Claudine Cassar | Sunday, 27 December 2009

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Bring on 2010!

The last year has not been the greatest. The economy has gone belly up, crime and violence throughout the country have escalated, we have had horrific cases of child abuse and domestic violence, shocking incidents of corruption and abuse of power and harrowing accidents where people lost their lives. Things have been pretty grim in general.
I thought it could not get much worse, until news broke on Tuesday of the parcel bomb delivered to a family in Qormi, a despicable act that had terrible consequences. 60-year-old Philip Cini sustained serious injuries – he lost his left hand and some fingers on the right, and is fighting for his life.
What is truly shocking about such an indiscriminate attack is the fact that anyone could have opened that parcel. It could have been Cini’s wife, or even worse, his eight-year-old grandson. Had that happened it is highly unlikely that such a young boy would have survived the explosion, bringing back shades of the tragedy of Karin Grech. I cannot even begin to understand what could possibly motivate a human being to act in such a cowardly and malicious manner.
So I am looking forward to the New Year. I believe that as the economy slowly recovers and people start to feel more optimistic, then things in general will improve.
However, I cannot help but think of what needs to change for us to see real progress in this country. I’m feeling optimistic today, so here’s my wish list for a better Malta.

1. An increased culture of tolerance throughout the country towards those who are perceived to be ‘different’ due to their sexual orientation, culture, race, religion or political persuasion. It shocks me to read some of the comments that people post online – words full of hate and bigotry. We are all entitled to our opinions, but that does not give us the right to insult and degrade others.

2. Real financial support from the Government for NGOs such as YMCA, Dar tal-Providenza, Inspire and the hundreds of other organisations that give an invaluable service in the community. 2009 was a hard year for fundraising and many of these organisations had to cut back on the help they give people in need. The time has come for the State to take responsibility and offer more financial support to these people.

3. A plan of action to strengthen the Child Protection Unit which currently cannot cope with the cases that it has on its books, a situation that is constantly getting worse since new cases come in every day. Social workers in child protection in Malta have to deal with three to six times the number of cases held by thei r UK counterparts, and if something is not done about this, more and more children will fall through the cracks and end up in a living hell. We will then read about them a few years later and feel bad about what they went through, until 5 minutes later we forget all about them and move on.

4. An honest discussion about the introduction of divorce, one that is not based on emotions and religious bigotry but on facts and the realities of life. People make mistakes, especially when they are young, and the State has the duty to cater for such circumstances. Constantly sweeping the matter under the carpet is not making it go away.

5. A serious sex health education programme to bring the current wave of teenage and unplanned pregnancies under control and to stem the tide of sexually transmitted diseases that has swept the nation. The Genitourinary Clinic at
Sir Paul Boffa Hospital is seeing more and more patients every year, and the incidence of gonorrhoea and syphilis has increased dramatically. The fact that 90% of these patients admit that they had recreational sex without using any protection shows that it is vital that a public health campaign is launched to encourage sexually active individuals to get screened for sexually transmitted infections, while simultaneously promoting responsible sexual behaviour.

6. A viable plan for the Health Service – one based on true consultation with doctors, nurses, health practitioners and even patient representatives. Passing the primary health buck to the private sector is not an acceptable option.

7. A realistic discussion about the viability of student stipends and the introduction of means testing. The time has come for the State to take some courageous decisions. It is ridiculous that we have a proposal in hand that will result in people from lower income brackets paying for their primary health care, while the children of high income earners receive monthly pocket money from the government.

8. A road task force empowered with a decent budget to tackle the state of the roads. I do not really need to comment about this one. We have all driven around the country and experienced the roads first hand.

9. An army of cleaners to regularly sweep the streets and keep the country looking decent. If we truly want Malta to be a popular tourist destination, then we have to try to make it look a little prettier. The locals deserve better too, not just the tourists!

10. A serious enquiry in the allegation of police misconduct that occurred this year. We have a 21-year-old from Rabat who claims to have been beaten by police officers inside the St Julian’s police station, a couple who were parking their car, with eye witnesses confirming that police officers beat them after they refused to drive on and abort their parking attempt, and an 18-year-old girl who alleged she was manhandled and terrorised by four police officers after committing the serious crime of walking on the beach with a small dog in her handbag. In addition to all these allegations, we have also been bombarded with cases of police officers found guilty of crimes ranging from theft to drug pushing and rape. The silence from the authorities on these cases has been deafening – it is about time that something is done about it.

11. Appointment of people on boards and in important positions on merit and not on the basis of political connections. Maybe then the mediocrity that has swept the country will finally give way to some serious progress.

12. Real political accountability – the powers that be should take responsibility when things go wrong, and the Maltese in general should wake up to the fact that politicians only get away with it because we allow them to do so. How have scandals such as the one that rocked the VAT Department gone by without even one head rolling? We deserve better.

Well, there you are – my wish list for 2010. A girl is entitled to dream, is she not?

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