Travel to and from the UK

In his letter of June 8, Willie Mostert of Sliema describes himself as being bemused by the UK’s traffic light system for international travel.

For the urgent necessity of familial and business interests, I recently found it necessary to visit England and, while dealing with the obstacle course of bureaucratic form filling, constant surveillance and paying the equivalent of €300 for COVID tests, I was filled with a sense of despondency rather than bemusement. Attempting to legally enter England at the present time makes planning to abscond from Corradino look like a piece of cake.

England has turned most aspects of her response to the pandemic into an industry, the administration of which would leave Sir Humphrey from Yes Minister purring with delight.

Malta did not make it to the most recent green list and she probably never will or, at least,  not until every desire to travel abroad has been syphoned out of the English population. In the unlikely eventuality that it did turn green then, in light of Portugal going from green to amber in the space of three weeks, who of sound mind would have the courage to book a holiday with such overhanging uncertainty and state of perpetual confusion?

The current state of play suggests to me that England is fixated with their road map to a return to some semblance of domestic normality, especially for an economy that has been battered by lockdowns, and if this means throwing foreign travel under the proverbial bus then so be it.

Mostert is entitled to his opinion when stating that England’s current policy of dissuading her citizens from travelling abroad is “showing the world that their focus is on money and not on health” and that in doing so my homeland is “showing its true colours”. 

New Zealand and Australia have both been far more draconian in their approach to travel. Personally, I refrain from describing my Antipodean friends as being selfish for doing so, as Mostert in a derogatory tone chooses to describe the English.

Any country that does not accept that fighting COVID is also about balancing health against wealth is being disingenuous.

Jonathan Chard Deeley – Sliema

Vaccines and risks

Photo: Shutterstock.com

The letter “Vaccines” (June 12) seems to imply (wrongly) that “unvaccinated people cannot be a risk to others if all those others are fully vaccinated”.

In a nutshell, this is wrong for two reasons:

Vaccines are not 100 per cent effective. So even some people who are vaccinated will still be at risk.

The greater the number of unvaccinated people in a community, the more opportunity germs have to spread.

This means outbreaks are more difficult to control and everyone is at greater risk of exposure, including vaccinated people.

Christopher Rizzo, consultant physician, primary healthcare – Floriana

Saving the unborn

I am convinced that I will not be discourteous if I recall the paternal invitation of the president of the republic for the nation to gather round and ponder  “Not what we are but what we have become!”

There is a stage in the political history of our country to fall back on the traditional thought and feelings of the citizen. It is the present when the bill to decriminalise abortion comes before parliament to become “law”.

There is good reason for most of the Maltese to stand in fear of such a moment. It impacts so intimately on the structure of their family.

The undercurrent feeling cannot be stronger for the slogan ‘Let’s together save the life of the unborn child’.

Edward de Bono may have anticipated such a juncture of supreme importance, regarding a national choice. He counsels us to ward off any form of subjective thinking of any kind, in time.

“Once the process has been started, it feeds on itself, as unfamiliar figures explained by already familiar figures become familiar enough to explain further unfamiliar figures. In this way the repertoire of familiar figures and relationships is always growing.”

Another strong voice echoes closely with a great message. It is Judge Rosemarie E. Aquilina, Juris Doctor.

“What we are it’s because of the values we have as Maltese, the family, community, God and country. Treating everybody as a human being – listening.

“To go back to the family values that we always had, talk, treat each other with respect, stand together firm, strong. We use voices, we marry; and we show the world that this little country changes the world.”

Let’s together save the life of the unborn child.

Francis Attard – Marsa

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