The truth about Malta that no one tells you

Here are a couple of quotes from academic papers that come up when you simply Google overpopulation, overcrowding and mental health: “It has been also found that anxiety and hostility tend to intensify over time in situations of overcrowding” and “An increase in overcrowding is associated with more depressive symptoms.”

I could cite dozens more but there is neither the time nor the space (pardon the pun) for them. In any case, if any internationally renowned scientist needs a guinea pig country to prove the veracity of these statements, they can just get a Jet2holiday flight here and by the time they hit Aviation Avenue in Luqa and encounter the angry, frustrated drivers that have become synonymous with Maltese roads they’ll already have what they need to compose the opening lines of their seminal works.

In the run-up to the election, I had already written about my wish that someone, anyone, really, tackle the serious traffic and overcrowding issues that this country is facing. However, not only are these problems not being addressed but a recent video taken by an Italian tourist on Comino served as a stark reminder that, apparently, things can always get worse.

The video, which has so far garnered 140,000 views, shows dozens of people practically sitting on each other’s laps, and it’s still June. I got second-hand claustrophobia just by looking at it, which was only exacerbated by the video taker’s voice saying: “The truth about Malta that no one tells you is that Comino is beautiful but there’s no room to breathe.” As a Maltese citizen, I have never related more.

Sometimes, I think I’m dreaming up things in my sleep but weren’t there plans to limit the number of people visiting Comino? Weren’t there meant to be daily time slots, QR codes and wristbands? Has the Natura 2000 ecosystem gone on holiday to the Bahamas? I look at the footage again and again and marvel at how symbolic it is of what Malta has become as a whole. The tourists see it, I see it: Why are the authorities not seeing it?

I’m tired of feeling this way. Tired of feeling so squashed and suffocated- Anna Marie Galea

Everywhere you go now, it’s the same story. Endless queues of traffic under a hot, blazing sun, nowhere to park once you get to your destination. If you do take the bus, you have to be prepared to be pressed to your neighbour like a Portuguese sardine in a can. Everything is full of dust and concrete and everyone is angry.

We Maltese know we’re angrier but no one can quite figure out why. I’ve mostly given up on going to popular beaches because I can’t deal with the trip there or trying to find somewhere to lay down my towel. I’ve never been an anxious person but I can feel the worry creep in when someone even mentions that a trip to Comino or a swim in Għadira might be nice.

I’m tired of feeling this way. Tired of feeling so squashed and suffocated. Tired of no one acknowledging or acting on the very obvious issues this country has. Another summer has come and I’m dreading what this will mean for the people who actually have to live here and can’t “go back to their country”.

The truth about Malta that no one tells you is that it was once very beautiful but, now, because of greed and short-sightedness, there’s no room to breathe. There, I fixed it.