There are many ways to go down in history besides being a monarch or earning dubious immortality through nefarious deeds.           

The great and the good all over the world have discovered ways to earn immortality by setting up charitable foundations or funding living monuments like universities, libraries, hospitals or parks.

Malta was no exception in the past – as attest Bugeja Institute and Zammit Clapp Hospital. Yet, with increasing prosperity, Malta’s magnates seem to have lost sight of the concept of giving back to society.     

In the US there is no forgetting this trait. The Guggenheim Museum, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMa), the Frick Museum and the grand New York Public Library are just a few that owe their existence to private donors. It is not only people like the Rockefellers, Vanderbilts and the Astors whose names are engraved on town hall, university and library walls; it is ordinary people too.

And they don’t come more ordinary than Oseola McCarty, an elderly washerwoman who gave away €150,000 – almost every cent she ever made from laundry and ironing, to set up a scholarship fund for poor students in Mississippi, becoming a symbol of selfless giving.

McCarty, who lived a humble life in a tiny house, only going out for church and groceries and had never flown in a plane or stayed in a hotel, was honoured by the UN, met the President and received an honorary doctorate from Harvard. People all over the world knew who she was and she triggered a whole philanthropic movement.

In Malta, we have many examples of philanthropy – our annual l-Istrina binge is second to none. But why is it that Maltese magnates feel no outstanding urge to give something back to society that will immortalise their names for centuries?

Much as Central Park is feted, Manoel Island could be even better, with Fort Manoel as the jewel in the crown

There are no lack of opportunities and one is staring us in the face right now.

António Manoel de Vilhena gave his name to Manoel Island and its fortress, but giving the island back to the nation is an act that would equally record the Mizzi name for posterity.

Central Park in New York was planned in 1855, when city authorities realised that even though several other public gardens existed in Manhattan, residents needed a large green space for recreation in their polluted city.

It is a sad reflection that, 150 years later, our politicians have never reached that conclusion, despite countless studies confirming that green urban spaces are essential to town dwellers’ physical and mental health.

Similarly, our politicians have for decades repeated that Malta should be like New York concerning building density, while ignoring the fact that almost one- quarter of New York is made up of parks.

The Midi Group has it within its power to set that local imbalance right.

Is it unrealistic on my part to suggest that? Probably, but miracles do happen. 

Much as Central Park is feted, Manoel Island could be even better, with Fort Manoel as the jewel in the crown of a wonderful heritage and nature park. Studies show that while adults and children benefit from being in a public garden, benefits increase in a natural park and are highest if the park is by the sea. Sea air is enriched with salt, iodine and magnesium, particularly beneficial to treat asthma, so prevalent in Malta due to our high air pollution.

The alternative to this park doesn’t bear thinking about. If the present development plan is granted, Manoel Island is to be built up with more than 600 units in an already over-populated area. Much of the view of Valletta from the Gżira promenade will be blotted out by a bastion of apartments to be built on reclaimed land.

Some 30 per cent of the promenade itself will be taken up by the road leading to the repositioned bridge. The development would eliminate all the mooring of small boats in the area, totally destroying the present charm of the creek and hugely increasing population, traffic and pollution in the area, a fate to be decided by the Planning Authority tomorrow.

Studies show that beyond a certain level of wealth, more riches do not add to one’s happiness. Surely the knowledge of making such difference to people’s lives and health would? Surely the sight of Manoel Island rehabilitated as a beautiful wooded park, giving joy and health to so many families while serving as a tourist attraction would make anybody proud beyond words?

I am not claiming that this should all be borne by Midi or the Mizzis. Of course, the State has an obligation to contribute in favour of its citizens, a public/private conservancy could be set up as at Central Park.

McCarty’s wisdom, a mix of common decency and common sense, should have the last word: “There’s a lot of talk about self-esteem nowadays. If you want to feel proud of yourself, you’ve got to do things you can be proud of. Feelings follow actions.’’ 

Malta is in desperate need of decency at the moment – I entreat the Midi Group to be the beacon that lights the way.

Astrid Vella is co-founder, Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar.

This is a Times of Malta print opinion piece