the media projects it to be. On the other hand, they are right to “fully appreciate the fact that in our society there is a lot of suffering being caused by marriages and families that are breaking up. … Society should work towards healing these broken marriages and families, no matter how few they may be, because of the great amount of suffering that these family members go through.”

What Zwieg bla Divorzju stands for

The Moviment Zwieg bla Divorzju states what it is for.

“In order to heal this suffering, we are strongly in favour of working together as a society to:

• Ensure that marriages in our country continue to be true commitments, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health.
• Introduce measures that will strengthen marriage and the family instead of accepting divorce which increases the number of broken marriages and hurts couples and their children.
• Increase the investment being made by Government and civil society – including the Church - in marriage preparation and support to couples and families with problems.
• Allocate more funds to heal and reduce suffering rather than spend more money to make the destruction of marriages and families easier.”

What Zwieg bla Divorzju stands against

“It is exactly because we wish to reduce the suffering which couples and their children go through that we are against divorce, knowing that:

• Divorce destroys marriage as we know it, replacing it with a flimsy commitment between two persons.
• Divorce increases the number of children that suffer and multiples the suffering to which they are already exposed.
• Divorce does not solve problems or the pain currently affecting families and marriages. Divorce will increase the suffering as it facilitates the breakup of marriage and increases cohabitation.”

Let the debate continue in earnest.