Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1424528
11 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 31 OCTOBER 2021 OPINION Unlike the generations before us, who took one last glance back from their boat to see Malta disappear into the distance, we can cross frontiers easily and are free to return as often as we like explains, among other things, the enduring popularity of websites dedicated to all things 'Lost Malta': old photographs, old brochures, old postcards… old anything, real- ly, that can fill that nostalgic void left by the depressing ugliness of the present… But it is a nostalgic yearning that comes only from the dismayed 'au- dience'; and certainly NOT from the 'screenwriters and producers': i..e, the architects, planners and developers, who are all caught up in the same, endlessly repeated loop. Too unimaginative – or risk- averse – to contemplate that there could be other, less aggressively selfish ways to invest one's money; and too lazy or uncreative, to even bother designing more appropri- ate (and less appallingly hideous) buildings for their clients… Either way, the result remains the same. And just to close off with one classic (alas, not in the nostalgic sense) example…. well, it's the one I mentioned earlier: Xlendi. Just consider, for a moment, what actually happened there. The Su- perintendence for Cultural Her- itage (SCH), we are told, "firmly objected to a seven-storey devel- opment overlooking Xlendi bay, warning that the proposed increase in height will impact how the side of the valley is viewed in the wider context of the historic village." The case officer "recommended a refusal [because] the develop- ment did not conform to the 'of- ficial alignment plan for the area' […] and therefore runs counter to objectives of the Strategic Plan for Environment and Development which aims for the protection and enhancement of the character and amenity of urban areas". And yet… hey presto! "The Plan- ning Commission […] overruled the case officer saying that the de- velopment was justified in view of 'the site context'." Got that, folks? It turns out that all the relevant environmental/ cultural/planning watchdogs unanimously agreed that this per- mit should NOT be approved, because of its impact on the sur- rounding site… … to which the Planning Au- thority replied: "Surrounding site? You mean, the rest of Xlendi bay… which has already been raped and pillaged by all our own policies and past decisions anyway? Sorry, but… it's a little late for that, isn't it? We may as well just get on with it, and finish the job…" And this, perhaps, brings me to the only truly unsalvageable flaw in my analogy. Film or television remakes might be, for the most part, awful… but there are still some valiant efforts from time to time (nobody's going to convince me that the original 'True Grit' is a better film than the Cohen broth- ers' version…); and besides: there may well be a good reason to re- visit an old classic, once in a while; and maybe give it a little tweak for a more contemporary audience… But this? This is utterly indefen- sible (even by Hollywood movie reboot standards). So utterly, ir- redeemably awful, in fact, that… well, just look at us: we're all re- treating in horror into an artificial, fabricated past, just to get away from it… Beyond borders LIFE is about having adventures and new experiences, and for many persons this means visiting other countries to enjoy a different culture and meet new people. Given this lust to explore, I wasn't sur- prised when a survey found most young people in Malta expressed a desire to live in another European country. More than 750 Generation-Z (aged 16 to 24) and Millennials (25 to 39) in Malta took part in the EY Generate Youth Survey in August and September. When asked which part of the world they would like to live and work in, 60% of Gen-Z and 59% of Millennials stated another Euro- pean country. This was a 12% increase on last year. Moving abroad is a very differ- ent experience today compared to the genera- tions of Maltese before us who took the boat to America, Cana- da or Australia. When the post- war migrants said goodbye to Malta, they knew they might never re- turn or, at least, not for a very long time. In those days mi- grants couldn't even easily c o m m u n i c a t e with their family beyond letter writing. It would have broken the bank just to make an international phone call. How different things are today. Now, we are connected across continents on video, through Facetime and Skype, and it is free. By the 1990s we were talking about "the Ryanair generation". Young Europeans, with access to cheap flights, would think nothing of living abroad and popping home whenever it took their fancy. The arrival of low-cost airlines in Malta was inevitable. The travel boom continued apace, only curtailed in the past two years by lockdowns. The right to free movement within the European Union acts as a welcome mat, and governments actively encourage travel through schemes such as Eras- mus, with students spending several months abroad. Study broadens hori- zons and studying abroad broadens ho- rizons further. Technology and lowers costs have helped to make the world a smaller place and we in government have not been slow to adapt. The Residency Mal- ta Agency now offers a Nomad Resi- dence Permit, recognising how remote working has boomed since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. If, for example, a Canadian wants to base him or her- self here while continuing to work for a company in Canada that is fine. They will still pay their income tax to the Canadian authorities but, while they are living here, they will contrib- ute to the Mal- tese economy through money spent on rent and other living costs. Also on the way is a Start Up Residence Permit, an in- itiative of Res- idency Malta and Malta En- terprise. It will be an attrac- tive package for third country e n t r e p r e n e u r s to help them get established here. This idea demonstrates again how Malta is at the forefront of promoting freedom of movement. It's a two-way street. While Maltese spread their wings and experience dif- ferent cultures, investment from abroad contributes to our economy. Unlike the generations before us, who took one last glance back from their boat to see Malta disappear into the distance, we can cross frontiers easily and are free to return as often as we like. And home is never more than a click away, with friends on social media never truly allowing anyone to escape! Even when we are hundreds or thousands of miles away it still feels like we are just around the corner. Alex Muscat Alex Muscat is Parliamentary Secretary for Citizenship and Communities A visual of the project based on a superimposition of plans on existing baseline.