It’s the day before Christmas Eve. Most people are feeling very jovial. Even the scrooges among us will have mellowed down by now. Some will start celebrating Christmas Day itself by participating in midnight Mass tomorrow. Others will be partying away somewhere. There are those who will be tucked in their beds, some finding no reason at all to celebrate.
Those falling in the latter category probably feel even more miserable at this time of the year. An article that featured in last Saturday’s issue of the Times of Malta quoted psychiatrist Anton Grech as stating how Christmas amplifies the existing symptoms of individuals dealing with mental health issues.
The article also referred to the fact that about 17 per cent and nearly a third of the population suffer from depression and anxiety respectively, sometime in their life.
According to Grech, loneliness is one of the symptoms of depression.
Feeling lonely and all alone in this world must be a terrible sensation. I have met quite a few people who go through such a trauma though it is hard for those of us who have never been through such an experience to really understand their condition.
At this time of the year, our overenthusiasm to wish to make everyone feel merry might actually add to the suffering of those who have no desire to join in the merriment. I recall how, when I once had to spend two months in hospital, I used to feel pestered by these individuals whom I did not know at all and who would impose themselves on me and say all sorts of platitudes when, often, all I would want was to be left alone or in the company of family and friends who would be visiting me.
However, much as I advocate respecting the privacy and personal space of individuals, it was truly disturbing to read about the death of Haji, the Somali migrant found lifeless under the bridge in Aldo Moro Street, in Marsa. Apart from the shock expressed by a number of NGOs, no one else really seemed to care. After all, come Boxing Day, we will once again proclaim ourselves to be the most generous nation on earth.
Hopefully, the speech delivered by President Marie Louis Coleiro Preca on Republic Day will serve as a wake-up call and help us to uncover a facet of Maltese society that we try to hide. Like the glitter of Christmas that disguises the hollowness and superficiality that characterises so much of what surrounds us, the robust state of our country’s economy risks making us even more indifferent towards the kind of issues mentioned by the Head of State in her speech.
The state of health of our Republic is a public matter – one that concerns each and every citizen. If the Republic is showing signs of malady it’s also our fault
Then President identified a series of flaws that should really make us reflect on the state of our society. She spoke of “material shortcomings, social exclusion; the threat to the quality of life resulting in development which is not always sustainable; the overcrowding of residential areas; the limitation of public spaces; noise and traffic delays; and the scarcity of honesty and truth in political life”.
In my view, this all boils down to the so-called ‘culture of indifference’. I am all for the respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms as well as civil liberties, however, we seem to have become a bunch of selfish and greedy individuals as can be seen by so many instances that we encounter in our lives day after day. We often point our fingers at politicians when all they do is mirror a society where one couldn’t care less about others so long as one gets what one wants, often by any means. We refer to greedy business persons though quite a few of us probably envy them and would do just like them given the opportunity.
It all boils down to individual choices and behaviour. Hence, the President’s appeal, which mirrors closely that of the Archbishop, is a plea for a new republic. The word ‘republic’ is derived from the Latin respublica, literally res publica from res “affair, matter, thing” and publica, “public”. Hence, the state of health of our republic is a public matter – one that concerns each and every citizen. If the Republic is showing signs of malady it’s also our fault.
What counts for this tiny country of ours is probably also valid for many other parts of the world. Indeed, democracy itself finds itself in crisis when citizens act purely on the basis of what suits them best. The whole concept of the ‘common good’ seems to have been completely forgotten. So-called ‘populist’ politicians prey on the worst possible sentiments that are buried in each and every one of us. It is ironic that while, for example, putting forward an argument to stop migrants from entering our countries we claim that they pose a threat to our values, in actual fact, by so claiming, we are betraying the very values we claim to cherish so dearly.
We once stood out for values such as solidarity and the acceptance of diversity. Yet, we now seem so keen to discriminate and to condemn such people as Haji not only to being homeless and poor in our so called affluent country but also to literally die unnoticed under a bridge in Marsa.
When Pope Francis celebrated his 80th birthday recently, he started the day by hosting eight homeless people for breakfast inside the Vatican. When visiting Lesbos last April, he took 12 migrants back home with him.
This is a man who matches his words with deeds, the same man who has been invited to visit this island and who, should he decide to accept such an invitation, be driven close to the spot in Marsa where Haji died. Pope Francis would be told all about our proud Christian heritage when, in fact, many act in the most unchristian of manners, most of the time.
At Christmas we celebrate the birth of Mary’s child in a stable in Bethlehem. Born in the humblest of circumstances, the Christ expects no less of those who proclaim to be his followers. In His very own words: ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me” and “as you did it not to one of the least of these, you did it not to me.”