Simon Busuttil sees things very differently from me (April 2). Freedom to me is the right for the people you elect to make the laws of the country in which you live and for that country to have its own currency. He relates his experiences of travel in and out of Malta 20 years ago to the rest of Europe. My experiences go back further to a time before Britain joined the then Common Market.
In 1970 as a young man, I gave up work, sold my car, and along with a good friend we hitch hiked through Europe. In those days I had a real British passport which meant something (not the flimsy Euro thing inflicted upon me today). On my first journey to the continent we got off the ferry in Belgium, where I was hoping to get the first of loads of stamps in my brand new passport, just like all my pals who had travelled far and wide. The passport officer, just as like today's passport officers, took a glance at our passports and sent us on our way - no stamp.
When we arrived at the German border in an articulated lorry, a German policeman asked to see our passports and was more concerned about us being vagrants. When he knew we were well funded he too sent us on our way, and again - no stamp in my virgin passport. Going from Germany into Switzerland was an experience in itself. We were picked up by a painter and decorator who hurtled towards the border at breakneck speed and showed no sign of stopping. I was convinced the armed border guards would shoot at us. As we flew through the border there was a cheery toot of the horn and a wave from the guards, and that was it - we were in Switzerland and no stamp in my still pristine passport.
The Italian border was chaos, cars all over the place with gesticulating Italians blasting their horns. Only the driver had to show his passport and that was it - no stamp again. Finally, the last leg of the journey, the ferry from Brindisi to Corfu, arriving in the very early hours of the morning. The Greek border guards were tired and not bothered, and again...no stamp.
At the end of my travels, when I got back home with a nice suntan and a stampless passport, I was amazed at how free and easy it was to travel across Europe - so what on earth is Dr Busuttil going on about being free - your freedom has been surrendered to the EU. He pointed out that travelling in the EU was like travelling in a single country, which is what the ultimate intention is. There will be no Malta, no United Kingdom, Germany, France or anywhere else - just a single country called Europe. I never voted for that, my days of freedom were before we joined the EU.