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Darba waħda, waqt intervista smajt lil Silvio Schembri jgħid li “issa diffiċli nwaqqfu r-rota (ekonomika) milli tibqa’ ddur”.
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F’żgħożiti kont inqisni patrijott. Fit-tletinijiet ma kellix għalxiex nibqa’. Illum nemmen li issa tard wisq. Nibqa’ nemmen li l-froġa saret bi pjan, kemm fl-ambjent u wisq aktar fil-kultura u l-identità tal-poplu. U l-pjan kien suċċess. Għalhekk nibqa’ ntenni li dal-pajjiż spiċċut.
Fl-2006 Walter Micallef permezz ta’ “Malta fottewha” kien avżana mhux li d-dannu kien għadu ġej iżda li d-dannu kien diġà sar. llum, sittax-il sena wara, għadna qed ninżlu fit-toroq taħt l-għajta kajmana ta’: “Bidla fl-ambjent u fl-ippjanar issa”, meta r-reġina naħla ilha tant snin tistinka, taħdem u tbejjet il-qirda.
Jien li għadni ma sirtx ċiniku, u għadni noħlom f’xi ġenna tal-art, nemmen li l-ballun tas-silġ issa ilhu snin jitgerbeb ma’ żaqq il-muntanja, tant li diffiċli jew saħansitra mpossibbli twaqqfu milli jkompli jirrombla, jiżżaqqaq u jfarrak dak li jsib quddiemu. Fl-aħħar deċenni ġejna misqija kultura li rawwmitna f’poplu ġaħan u ladarba għannaqna din il-kultura ta’ tkabbir tal-ekonomija u tal-but, l-uniku tama tagħna u ta’ uliedna hija li xi darba l-ballun jasal fuq medda ta’ art f’saqajn il-muntanja u jitfarrak bina taħtu.
Jekk hemm kunċett politiku innovattiv f’moħħi li bħalissa nsiblu skop, dan huwa kunċett li kulħadd ser jiddieħak bih jew jitnaffar minnu. Kunċett ta’ ridimensjoni li fih il-mexxejja ta’ dan il-pajjiż daqs naqra jibdew proċess ta’ riabilitazzjoni/ditossifikazzjoni u treġġih lura lejn kwalità ta’ ħajja li tixraq fuq gżira. Dan ikun jinvolvi pjan serju fejn l-ekonomija tiġi ridimensjonata għall-popolazzjoni li teknikament tixraq lil din il-blata. Il-poplu ridimensjonat ikun imħeġġeġ jerġa’ jabita fiċ-ċentri tal-bliet u l-irħula u jerġa’ jinvesti flusu fit-twaqqiegħ ta’ proprejtà żejda u tibdil ta’ spazji mibnija, f’art rurali li toffri kwalità ta’ prodott u ħajja. Proċess fejn nieqfu naraw kbir, nieqfu naħsbu li Malta hija Tokyo, nieqfu nibnu torrijiet tal-Babilonja.
Nifhem li dan huwa kunċett li ħafna lanqas biss jistgħu jomgħodu għax rashom mgħaddsa f’loki jinten mimli flus, karozzi jleqqu, żejżiet kbar tal-plastik, pixxini u kumplessi ta’ superjorità fuq min jażżarda jgħid mod ieħor. Issib ġaħan differenti li waqt li jkun imwaħħal fit-traffiku u jgerger li dam sagħtejn biex wasal mill-Marsa sa Raħal Ġdid, jargumenta li jekk treġġa’ l-ippjanar ta’ pajjiż lura lejn figuri iktar baxxi, tissogra li titlef il-ġid. Ħaħaj!
Il-bidla tista’ ssir biss b’azzjoni prattika tal-poplu fit-toroq, kif kultant ġara fl-istorja ta’ pajjiżna.
Dalgħodu, għal raġunijiet personali, ma nistax inkun ma dawk il-mijiet li bil-mod il-mod qed jindunaw, għalkemm tard, li xi ħaġa mhux qegħda sew. J’alla fi ftit xhur jirrealiżżaw li spiċċa ż-żmien li nitkarrbu għarkubbtejna lill-mexxejja sabiex dawn ibiddlu r-rotta. L-ebda politiku li jibbaża l-filosofija ta’ tmexxija fuq ekonomija li dejjem obbligata tespandi ma jista’ jinstiga “bidla fl-ambjent u fl-ippjanar”. Il-bidla tista’ ssir biss b’azzjoni prattika tal-poplu fit-toroq, kif kultant ġara fl-istorja ta’ pajjiżna.
Fil-11 t’April 2009 ktibt dwar l-aljenazzjoni tal-Maltin u kif din kellha ġġib kundanna fuqhom. Għaxar snin ilu, l-installazzjonijiet artistiċi tiegħi: “The Gingerbread Men” u “The Death of Malta” fil-Kavalier ta’ San Ġakbu, kienu tentattiv kajman sabiex nispjega kif Malta kienet diġà pajjiż tradut u maqtul u li s-sens ta’ attiviżmu f’Malta, għalkemm bżonnjuż, seta’ jsarraf f’suf quddiem tant tradimenti. Fl-2019, ftit xhur wara qtil ta’ ġurnalista, b'”Consumatum Est” ridt intenni li issa kollox huwa mitmum.
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Grazzi lil dawk kollha li dalgħodu f’xi forma jew oħra ser jippruvaw ifehmu lil Silvio Schembri u sħabu, li xebbawna u li l-poplu qiegħed sa fl-aħħar jistenbaħ. Jekk tista’ kun hemm int ukoll. Noħlom iva, li xi darba l-poplu jinduna li jaqbillu jreġġa’ l-arloġġ lura.
During an interview, I once heard Silvio Schembri remark that it has become increasingly difficult to impede the continuous progress of the economy.
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In my younger years, I identified myself as a patriot, but as I entered my thirties, I found myself devoid of reasons to maintain that stance. Presently, I firmly believe that it is too late for any meaningful change for my country. I hold the belief that our nation’s decline was deliberately orchestrated, encompassing not only the environment but mainly the culture and identity of our people. This calculated plan has succeeded, leading me to repeatedly assert that our country is beyond redemption.
In 2006, Walter Micallef’s “Malta fottewha” served as a warning, not of imminent damage, but rather that the harm had already been inflicted. Sixteen years later, we continue to march the streets, carrying a subdued lament for “Change in the environment and planning now,” while the orchestrator of destruction, like a queen bee, tirelessly works towards her destructive goals.
Despite these circumstances, I have not yet succumbed to cynicism, and I still hold onto the hope of an idyllic world. However, I am of the belief that a metaphorical snowball has been steadily gaining momentum within the depths of the mountain for many years. Its continuous rolling, sliding, and crushing of everything in its path has become exceedingly difficult, if not impossible, to impede. Over the past few decades, we have been fed a culture that has reduced us to mindless individuals. Once we embraced this culture of materialism and economic growth, our only hope, as well as that of our children, lies in the snowball eventually crumbling at the mountain’s base, taking us along with it.
If there is an innovative political concept currently occupying my mind, it is one that would likely be met with laughter or fear. It involves a concept of resizing, where the leaders of our small country initiate a process of rehabilitation and return it to a quality of life befitting an island. This would require a serious plan to resize the economy according to a population that suits our geographical constraints. The scaled-down population would be encouraged to reside in the city and village cores once again, while reinvesting their resources in the disposal of excess properties and replacing built environments with rural landscapes that offer a higher quality of life and produce. It is a process that requires us to abandon grandiosity, to stop perceiving Malta as Tokyo, and to cease constructing towers of Babylon.
I understand that this concept may be difficult for many to digest, as their minds are preoccupied with notions of wealth, luxurious cars, artificial enhancements, swimming pools, and a superiority complex that is imposed upon anyone who dares to think differently. A typical Maltese individual stuck in traffic, grumbling about a two-hour commute from Marsa to Paola, might argue that scaling down the economy could risk losing wealth. Oh, the horror!
This morning, for personal reasons, I will not be able to join the many individuals who are gradually awakening to the realization, albeit belatedly, that something is not right. Hopefully, in a few months’ time, they will come to realise that the era of pleading with leaders to alter their course is behind us. A politician who grounds their leadership principles in an ever-expanding economy cannot truly inspire “environmental and planning changes.” It is only through the practical actions of the people taking to the streets, as has occurred in our nation’s past, that genuine transformation can be achieved.
On April 11, 2009, I penned my thoughts in a poem about the estrangement of the Maltese people and how this should elicit condemnation. Ten years ago, I exhibited my artistic installations, “The Gingerbread Men” and “The Death of Malta,” at St James Cavalier, in an attempt to portray Malta as a betrayed and victimized creature. My intention was to communicate a clear message that, despite the importance of activism in Malta, it could ultimately yield little in the face of multiple betrayals. In 2019, a few months following the tragic murder of a journalist, my work “Consumatum Est” served as a reaffirmation that everything had reached its tragic end.
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I express my gratitude to everyone who, will make an effort to convey to Silvio Schembri and his acquaintances, who have exhausted our patience, that the people are finally awakening. If feasible, I encourage you to participate in the protest this morning. I truly envision a future where individuals will come to understand the significance of contemplating a reversal of time.
