These days we should have been at the peak of the tourist season. Unfortunately, the coronavirus has, for all intents and purposes, annihilated tourism activity in Malta. It is generally accepted that restrictions on mass events, on which the tourism sector was hoping to build some sort of recovery, were lifted too early. However, given the low level of activity, this has given us the opportunity to reflect on one of the drivers of tourism activity in Malta – our heritage.

I make this comment in the light of comments made locally, in response to what has been happening in places like the United States and the United Kingdom, regarding our heritage. In the two mentioned countries, statues of personalities that are part of their heritage have been destroyed.  Very often these personalities have been associated with slavery or discrimination against specific segments of society. I refuse to enter into the merits of the behaviour of such personalities as no one can be prosecutor, judge and jury of people who lived in a historical context which is totally different to that of today. In Malta, the removal of the statue of Queen Victoria in Valletta has been mooted.

There are some important principles that need to be remembered here. We are what we are today because of our past. We cannot simply remove a part of our past and expect that life would be the same. All our strengths and weaknesses of today are the result of our history, our heritage.

If the Knights of St John had not been to Malta or Britain had not taken us under its wings in the early 1800s, we would not be where we are today. As such, reneging our past and our heritage, hoping that we would still be what we are today, is nothing but senseless.

Chris Patten, the last UK governor of Hong Kong, commented on television a number of weeks ago that: “History is not a blank page on which we can write our own version of what it should have been according to our contemporary views and prejudice.” 

I am harping on this point because we need to recognise that unless we are proud of our heritage, we would be losing our soul as a nation. This would mean eliminating an important driver of our tourism sector. When we speak of heritage, we should not be referring just to such statues.

Our heritage also includes the sea around us, our countryside, the churches built over the centuries, our prehistoric temples, the Maltese language, Maltese cuisine, Maltese crafts, Maltese folklore and traditions.

Unfortunately, we have to admit that we have systematically destroyed our heritage over the years. Examples of this abound. Many Maltese, especially young persons, are unaware of our history and as such are not aware of its value.

We all encounter people who are incapable of speaking either English or Maltese correctly as they have created their own language which is a hotchpotch of both.

The countryside has been damaged irreparably by building development.

The shoreline available to the public at large and tourists has been consistently eroded by various so-called economic activities. We keep sacrificing our heritage on the altar of the economy, forgetting the fact that this same heritage has brought us significant economic benefits. We are also forgetting that our heritage was lent to us by previous generations and we are duty bound to look after it and then pass it on to future generations.

I fear future generations will not judge us kindly given that we have shown no pride at all in our heritage.