Malta has changed radically over the past 40 years, with people confined to the built environment, away from contact with nature, while the Catholic religion was no longer central to cultural activity, the President said yesterday.
Speaking during the Republic Day ceremony, Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca urged people to defend the right to remain in contact with the natural environment.
Adults and children alike had ended up confined to the built environment, away from contact with nature and with few spaces where they could roam, she said.
“It has become difficult to find internal peace and be able to enjoy nature. Such an enclosed environment deprives people from the possibility of renewal and causes people to become introverts.
“No wonder we are experiencing an increase in the incidence of certain diseases.”
On the migration phenomenon, Mrs Coleiro Preca said that a caring nation should seek the refuge of international solidarity so that the movement of people becomes a quality experience, and not a tragic end to many hopes and lives. “I quote Pope Francis who said: ‘I wonder if Europe is weary under the pressures of today’s challenges’.
“There is the need to seek international collaboration in this regard and not depend only on the national context. History has shown negative outcomes when some countries out emphasis on the second type of solidarity.”
The Catholic religion, she continued, was no longer central to cultural activity because of the vast changes happening in society.
“On such an important day, we should be questioning what is secular process and religious diversity, and how to act in this context.
“Elsewhere, the same process that we are experiencing today has provoked extreme reactions from fundamentalists who felt threatened, and at the same time, close enough to power to impose their values. “I believe instead, that any positive purpose, whatever its origins, should be given space in the public sphere.”
Describing precarious work as a disease, the President added that Malta had not fully kept its oath of building a republic founded on work. This was not only because there were still thousands of unemployed, but also because some workers were being exploited.
The social welfare system, she added, was crucial for people who were unable to work.
“In no way should we allow our discourse to minimise their dignity, by depicting these people as parasites and therefore must not be aided by the State.
“People in such situations are victims. Those abusing the system or evading taxes are not.”
During yesterday’s ceremony, the President appointed 10 Maltese nationals to the National Order of Merit and awarded the Midalja għall-Qadi tar-Repubblika to 10 individuals.