The identity of a nation is what makes it different from another. It is what visitors look for and what its inhabitants should protect at all costs. It is what should make citizens proud of living in that country and what gives them a sense of belonging.

These values automatically make its citizens more responsible, caring  and ready to involve themselves in the well-being of their country.

The feeling of belonging encourages persons to safeguard their country as their own home, to work harder for their society and to take more care of their surroundings.

In Malta, our identity includes our language, our rural landscapes, urban streetscapes, foreshore and beaches, our climate, history and traditions, and so much more.

Although Maltese is an official language of the European Union, it is being continuously misused and disregarded in our own country.

Recently, my 14-year-old child, Eliża, had to apply for an identity card.  The clerk informed us that the use of Maltese fonts was not possible even for her name!

How can we respect our country and its history if we are not even capable of respecting our language, which is the strongest value that makes us unique as a nation?

There is nowhere else in the whole world where Maltese is spoken and we should preserve and treasure our language.

During the past 30 years, during which I served as an active member in the heritage organisation, Din l-Art Ħelwa, I have witnessed the destruction of our built heritage. Issues, against which Din l-Art Ħelwa campaigned 55 years ago, when the NGO was founded, remain important even today.  What has changed are the locations and the specific buildings, showing that the country has never whichever government is in office.

Old and vernacular structures continue to be destroyed; houses characterising our streetscapes changed into drawers of concrete; apartments and high-rise buildings erected without respect of their surroundings. Valleys are built up with obvious consequences for the green environment and our watercourses, and the foreshore developed destroying sand dunes in the process.  We are losing our identity so quickly that our country has become unrecognisable to people who visit us after years of absence.

It has changed over only one generation, and what is lost is lost forever.

Attention is now turning towards Gozo, as the proposed tunnel linking the two islands will make it easier to transform it into a concrete jungle.

We are already witnessing development applications that will not only uglify the place but pose much bigger problems on the infrastructure and traffic. Two of Malta’s main assets are the foreshore and sea.

Nonetheless, development has encroached so close to the sea that places such as Buġibba, Sliema, Xlendi and Marsalforn have become unrecognisable.

We are losing our identity so quickly that our country has become unrecognisable to people who visit us after years of absence- Stanley Farrugia Randon

In other places, such as Mellieħa and St Paul’s Bay, roads have separated the foreshore from the shore, resulting in the detachment and loss of sand dunes.

Nobody seems to ever consider restricting development too close to the shore, although parliament has always been enriched by people who should have known better!

We have failed on a national level, as well as on an international level!

Malta is overpopulated and the demand for space has resulted in a further transformation of houses into dull apartments to the detriment of our identity and health.

There are still no serious studies on Malta’s sustainable carrying capacity and although it is not up to Din l-Art Ħelwa to control the demand for new apartments, the relaxation of the maximum heights and the pulling down of houses are knee-jerk reactions to this demand. Din l-Art Ħelwa continues to demand better planning. 

Although environmentalists and defenders of our heritage are disheartened by the limitless greed of developers, abetted by a weak planning culture, Din l-Art Ħelwa continues to fight its battles but these require financial and human resources. It is an unequal struggle between non-governmental organisations with such few resources and developers who are full of economic and political power.

Din l-Art Ħelwa is often criticised for commenting negatively on major projects. It is not against major projects but has been campaigning in favour of the environment and against poor quality and unjustified developments for the past 55 years.

The association does not just raise objections but seeks to educate by organising lectures, tours and publishing books to communicate its ideas to the public in favour of our national identity and heritage.

Din l-Art Ħelwa has also restored some 50 sites and monuments, despite financial and bureaucratic obstacles.

Our hope remains that people realise fast that the loss of our national identity is a loss of all that makes us who we are, our pride and values.  These are more important than mere growth in the GDP of a country.

Stanley Farrugia Randon is council member, Din l-Art Ħelwa.