You know how every time there is an election, people start talking about the party machines switching on and stuff like that. I always wondered what this mysterious “magna tal-partit” was like; to my mind it always evoked images of a huge, Willy Wonka-like machine (red/blue/green/orange, depending on the party) with a huge lever, which at the blow of the election whistle is heaved down and the machine slowly starts chugging, until it speeds up, steam and all.

Well, seeing as these last two weeks I have actually been living inside this machine, I can safely say that the elusive ‘magna’ is nothing but a people coming together, in one location, working on high adrenaline, for the same aim. The machine comes alive with people swarming the building, buzzing round the corridors, the old manning the reception, the young on their screens, you see flags carried around, tags handed out, people planning, scanning, arguing, acting. Fast, fast, fast.

But outside this machine, the scenario is different. I’m trying to figure out what exactly is different, and I think it’s… the sound, the gentle drumming of fear.

Now, fear is an old topic in politics. According to Thucydides, one of the greatest ancient historians, the Athenians proclaimed it one of the three strongest motives for action – the other two being honour and interest.

However, fear can also be the strongest motive for inaction. Fear can make you cower on the spot, spin a web of darkness in the corridors of your mind and paralyse your ability to do something to extract yourself from an ugly situation.

The fear I am encountering is the fear of retribution, revenge. People get in touch, telling me that they are afraid to speak out, that if they post something on Facebook, they get a “we’re watching you” message. If they are spotted on television attending political events, then, they get a “we’re watching you” phone call. People talk of job transfers, of bullying at work. If I didn’t see it with my own eyes, I would have scoffed it all off extracts from a George Orwell novel. But people from all walks of life – the creative sector, the civil service sector, the private sector are anxious of being caught out voicing their opinion.

Freedom can be won in other subtle ways: by opening up to a friend or a relative, by searching for facts, or simply by knowing in your heart that things are unacceptable

It is worrying that fear has returned to the political table. In 2013, when there was a huge swing of voters, people were openly discussing their change in opinion. Everyone did so freely and expressly – families argued, friends convinced each other and no one was threatening anyone, fear was not used as a leverage. So why is it different this time round?

There is also another kind of fear. The fear of not living up to the feel-good factor as promoted, say, by the billboards. People whisper: “I suppose the economy is good, but I still earn the same amount as I did four years ago and now I’m paying more in rent, so my budget is very stretched.” Another one said to me the other day: “I just separated and on my €1,200 salary I cannot pay the rent, the maintenance for my children and keep up with the cost of living so I am living in my car, but please don’t tell anyone.” People are scared that they are outcasts, that they are not living the life everyone else is, and that ultimately they are failures. Therefore, they say nothing, out of fear of not living up to society’s expectations.

I was raised on the notion that you always have to stand up for what is right and not to let anything stand in the way of what you believe in, but listening to these stories, I can understand why people are scared to voice their opinion, you can see the fear in their eyes and that saddens me and angers me.

The truth is that we have to be the ones to fix problems plaguing our community. No one can do it for us except ourselves. No amount of freedom has ever been won by sitting back and watching things play out. Freedom is won through action: participating in events, writing about it, projecting our voice. But it can also be won in other subtle ways: by opening up to a friend or a relative, by searching for facts, or simply by knowing in your heart that things are unacceptable.

At the end of the day, it is not the magna tal-partiti which counts, it is the magna tal-qalb. Each and one of us has to follow our heart, and set it free.

krischetcuti@gmail.com
Twitter: @krischetcuti