The Big Day Has Finally Arrived!

I went to vote in Ta' Xbiex a few hours ago. I did not see many people at the voting station and I was ready in less than 5 minutes.

Since my wife is still not a Maltese citizen, she was unable to vote. Whilst I was voting inside, she was instructed to stay at a distance of, at least, 50 metres from the voting station. Thinking that I had my mobile phone with me, she sent me a message to let me know that she was going to meet me at home. When I finished voting, I never saw the message since I had left my mobile phone at home! I waited for a couple of minutes near the entrance of the voting station, hoping to get a glimpse of La Delirante. Nothing. When one of the police officers saw me just standing there, he asked me if I had already voted. I replied affirmatively and told him that I was waiting for my wife. He informed me that I could wait for her at a distance of, at least, 50 metres away from where we were standing!

I walked away, hoping that La Delirante was not looking for me inside the building!! I stopped at the street corner, where some political party observers were taking notes. After a couple of minutes, one of them told me, "I think she went home". I had no idea who that man was and I am sure that I looked quite puzzled there. I asked him, "Are you sure that it was her? She was wearing a pink top." The guy replied: "Yes, yes, it was her. I live in the building in front of you and I have often seen you together." Good gosh, I thought to myself! I cannot recall ever seeing the guy and he seems to know about many of my behaviours!!! An excellent example of neighbourhood watch! :-)

When I returned home, I was just zapping from one TV channel to another in order to get the latest news. The different Maltese channels were not saying much. I watched the footage of Dr Gonzi, Dr Muscat, and Dr Abela going to vote. I also heard that compared to the 2004 European Parliament elections, there were an additional 5,000 or so votes that were not collected. This means that even though Malta has been a member of the European Union for 5 years and even though an increasing amount of Maltese legislation is originating in the EU institutions, there are more people who are not interested in the EU today than in 2004.

I just hope that those people who did not bother to collect their vote will not go around complaining that things are bad in Malta and that there is little one could do to change the current state of affairs. I believe that even though one might not agree with all the beliefs associated with a particular political party, it will always be possible to identify a party that shares a good number of one's principles. As we saw in the 2008 general election, every vote counts and every vote is fundamental to either maintain the status quo or to change the way numerous things are being done in this country. Fair enough, the EU Parliament elections should not be regarded as national elections, but with so many laws coming from the EU, many national policies are going to be reflecting decisions that were taken in the EU Parliament.

By the way, for those of you taking a look at the photo posted above, even though there is a PN flag in the background, please rest assured that I did NOT vote for that party! :-))

Members of One Family

Many years ago, there was a Queen song that I really liked called “All God’s People”. During that time, I was still a member of the Roman Catholic Church and I was strongly attracted to the notion that all human beings are members of one family. It felt nice to think that all the people who have ever lived could be regarded as my brothers and sisters. Believing that life was eternal, it felt even nicer to think that no matter how many conflicts there have been in this world, a day would come when all human beings would be able to live together in an atmosphere of peace and love.

As time went by, I drifted away from the Roman Catholic Church and from all religious organizations. I never, however, stopped believing in how much better this world could be if we all attempted to regard each other as brothers and sisters. It is true that our own imperfections and the faults we perceive in many other people sometimes create a great deal of tension. Yet, if a person is committed to the ideal of living with others as members of one loving family, it becomes easier to overcome various impasses and to seek reconciliation.

Sadly, the cynicism exhibited by several people about human beings and what I have termed as the “individualist cult” have strongly contributed to a society often characterized by a shocking degree of selfishness. It could be that many individuals have become much more selfish because the economic model that has been adopted in many countries promotes such behaviour. Given the cut-throat competition that exists between numerous companies as they indulge their greed, it is not surprising that countless individuals are encouraged to believe that the only way to live decently in contemporary society is by embracing the social Darwinist creed that “only the fittest will survive”. On an almost daily basis, people all over the world are bombarded with TV shows about competing with the proverbial neighbour in order to be considered as more beautiful, more “talented”…and all this done to become rich and to acquire the power that is associated with fame. Nowadays, children below the age of 10 are sometimes gripped by despair when they get a B instead of an A in certain subjects at school!!

The “individualist cult” has pervaded numerous countries. Malta is surely no exception. The sickening number of dance and singing competitions that are held on an almost monthly basis bear witness to this point. Furthermore, various individuals have become so selfish to believe that if another human being ends up unemployed or homeless, it is only “that person’s problem” and “only they should deal with it”.

Considering that many Maltese people still pride themselves on being Catholic, the “individualist cult” exhibited by many individuals might come across as strongly at odds with the principle of fraternal love. What has happened to co-operating with other human beings? What has happened to helping those who need a hand in order to progress? What has happened to forgiveness?

I do not think that I would be exaggerating when I say that there are several individuals in Malta who feel extremely lonely and abandoned. Uncared for. It could be the single parent who gets no help with their child. It could be the 16-year-old who feels that they will have to go through life as a second-class citizen because they do not have any academic qualifications. It could be the person who lost their spouse/partner as a result of an illness or an accident. It could be the university graduate who spends months looking for a decent job. It could be the person who is diagnosed with a terminal illness.

Earlier on today, I was talking to a foreign friend of mine who has been living in Malta for many years. She is planning to move to another country later on this year or sometime next year. She told me that she found it extremely hard to make friends here in Malta. Many people would talk to her, but they would not go the whole way to treat her as though she were family. It was only after she joined an Evangelical Christian Church that she met people who displayed genuine care towards her. It was only then that she felt treated as a family member.

I find it very sad that in many countries, several people are only able to nurture the goal of building a more fraternal society by joining religious organizations. At this stage, I do not intend to criticize such groups because I am aware of the admirable work that is done by many of them. My only concern is that many people seem to end up constrained to believe certain things dogmatically just to feel that they are cared for and loved as family members. As far as I am concerned, my questioning mind prevents me from joining a religious organization and accepting various things just because I am told that they are true. Having said this, I yearn to be with people who care about me in a fraternal way.

In the case of those people who prefer a more secular pathway, Malta does not seem to have many organizations characterized by fraternal love. Some individuals might attempt to find a bit of solace by joining a political party, but the excessive ambition displayed by a number of people within a party might occasionally make it quite hard to feel that building a more fraternal world is that party’s top priority.

In spite of the friction that can be witnessed within almost every political party, I still believe that becoming involved with a political party appears to be one of the best options for secular-minded individuals to contribute to the construction of a more fraternal world. Of course, it is important to analyse a party’s ideology and objectives prior to joining. Joining a party could give a person the opportunity to make a number of positive differences in one’s environment.

Hopefully, a day will come when all human beings can live together harmoniously as members of one family.

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People Should Come First

Malta joined the European Union in 2004. Since then, although several individuals might have benefited from the country's EU membership, it is my impression that the greatest beneficiaries were a relatively small number of business owners. Following Malta's entry into the EU, such people have been able to expand their operations in many other Member States, thus increasing the chances of earning much more money. Having said this, how has the life of the typical Maltese worker changed since 2004?

There is little doubt that the EU provides various opportunities for Maltese workers to improve their skills. Many people have heard about the Social Funds that could be utilised to help various individuals acquire a number of skills. Being a member of the EU also makes it easier for a Maltese worker to move to another Member State where they could earn more money and live more comfortably. Since 2004, new companies have set up shop in Malta, making it possible for new jobs to be created.

In spite of the above, there are still several points that suggest that many Maltese workers are still not doing so well when comparing Malta to many other EU Member States. Indeed, earlier on this week, I heard that Malta presently has the highest inflation rate in the EU. At little over than EUR 600 a month, the minimum wage in Malta is a joke and a strong slap in the face to thousands of Maltese people, especially those that have dependants. Although there might have been an increase in job opportunities within certain areas of the Maltese economy, the Nationalist Government rarely talks about the conditions associated with many jobs that are being created in our times. What is the point of boasting about how many people are working when several of those individuals might be on short-term contracts, earning relatively low salaries, and working under very stressful conditions?

When politicians face each other during various debates, it is quite common for numerous spectators to feel lost or confused. Given that many politicians are lawyers or economists, it is plausible to expect a great deal of jargon about the Euro, the calculations underlying countless figures, and so on. To a specialist, such discourse is likely to be interesting, but wouldn't the typical Maltese worker prefer to listen to a different type of talk?

The EU needs to ensure that people come first. Of course, it is fundamental to safeguard the welfare of every citizen, but when we know that there are so many workers all over the EU that are yearning for a brighter and more secure tomorrow, it is so important for politicians to dedicate more time as well as energy to focusing on various issues. Could there, for example, be more talk about the possibility of creating a decent minimum wage across the entire EU? Could there be more talk about preventing work from spilling increasingly further into one's home life? Could there be more talk about specific strategies aimed at ensuring that there is full employment in the EU?

Next Saturday's EU Parliament elections are another reminder that we have the possibility to do something to change this Union. Next Saturday is another reminder that your vote could contribute to ensuring that the EU becomes an organisation that truly promotes the message: "People Should Come First"!

Fortress Europe or a Social Europe?

Over the past few months, many EU citizens have been discussing the impact of illegal immigration on various countries. Malta has been mentioned by a number of EU politicians on countless occasions even though not everyone thought that enough was done to address the issue in the best possible way. As shown by the photo posted above, one of the key questions for this year's European Parliament elections is: What kind of borders should we have?

In view of the fact that I consider myself to be a citizen of the world, I strongly believe that human beings should be allowed to move from one corner of the planet to another without having to face a shocking number of hurdles. At the end of the day, no person gets the opportunity to choose the country that they are born in; why should one be constrained to spend all one's life in a specific country without the opportunity to move easily to another place? Why is it that if one is born in an EU country, they are able to move freely to over 25 other countries whereas an individual born in, say, Sudan would probably have to face an incredible amount of bureaucracy to attempt to move to another country?

People decide to move from one place to another for various reasons. One of them is that an individual could nurture certain beliefs that are much more popular in one country than another. One country could offer more job opportunities than another. One country could provide more space, more greenery, more cultural organisations...

If capital can move around the world so swiftly and, in many cases, with hardly any obstacles, why can't human beings also be allowed to move around so easily??? Is money more important than human welfare?

The immigration issue is not a Maltese one. It is affecting several other European countries such as Italy and Spain. In my view, it is extremely important for EU politicians to be able to come together to find solutions that will avoid creating first-class and second-class citizens. Perhaps the time has come to revisit the various laws regarding immigration so that the world could become a fairer place. Is it fair to treat an individual who simply wants to move to another country in order to work and live there like all other law-abiding citizens as a dangerous criminal?

Over the past few weeks, some people have strongly criticised the ways in which a number of supposedly socialist parties have reacted to the illegal immigration phenomenon. Real socialists, it is often said, should try to tear down the artificial barriers that separate human beings from one another. Having said this, it is still comforting to know that even though some socialists could sometimes appear to have been injected by a heavy quantity of nationalism, their parties represent much greater hope than others that are also contesting the European Parliament elections.

The European Union should not become a fortress. It should serve as a model of fraternity to the other regional blocks around the world.

Paceville and the Quest for a Romantic Partner

When talking about Malta, many young foreigners would surely know about Paceville. The latter represents the island's clubbing capital and it attracts thousands of people every weekend.

In this post, I do not wish to analyse the virtues and vices that are frequently associated with Paceville. I prefer to focus on the popular belief that Paceville is the perfect place for a single person to find a romantic partner.

During my late teens, whilst complaining about being single, many people encouraged me to go to Paceville during the week and, particularly, on Saturday nights. I followed this advice for a number of months. Result? I remained single throughout the entire period when I used to stay out at Paceville until 6am.

Of course, there could have been many reasons underlying the lack of success in finding a partner during my frequent visits to Paceville. My appearance during those times could have benefited from certain changes, but I still believe that there were other issues to take into consideration. More important issues.

To this day, I believe that Malta is a country of clans or tribes. The clans tend to develop in many ways; sometimes they are formed by individuals who had attended a particular school for several years, people who had worked together, people who believed in the same religion, etc. As a member of a clan, it becomes relatively easy to be introduced to potential romantic partners, to individuals who could offer one a decent job, to a network of friends.

In my case, I was not very comfortable with the notion of being a part of a group for a fairly long time. I stayed away from the many religious groups that exist in Malta since I did not want to be a hypocrite; as an atheist, I did not want to go singing religious hymns just to make friends or to find a girlfriend.

Since I did not belong to any specific clan, whenever I went to Paceville, I often felt as though I were a total stranger. I would see pretty girls all over the place, but they were virtually never on their own; they tended to be with many other people.

Furthermore, the noise level inside most clubs in Paceville was so loud that it was quite hard to imagine myself trying to strike a conversation with a girl that captured my attention. Such loud music makes it possible to flirt using body language, but there is little more that one could do in similar circumstances.

Since those days, the Internet has become an extremely popular tool. With the appearance of social networking sites such as Badoo and Facebook, an increasing number of individuals have made friends and even started romantic relationships via the Internet. The latter has certainly helped several people in Malta who did not belong to a specific clan. More specifically, the Internet contains countless groups that allow easy membership and contact with other people. Such access to one or more groups is not always so easy when analysing, say, a group of individuals in Paceville.

To conclude, I am glad that - in a very small country like Malta - the Internet has provided another way to make friends and to meet a romantic partner. :)

Food for Thought

Whoever knows me will be aware of how much I enjoy dissecting various articles related to current affairs. In this post, I have chosen to focus on a number of points that have recently struck my attention.

According to an article published in the latest edition of The Economist, "India is a land of bright promise. It is also extremely poor. About 27m Indians will be born this year. Unless things improve, almost 2m of them will die before the next general election. Of the children who survive, more than 40% will be physically stunted by malnutrition. Most will enroll in a school, but they cannot count on their teachers showing up. After five years of classes, less than 60% will be able to read a short story and more than 60% will still be stumped by simple arithmetic" (p. 11). When reading such an article, many questions come to my mind: why is India often regarded as an economic giant that has benefited greatly from capitalism when faced with such shocking statistics? When reading about such poverty and misery, there is hardly any talk from several countries about the need for "regime change" or any discourse aimed at introducing different economic policies. There is talk of implementing numerous reforms, but the arguments are often very broad and fail to analyse several details.

In the same edition of The Economist, there was an article which praised the recent election of four women in the Kuwaiti Parliament. Although the article mentioned the fact that "Parties are officially outlawed in Kuwait, meaning that candidates run as independents" (p. 45), the tone did not appear to be as harsh as that often used when describing political events in countries such as Cuba and Venezuela. It might be interesting to note that whereas this magazine frequently talks about political prisoners in Cuba, this article did not really say much about the human rights situation in Kuwait. According to a website that I found whilst carrying out research for this post, I came across the following information: "There are scores of political prisoners in Kuwait, and prison conditions are often inhumane. There have been reports of torture and inhuman treatment of detainees, and some of those responsible have been prosecuted. Freedom of speech and the press is severely curtailed, and journalists have been sentenced to prison for criticizing the government or Islam. Most practice self-censorship. There is no freedom of assembly. The death penalty is applied."

Having a Child

As stated by La Delirante in her latest post, we have recently talked about the issue of having a child sometime during the next few years. Considering the fact that I am already 30 years old, an increasing number of individuals keep asking me about when La Delirante and I will have a baby; until now, our answer has often been something along the lines of "sometime in the future". Following yesterday's late-night discussion, however, both of us are having second thoughts about the matter.

At the moment, the thought of having a child in Malta could be described as a source of anxiety for both of us. There are several reasons underlying this feeling. First, La Delirante and I have virtually no family support in this country. Nowadays, given the high cost of living prevalent in several countries, it is extremely hard for numerous families to survive on one income. Consequently, both parents often try to maintain full-time jobs whilst recruiting family members in order to help with the baby whilst they are at work. I have witnessed this phenomenon at work; all the colleagues who have one or more children benefit from some type of family support. In the absence of such support, it is logical to ask: who could give us a helping hand? Private child care would be too expensive for us. Sadly, the current Maltese government does not seem to offer much in the way of child care centres; if my memory serves me right, many of these centres are not open throughout the whole working day and none of them appear to be free. Furthermore, it seems that a number of scholars have written against the idea of sending children to such centres before the age of three. If these scholars are right, one of us would have to stay at home and look after the child for the first couple of years. This would mean trying to survive on one income, which would probably lead to many problems (financial, psychological, etc.).

The idea of having a child is also a source of anxiety for us since this would undoubtedly affect our current standard of living. All the parents I know at work hardly ever go out to a restaurant or to the cinema and travelling becomes virtually impossible (unless some family members are able/willing to keep the children for some time whilst the parents relax abroad). Furthermore, the time that was once utilised to watch DVDs, read a good book, write, go to exhibitions would suddenly be replaced by changing diapers, frequent visits to the doctor, hours spent helping out with studying prior to exams, and so on.

When viewing the point mentioned above, some people might argue that we are being selfish in preferring to indulge in our hobbies rather than in rearing a child. Not really, I would say. In my 30 years of life, I have only been able to enjoy the things I liked during the past 3 years or so. I am not saying that I had an unhappy childhood, but my family was never the type to take me out to restaurants or to the cinema on a regular basis. I grew up as a very sheltered individual and I only managed to start enjoying the nice things that life has to offer during my early 20s. Even then, however, I could not do much because of my relatively low salary. Only now am I getting the opportunity to travel more frequently or to indulge in certain pleasant activities more regularly. La Delirante's background was strikingly similar to mine in this respect and we, therefore, both understand each other when we talk about the importance of having a reasonable amount of time for the things we really enjoy doing. We are still far from living the type of life we want to live. Faced with such a situation, when we ask ourselves whether we are willing to endure several years of numerous deprivations in order to have a child, the answer is a clear no.

Considering that La Delirante and I have bought a place for ourselves last year, there is still a lot to be done before the apartment looks the way we want it to. Bearing the ticking of La Delirante's biological clock in mind, we would only have around 4 years to carry out several huge projects before it starts becoming dangerous to get pregnant. Even though our salaries have improved over the past couple of years, we are still not earning enough to be able to do all the things we need to do during such a short period of time. The next few years will still see us trying to deal with a number of debts. Furthermore, the idea of trying to carry out numerous projects as quickly as possible would require sacrificing several things and putting a huge amount of pressure on ourselves.

Another worrying aspect of having a child in Malta is the country itself. Yes, one can eat well here and it is perfectly plausible to say that Malta is a very safe country. Yet, as stated in an article which appeared in the Times of Malta on the 21/04/2009, "Malta is the worst country for children to grow up in, if a study by York University is to be believed."

When it comes to State support, La Delirante and I do not believe that the current Maltese government could do much to help us rear a child. I have already mentioned the child care centres. Apart from that, Malta has one of the lowest periods of maternity leave in the EU.

The above are a list of points that we discussed vis-a-vis having a child. Bottom line: we are currently not willing/able to have a child.

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