No change at the MLP, environment, bus drivers, women and sex

So Dr Sant is to stay on as the leader of the Labour Party. Not that any of us had any doubts that he would not, even if some of us felt it was time for a change. His cabal is too strong to break.

But there was a dent, even if not a substantial one. The other two contenders. Anglu Farrugia and John Attard Montalto, just scratched the surface, with the latter getting a meagre eight per cent, but they at least showed that not quite all within the MLP are nodding heads.

Maybe it is just that the two contenders were not strong enough and that if someone like George Abela had made a move things might have been different.

Whatever, let's hope that Dr Sant has learnt some lessons from his performance so far and starts changing his image outside the party. He has to rebuild the bridges he so naively severed with the media, although he might have been badly advised on the latter.

The MLP media also have to change and be more open to criticism and less abrasive, intolerant and provocative, although it is fair to say that not all within the MLP media fall within that category.

Its raison d'être is as a propaganda machine for the party, which means it should be striving to attract new people, not push them away.

I am not saying that Dr Sant and his party machinery should become pussycats but the "cool and relaxed" attitude has to ring true through actions.

Environment

The good life last week sparked off quite a few reactions. Not as many as my petards campaign had attracted, but the remarks I received were a sincere call for a better environment.

It seems that quite a few people (although, mainly, the ones who responded were foreigners or Maltese who live, or have lived abroad) feel strongly that we should get our act together on really giving our island the attention it deserves.

It seems a shame that most of my compatriots seem to have the m'hemmx x'taghmel mentality, or are too busy lining their pockets to care. It was my reference to "living in a clean environment" and hunting which attracted the most comments.

Politicians got quite a lot of flak for not tackling the hunting issue and not looking after our heritage, like Cottonera, and the environment generally.

Many agreed with me that our architectural heritage is what attracts tourists (not the cheap, stay-in-the-sun brigade). Unfortunately, money for individual entrepreneurs rather than the national coffers seems to prevail.

Big developments, which either infringe or even worse destroy our unique attractions, are being sanctioned by the government and MEPA. And it is not just foreigners living here and Maltese living abroad who take an interest in the threat to our environment and heritage - international organisations are also helping.

"Nature will cry if this golf course is built" is one of the Friends of the Earth International issues doing the cyberrounds to stop the golf-course at Verdala in Rabat.

"Over the last 50 years, large tracts of countryside have been sacrificed for tourism and housing developments. Agricultural land is scarce, and the country only grows enough to feed 17 per cent of the population.

"FoE Malta has been busy battling one golf course proposal after the other over the past years, most of them planned for areas of agricultural importance, or scenic beauty.

"Developers have been known to threaten farmers in order to persuade them to sell off their agricultural land, and the government has relied on decisions made by planning bodies with heavy input from the tourism industry and no participation by environmentalists.

"One such proposal is to construct an 18-hole golf course, country club and luxury hotel on prime agricultural land that has been farmed for hundreds of years and currently provides 98 farmers with their livelihoods.

"The golf course will infringe the EU's Habitats directive and will eventually consume as much water as 11,000 Maltese people. To date, Malta's Department of Agriculture has remained silent about the project."

The Website, http://www.foei.org/ cyberaction/golfmalta.php encourages visitors to "help by e-mailing the prime minister of Malta urging him to reject this proposal and save the country from yet another environmental disaster". So we are not alone, folks.

As to noise pollution, there was a call for help from a Sliema Ferries resident on my answerphone when I got home Friday night.

Apparently Sliema Wanderers have erected a tent at the Strand and are blaring out football matches and holding other loud footie-related events till very late in the evening. Did Sliema council sanction this?

I know Robert Arrigo, who happens to be the Sliema Wanderers president, is no longer mayor, but this incident is not an auspicious start for him as a new Nationalist MP for the area.

Not gentlemen

I know that driving a bus must be a terribly boring job and sweltering at the wheel in the summer cannot be much fun, but it does not excuse some of the driver's bad behaviour.

I was therefore encouraged to see that the Malta Transport Authority has obtained €15,000 from the EU's Leonardo da Vinci programme for the training and development of Maltese bus owner-drivers.

Maybe when they come back from their two weeks of learning about customer relations and quality service in Portsmouth, I will be able to stop getting into a slanging match with them calling them "savages" and "animals" (I know, I know. I show a distinct lack of sophistication when provoked) as they relieve their ennui by attempting to mow down everyone who dares cross at the Triton Fountain to get to the Floriana car park.

And has the MTA, or the Environment directorate, managed to get some funds to ensure the buses stop fouling our air and start enforcing VRT testing?

Not just a feminist issue

The feast of St Joseph the Worker was celebrated by the curia with a discussion, which although was ostensibly about the balance between work and family and that St Joseph was after all a man, concentrated on the women's role as wife and mother.

Which, according to Archbishop Mercieca, meant the woman should "dedicate herself wholly to her children... it did not make sense for a mother to abandon these duties to take up a salaried job as this hindered her main mission."

Meaning women should stop making male workers' life difficult and revert to their mission in life by being their unpaid nanny, housekeeper, general factotum and bedroom partner. Mothering is only one part of the multi-task woman's 'mission' in the family.

Needless to say, that regressive statment caused 'ladies' like me to metaphorically foam at the mouth. I have been writing about the need for Maltese women to get financially independent and get a life outside the home for years.

As honourable and arduous housewifery may be, it is a frustratingly tedious, non-lucrative and thankless job.

It is all very well for the Archbishop to say that "housework should be recognised and respected by everyone". But the truth is it ain't, never has been and it is unlikely that it ever will be.

I agree that rearing children is "priceless" but that applies to both parents, not just the mother. Anyway, this is not just a feminist issue any more; it is now an economic one. That is why the EU is so concerned to get women to work. The country just cannot afford to have women at home.

Hugh Peralta flabbergasted me by saying that "women in employment could be one reason for the high number of separation cases." Yes, I suppose if it means that the women have given up being skivvies and are gaining control of their lives and the husbands don't accept it.

But as a lawyer, Hugh should also know that many separations are also caused by men, who after having built lucrative careers propped up by their unpaid wives, abandon them.

If women's organisations had been invited to the discussion they would have brought the debate into the 21st century.

Sex and the disabled

This being the year dedicated to raise awareness on disability, the National Council of Women, in collaboration with the Commission for Persons with Disabilities, on Friday organised a seminar dealing with sexuality and the disabled.

I must commend the courage of both these organisations. I have never been to such a progressive discussion on sexuality, be it of heterosexuals or gays. Joe Camilleri, the chairman of the commission, does not surprise me as he has developed a style of dealing with subjects people find squeamish or taboo, which I can only describe as charming.

As for the NCW, they have been getting more active on issues which matter and have outgrown their image of 'ladies keeping everyone happy', i.e. not rocking the boat. Keep rocking, ladies!

Mr Camilleri spoke about people's mistaken perception that disabled people are 'angels', i.e. asexual, and the difficulties disabled adolescents have when it seems that their sexual awakening is not acknowledged. He questioned why restrictions which are not imposed on other adults are expected from disabled people.

Another speaker, Marcel Pisani, explained that because his generation, especially, were taught that sex was sinful, the subject was taboo, and it was difficult enough for able-bodied people to get information, let alone the disabled.

He mentioned the lack of privacy the disabled have to contend with and the taboo of masturbation. "How dare we deny the disabled sexual satisfaction and sexual relationships", he asked.

Graziella Buttigieg, an attractive, independent, sexy and feisty young single mother in a wheelchair, spoke of her experiences dealing with her normal urges "to pull" young men.

She said the 'chair' is seen as a turn-off by some men, and she cannot use her sexuality like showing off her bottom in a wheelchair. But she has remarkably overcome these drawbacks and seems to be having an active sexual life.

Parents of able-bodied partners were seen as disapproving of 'mixed' relationships by the disabled people who spoke. But Joe Camilleri said one must be careful at not demonising parents who find it difficult to accept a disabled in-law.

Differences should not be seen as a threat, Mr Pisani said, adding that patronising, narrow-minded attitudes are sometimes worse than inaccessibility.

This debate only scratched the surface of the problem and I hope that it will be an ongoing debate and not a one-off, but knowing Joe Camilleri's tenacity I am sure we shall be hearing more about it.

phansen@timesofmalta.com