Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1245222
14 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 10 MAY 2020 CORONAVIRUS CRISIS JAMES DEBONO SOME of us remember their grandparents reminiscing about the Second World War. Yet thousands of first-hand accounts of the war perished with the passing of the generation which experienced it. Now, National Archivist Charles Farrugia has a cunning plan to save COVID-19 memories from the sands of time. His answer is a COVID-19 time capsule to which all of us can contribute by sending our own personal journals documenting life in lockdown. The COVID-19 pandemic is a unique histor- ical moment, collectively experienced by all us simultaneously. But while medical records will withstand the test of time, personal memo- ries may perish if not recorded. This is why Malta's National Archives have embarked on a public memory project aimed at preserving memories of an epochal event. "We do have public records of past pan- demics but these were always recorded from an official point of view. We do not want the statistics only or the official decision-making only. We want also to capture the views, emo- tions, hurts, fears and feelings of the popula- tion," Farrugia told MaltaToday. The current National Archives Act vests the National Archives with the mission of 'pre- serving the collective memory of the Maltese nation.' But Farrugia says such a mission cannot be fulfilled through public records alone. "The experiences, emotions, feelings and daily lives of common people need also to fit into the picture." This led to the creation of a national mem- ory project which started in 2004. Lately, the focus has shifted from national to public memory, in a way where the daily experience of common people is given the focus it de- serves. "When the COVID-19 pandemic started, we realised that the changes to the lives of people incurred through this pandem- ic will be unprecedented. So it was only natural to include such topic amongst the areas of research," Farrugia said. To keep these memories alive the National Archives is inviting people to send their type-written submissions of diaries documenting individu- al experiences of the pandem- ic. On Facebook, the National Archives is reminding the pub- lic "to join our efforts to make sure that persons born in 50 years from now may know our life during this pandemic", by keeping a diary so that "when all is over" the journals would be deposited with the project MEMORJA. "The material will be catalogued and insert- ed in the archival collections in line with the normal processes of ar- chiving. We do hope al- so to organise a number of events to discuss the material and also keep active a theme-commu- nity around this topic," Farrugia said. Farrugia was rather surprised by the feed- back from all kinds of people in response to the nationwide appeal. "We have received feed- back from a diversity of persons such as teachers, nurs- es, pensioners, public officers and even some Maltese abroad who have contacted us." According to Farrugia, the lock- down itself and the rapid shift to- ward the use of virtual platforms has also facilitated the dissemina- tion of this project, encouraging a high participation. The initative has also drawn the attention of the International Council on Archives, which has lauded the Maltese project as an exemplary endeavour. All those who have expressed an interest in participating in the project have been sent an FAQ sheet and consent forms by the National Archives How Malta is building its COVID-19 time capsule 'Lockdown, day 65... I've had it up to here' National Archivist Charles J. Farrugia "We do not want the statistics only or the official decision- making only. We want also to capture the views, emotions, hurts, fears and feelings of the population" KARL AZZOPARDI THE lack of short and long-term foresight over how the coronavirus scenario will play out is proving to be the biggest headache for travel operators. As the pandemic spreads across the globe, the situa- tion is looking even bleaker for the tourism industry, which has been among the worst hit industries by the virus. Britannia Tours managing director Noel Farrugia said travel operators went from a very good 2019, to zero revenue in the space of two months. "As soon as the pandemic started making its way to Europe and neigh- bouring countries, people just stopped wanting to go abroad," he said. Farrugia said all outgoing tours in the next six months have been cancelled. Asked when he expects tour op- erators to return to former customer figures, Farrugia said it difficult to predict, with the situation having to rely on a number of other factors. "It is difficult to establish a timeline. All we know is that we still have a long way to go. It all depends on the vaccine and restrictions, as well as the confidence of the customers in choosing to travel," he said. Noel Farrugia said that he expects figures to return to normal in 2022. "Once the vaccine is out, I believe people will be more than happy to return to their old ways and start ventur- ing out of the country," he said. President of Federated Association of Travel and Tourism Agents (FATTA) Iain Tonna told MaltaTo- day that travel agencies' return to normality is all based on the will of the customer in choosing to travel again. "The industry was among the first to be effected, and will be among last to return back to its previous state," Uncertainty biggest tour operators