World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims

Allow me to remind readers that today and every third Sunday in November a number of countries around the world commemorate the UN World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims.

Set up by a UN General Assembly resolution in 2005, this World Day of Remembrance offers an opportunity to draw attention to the scale of emotional and economic devastation caused by road crashes and for giving recognition to the suffering of road crash victims and their families as well acknowledging the work of support and rescue services.

The World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims was set up to highlight the needs of victims and their families. It uses three powerful words to convey its message: ‘remember, support and act’.

In a recent conference on road safety organised in Malta by NGO Doctors for Road Safety, the plight and grief of the families of victims of road traffic came to the forefront during the discussion.

The victims’ families asked questions – Why did my loved one have to die? Was it avoidable? Did my loved one die in vain? They demanded answers and expected justice; justice within a reasonable time.

If these questions are raised by victims’ families, our law enforcement and criminal justice system is failing the victims and the families of road traffic crashes; there is clearly need to address post-crash care as fatalities and serious injuries continues to rise.

Let us forever remember all victims of road traffic crashes, support the victims and their families and act promptly when and where necessary to avoid fatalities and injuries on our roads.

ANTOINE CASHA LL.D – Sliema

Common sense prevails

Even in the deepest conservative parts of the US there has been a sigh of relief that could be felt all over the world as the results of the American midterm elections emerged.

Trumpism, or, at least, Donald Trump, has been severely damaged. What a relief.

That our American friends could have spent the last 10 years rushing down a path that almost led to armed rebellion and a potential civil war can hardly be believed but it’s true.

Over the next two years, the Democrats in the US should seek and choose a successor to Joe Biden. Photo: AFP

When one considers that over 100 million Americans do not even have a passport, do not care about the rest of the world and still treat a good chunk of their indigenous, black or Latino co-citizens as inferior beings, it was no wonder that such an aberration like Trump was elected president and tried to break the finely tuned US system of checks and balances.

But reason has prevailed and the Democrats, against all odds, and probably as a surprise to themselves too, retained the Senate and will probably only lose the House with a very slim margin.

Even though the next two years will probably not see too many bills passing into law because of the blocking capabilities of the Republican Party, it will, at least, see a period of reshaping of the Grand Old Party bringing it back to renewed solid leadership like that of George Bush senior and Ronald Reagan.

It will also be a period of two years when the Democrats should seek and choose a successor to Joe Biden, who should do the right thing and move aside to allow the next generation of leaders of the two parties to compete for the presidency that will lead America and the free world in the global battle of social and economic systems that faces us all in the middle of this 21st century.

Russia, Saudi Arabia and China pose a great threat to the free world of human rights, democratic rule and freedom of expression. This is the battle facing us all and without new, young, energetic and forward-looking leaders of the two parties in the US we will have little chances of success.

Europe is too weak and divided to take the leadership but will gladly follow in the wake of the US as it has always done. As long as the EU can keep together and solve the issues of Hungary, Malta and Poland on the rule of law and the issues of Ireland, Malta, Cyprus and the Netherlands on tax avoidance and money laundering there is hope for us all.

JOHN VASSALLO – St Julian’s

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