Burying the jewel

I write in response to Fr Charles Cini’s heartfelt plea for common sense in the mad rush in Gozo to despoil our island (June 26).

Frankly, I do not blame the Gozitans who, like any other human beings, when presented with a fistful of cash, would sell a decrepit property and not think of the consequences.

I do not even blame the minister for Gozo (although, as the title suggests, he is supposed to be for all Gozo, not the interests of the few). No, it is the Planning Authority – you know, as the name suggests, the ruling body which adjudicates on applications and has some clout.

This body, which should have the interests of all parties at heart, not only the applicants, not just the local communities who get severely impacted, but, also, all those whose aesthetic senses are assaulted by potential structures of outstanding unnatural ugliness, on an overwhelming scale and straight from the Soviet-era playbook! That is, all of us.

There are many nondescript old buildings around which, actually, could merit development. But, please, let’s not compound the error by erecting entities which multiply the original offence.

And create environmental chaos along the way. Our island deserves better.

Gozo is a jewel, yes (still). It is not dead (yet). But, let’s not watch idly by while it is intensively and insensitively buried under concrete.

DAVID CARRINGTON – Sannat

No public toilet at Dwejra Bay

One Thursday morning, on March 18, 2021, a maintenance worker died after the ceiling of a public toilet in Dwejra collapsed on him as he carried out maintenance works.

Now, almost 15 months later the magisterial inquiry is still under way. 

Dwejra Bay attracts many visitors, yet, there is still no public toilet available. 

A local restaurant is bearing the brunt as many visitors use its private restrooms, thus creating an inconvenience to diners.

This is a far cry from the recent statement made by Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo, namely that the government wants Malta to be a “hub of tourism excellence”.

EMMANUEL GALEA – Victoria

We are equal

Malta is, again, at the crossroads. It is faced with far reaching legislation that will determine whether the principle of equality will be upheld and protected.

The most fundamental of rights that should apply equally to us all is the right to life. If that right is compromised in any way, all other rights are obviously meaningless.

Malta has a proud heritage that has always vigorously safeguarded the right to life.

Sadly, these safeguards have been increasingly under threat, as powerful and well-financed lobbies, abetted by the mainstream media, clamour for the killing of the unborn. 

With the amendments of the Embryo Protection Act in 2018, IVF procedures have given rise to the production of surplus embryos.

Since then, Malta now has almost 400 frozen embryos condemned to remain in suspended animation.

But worse is now looming over the horizon. The prospective legislation to screen embryos in IVF procedures will make eugenics a possible reality.

It will allow the choice, on the basis of chromosomal composition, for medical specialists to decide which sibling will be transferred to his mother’s womb and which one will be frozen perpetually.

Eugenics has a long and sinister history. Its use came to fruition in the short-lived Nazi regime that deliberately eliminated the medically compromised. Its most awful expression is embodied by Josef Mengele, the ‘Angel of Death’ who, in Auschwitz, made the notorious selections of who would live and who would be sent to the gas chambers.

Today, embryos carrying certain genetic diseases will face the same destiny. Instead of armed guards and a callous doctor, they will be sorted out by men in white coats.

Instead of gas chambers, they will be consigned to a doomed environment of sub-zero temperatures. 

This cold-hearted proposal has been greeted by well-deserved revulsion, especially by NGOs, organisations and institutions that are in the forefront supporting and giving their all to those of us who are faced with medical disabilities. They have made a strong appeal to the authorities, spelling out with utmost clarity that eugenics is not the way forward.

We are all equal before the law and our life, especially when vulnerable and weak, deserves equal respect and protection. This is what distinguishes a civilised society from a barbaric one.

A highly professional document signed by leading experts in various disciplines has warned against the adoption of measures that reduce life to a commodity.

There are no excuses.

Our political representatives cannot hide behind the apron of party loyalty or, worse still, claim ignorance of the truth.

There are moments in our life when we have to make momentous decisions, decisions that determine who we are.

Will the universal principle of equality, the basic right to life remain enshrined in our country?

The moment is upon us.

KLAUS VELLA BARDON – Balzan