All right-thinking citizens are aghast at the destruction of trees in an island increasingly depleted of green areas and the loss of about 49,000 square metres of land between Mrieħel and Mdina, some of it currently farmland, for a road-widening project.
The widening of key thoroughfares in Malta to mitigate traffic congestion has provoked widespread concern as mature trees are removed indiscriminately – from Addolorata Cemetery to Santa Luċija, from Rabat to Marsamxett and elsewhere – to make way for more cars in an already car-polluted country.
Last Sunday, hundreds of people converged on the road linking Attard to Mdina in protest at the barbaric destruction of hundreds of trees by Infrastructure Malta to make way for the Central Link project.
The only ray of hope in the gloom caused by this project was the presence of these people, many of them young, who felt it was their civic duty to engage in peaceful protest against this wilful destruction and their determination to make their voices heard.
It has been a most encouraging feature of the last 15 years to see how participation by Maltese civil society in the country’s affairs has increased by leaps and bounds. For too long our citizens, brought up to be deferential to church and state, have been stifled and mute. But a more sophisticated, educated and questioning society has thankfully led to a greater readiness by people to raise their voices against what they deem wrong.
At its core, civil society is about the strength of citizens as individuals or in voluntary associations to curb the power of centralising institutions. It is a partnership between public, private and civic as the best way to overcome social and economic problems.
The environmental lobby in Malta – Fondazzjoni għal Ambjent Aħjar, Din l-Art Ħelwa, Friends of the Earth – have been among the most notable proponents in this field because increasingly the conduct of successive governments has been to abuse Malta’s natural landscape and environment.
Tireless activist group Moviment Graffiti has been consistent and among the most effective on social justice and environment issues. But civic protest has spread beyond the environment.
Republika has taken up the cause of Malta’s democracy and the rule of law. NGOs like Aditus and Integra are guardians of minority rights and the well-being of asylum seekers. They and others are today’s civic voice of the people.
This phenomenon has risen to prominence not simply because of the increasing public and political profile of NGOs, but because a body of evidence exists to justify it.
Voluntary associations are a crucial counter-weight to governments and corporate power
Networks of such associations act as a counter-weight to vested interests and promote institutional accountability. They help to influence the social contracts between government and citizen that are needed for a healthy society.
Voluntary associations are a crucial counter-weight to governments and corporate power and an essential pillar for transparency, accountability and other aspects of good governance.
It is they that provide the channels through which most people can make their voices heard in government decision-making. Activists protect, promote and highlight civic and political rights and areas of concern.
It is people power – and most of them are doing it with no financial compensation for their time. They are prepared to speak truth to power, however unpalatable that truth may sometimes be to those in power.
To fail to do this in the face of any government neglect is to betray the aspirations of society to improve itself. It is the responsibility of civil society to highlight the issues of concern. Politicians and policy makers must be persuaded through intensive lobbying that they ignore us at their electoral peril.
The overriding objective must be the achievement of a better Malta, not supine and complacent support for any government – whatever its political complexion – which is not doing its job as we, the people, would wish.
Peaceful civic protest is the spark that ignites civil society as a force for positive social change. The determination to do something because it is the right thing to do is what makes NGOs – and the hundreds of people who gathered at Saqqajja Hill last Sunday – a force for good and motivates people to raise their voices in the public sphere.
The need to enhance civil society’s role and effectiveness in our country remains paramount.