GUEST POST: After Two Months In North Of Italy, I’ve Never Felt So Strongly About How Malta Must Change
I am currently two months into a student exchange program in Bolzano, North Italy and never have I felt so strongly about the changes that need to be made in Malta.
Cut the bullshit. Reform is necessary. We are amidst a national catastrophe and yet the Government continues to pretend nothing is wrong.
As if we citizens are not facing a threat to our health. Have they checked Malta’s air quality index lately?
Why are the people that we trusted with our country ignoring these facts, pretending that everything is okay? Since when did Malta’s wellbeing become based solely on the growth of its economy? What about us citizens? How can a Government blatantly ignore the cries of its people?
In Bolzano, I can commute using a bicycle without fearing for my life
And what type of Government is that exactly? These questions frequent my mind. I feel like my voice has no meaning and I know that I am not the only one that feels this way. So many of us feel like we’re helplessly watching our country being driven into the ground.
In Bolzano, the public transport is effective and reliable. Trains are on time and I can commute using a bicycle without fearing for my life. Bike lanes are available and respected by car drivers. And this is not just Bolzano, but any modern European city.
I want this for Malta too. I want us to be able to use a bike safely, and to have more sustainable commuting options. We need to break away from this national obsession with cars.
A hole in the recently-inaugurated Marsa flyover
The major problem in Malta is traffic. The growing amount of cars. The degradation of our air. The Government is blindly focused on widening roads, at the most of our environment and future wellbeing, instead of investing in sustainable transport solutions. How is it acceptable to spend 40,000 Euros on an inauguration event to celebrate a flyover that is already falling apart?
We deserve what we are asking for, it is our right. We are not the enemy, we are the people that have the environment, our health and future generations at heart. I dare you to give us what we’re asking for.
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