Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1072992
OPINION 27 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 20 JANUARY 2019 Everyone asked about Buffon but nobody asked about Gigi Evarist Bartolo Evarist Bartolo is Minister for Education and Employment Luke Caruana Luke Caruana is AD candidate for the Mellieha local council luke.caruana@alternattiva.com Luke Caruana AT the end of last year, the Minister of Infrastructure Ian Borg announced that tenders for the Gozo-Malta tunnel project will be issued soon. As we have yet to hear about any serious studies having been concluded on social, envi- ronmental, and economic impacts, Ian Borg's announcement is a tad prema- ture. Such assessments take quite some time to be concluded and Ian Borg is bypassing these basic assessment procedures. Why all this hurry? Why is he doing his utmost to hide the real implications of such a project from public scrutiny? It seems to me that he is resorting to populistic methods just to give the impression that he is delivering, at all costs, on the eve of an election. The people deserve to know what their op- tions are before forming an opinion as to what is best for them. It is now clear that the proposed tun- nel entrances will be (most probably) below the Kenuna Tower in Nadur and in the Għerien area between Mellieħa and St Paul's Bay, on the outskirts of Manikata. Both areas are of ecological importance to Malta and Gozo and situated in our prime rural areas. On the Malta end, the tunnel entrance will have disastrous impacts since the area is home to that part of the water table which is least polluted on the islands. In fact, not so long ago, plans for a Golf Course in the area were discarded for a multitude of reasons. The long list of reasons is not fully known as the Malta Tourism Authority did not even have the courage to publish the EIA car- ried out on that project. It is however known that protection of the area in terms of the EU Water Framework Directive is a primary reason. Meanwhile, Ta' Kenuna in Nadur is primarily an agricultural zone having an ecology which requires protection. Apart from the environmental destruc- tion, there are other consequences that will be brought about. Air quality will deteriorate due to a substantial increase in vehicle emissions. In addi- tion noise and light pollution will be introduced to these practically pristine areas. It would be also wrong to assume that a project of such a massive scale will not bring about adverse conse- quences to the surrounding areas. It will lead to wider roads to sustain the new traffic flow, more petrol stations will be considered 'necessary' and so on. I am yet to hear what the local councils in the nearby localities have to say about this as the quality of life for people residing in these two localities will be severely impaired. It is evident that open spaces are becoming more scarce in our densely populated country so why should we continue taking up more land when we already have modernised the Ċirkewwa and Mġarr sea terminals. The govern- ment is ignoring other alternatives and pushing at all costs a tunnel solely for private car use. Why are we address- ing the problem of commuting only through the use of cars in the first place? We should take a step back and pri- oritise people through mass transpor- tation systems that are linked between land and sea. One of these alternatives could be the introduction of a foot passenger fast ferry that makes stops in Gozo, Sliema, the Grand Harbour, and possibly in the St Paul's Bay area. This in turn can be linked to other areas through the national bus system. This would surely be more manageable since it has already proved to be feasi- ble in both the Grand Harbour as well as in Marsamxetto Bay. On top of that, it will help alleviate the ever-growing national traffic gridlock as cars will be reduced from our roads. There is another important factor which is hardly mentioned: Gozo's current economic strategy. While it is important that we look at other ways to improve transportation links between Malta and Gozo, it is impor- tant to see why people are practically forced to commute to Malta to work. It is evident the government has failed in its economic plans for Gozo, and it is hiding its shortcomings to the Gozitan people by offering a tunnel as a solution. It is incomprehensible how large amounts of money are ready to be invested in a tunnel but there is reluctance to invest in Gozo's business development. In an economy that is now more than ever geared on digital dimension, I can't see how Gozo cannot be an im- portant player to this plan. What Gozo really needs as soon as possible, is the second fibre optic cable that will enable businesses to establish themselves on the island. This will drive new eco- nomic development without sacrificing the island's natural and historical assets that are so important to the tourism sector, a backbone of the Gozitan economy The realistic alternatives to a tunnel are many and I urge Ian Borg to take a step back before it is too late. I am sure he will not want to be remembered as the person who caused irreversible ruin to northern Malta and Gozo. A tunnel is not the best solution DEALING with the issue of mental health is a daunting enough task for sufferers, however for those in public life it presents a challenge of its own. Mental health is probably the most misunderstood disease and is subject to assumptions and misconceptions which are simply not there for any other disease. I think over the next few decades, as we better understand mental health, we will look back at the grotesque way we have handled the issue in our history and shudder at the thought of how so many people who needed help were sidetracked by society. In mental health, there is no shape or size of sufferers. They are not re- stricted to how much they earn, how successful they are or social status. I was touched by the openness of a World Cup winner and Italian legend Gigi Buffon during a recent interview where he talked about a phase in his life where he suffered depression. 'For a few months everything lost any sense. I thought others didn't care about me, but cared only for the champion on the outside. Everyone asked about Buffon but nobody about Gigi.' I was touched by this sentence. Italians have a way with words, don't they? "It was a very difficult time. I was 25 years old and I was successful," Buffon continues. He describes how one day, just before a match, he had a panic attack and told his coaches he could not play. "I simply couldn't handle playing the game," explained Buffon. He said the crucial thing he did was open up, rather than close off and double-down on it. He said at that moment he realised he needed help and faced his challenge. "I was never ashamed of crying or showing weakness,'" Buffon said. In a traditionally conservative cul- ture such as Italy such steps are even more difficult. But it is important not to close off. In Malta the notion of mental health has improved a lot over the past twenty years but still there are still people who face their chal- lenge in the darkness, fearful of being judged or of being interpreted as weak by society. People in public life highlighting these issues are providing a tremen- dous amount of goodwill. In Malta there are many people who have talked about their experiences, even recently, and such steps help diminish the fear of the unknown that some see in mental health. We have invested a lot in schools on the well-being of students. In some schools we have doubled the number of personnel in social support ser- vices, which includes mental health support. This was done quietly and without much fanfare over the past five years, but the work on the ground due to this investment has been very posi- tive. In truth, being a young person was never truly an easy journey, but I do believe that today's life has a new set of challenges which in the past we never faced. Again, we should not be blinded by the fact that our society is better off financially, or that our children have nice gadgets. These are things which rarely have an effect. It is all about balance – and finding the right support when one needs it.