The introduction of the euro as our currency has brought with it a lot of shocks to many people. When you have been accustomed to a currency for more than 30 years, it is a psychological shock to abandon it and start over from scratch. So I cannot understand certain vox pops interviewing people (especially of a certain age) dismissing the changeover completely. They sounded as if nothing has happened, and they are so intelligent that they can make automatic calculations in their quick mind as though they were machines.
The arrival of the euro was a consequential sequel of Malta joining the EU. In certain respects, the euro would facilitate international business and make life easier to the thousands of tourists that visit us every year. I experienced the feeling myself last summer. I was on a short visit to Italy, Slovenia and Croatia. In Italy and Slovenia I used the same currency – the euro. Then when we crossed to non-EU Croatia we had to change currency. Since we had only a few hours in Croatia, nearly nobody acquired the Croatian currency and nobody spent anything. Day trippers arriving in Malta would experience the same feeling. However, nobody in his right senses would overlook the fact that the experience of a new currency is traumatic. Even more so, because the number 43 is not an easy number to apply mentally. Had it been 40 or 50 it would have been much simpler.
I know of persons of a certain age who find themselves helpless. They open their wallets and tell shopkeepers or monti hawkers: “take the correct amount”. I am sure that there are a lot of conscientious people in Malta but there are others who wait for the occasion to make unjustified profits. It is of paramount importance that NECC officials tour the various open markets in Malta and make random inspections in shops. An old lady I know told me that she is feeling helpless and has left her shopping to her daughter. Psychologically, the quick change has rendered a lot of people quasi money illiterate.
It was not easy for NECC to prepare for the changeover and objectively, one can say that they made a good effort. However, certain informative spots could have been eliminated and with the money saved, one could have conducted more practical explanations for the public. It has to take quite some time for people, including myself, to completely ignore the calculation in the lira mode. The Slovenian representative in the official ceremony commemorating the euro has said, the introduction of the euro would raise prices. Some retailers do not raise prices to make extra money but for practicality’s sake. Those who have fixed incomes would not find it easy but we all have to accept the new currency and do our best to see that our earnings are not eroded unnecessarily.
Another aspect which is frustrating people is the voluminous amounts of the euro one cent coin. It is nearly inconceivable to imagine 200 pieces to have a value of just €2. My initial feeling when I started to use the euro as my currency was that I had a lot of coins but little money. It is a bit cumbersome to carry all those coins so that you have some small change to buy the newspaper, a loaf or pay the parker.
It is of utmost importance that price tags showing the price in both currencies should remain as long as possible, even if the period extends beyond June. The Slovenian experience has shown that prices increased on the introduction of the euro, declined for a short period afterwards, only to rise again when simultaneous price tags were removed and the euro stood on its own. It is always useful to learn from the experience of others.
I have a word of encouragement to those who feel uncomfortable and helpless in using the new currency. My beloved mother, who passed away recently at a venerable age, and who had the hope of applying the new currency, assured me that she would be able to use the euro. In her life she saw three different currencies and she was able to adapt to all of them.

Medieval chapel
It was reported in MaltaToday that a unique medieval chapel in Gozo collapsed after years of neglect. Fort St Elmo is also in a shambles, used for for Carnival floats, abandoned dogs and most probably as a breeding ground for mice and rats. We have so much historical material in this tiny Island that for years, the government has not taken the restoration of these sites with the importance they deserve. I don’t know whether the EU has any funds for the restoration of historical sites. I presume that in one way or the other there might be some way of getting the necessary funds. If not, we should take the initiiative to convince the bureaucrats in Brussels that Europe is rich in history carved in stone and if there are funds for limiting the growth of potatoes, surely there should be some for of financing the preservation of our predecessors’ legacy.

A personal note
On a personal note I would like to thank all those who in one way or another helped my mother in her last moments and showed their solidarity with my family during the recent sad event when my mother passed away to eternity.