Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1545896
divide and rule has ensured that blame is endlessly shifted around. Who is to blame for the shattered statue? The film crew? They will blame the law enforcers and the permit givers, who will in turn claim that this is not a local coun- cil matter, but a government mat- ter, who will in turn claim that the government should not interfere and micromanage, and that there are institutions like the Malta Tourism Authority who will of course not get involved in what is possibly a criminal action. Alter of greed These might seem like trivial things, but they have serious re- percussions. Valletta festa organ- isations have to go through a lab- yrinth of permits and regulations. If an eating establishment refuses to remove furniture to allow festa decorations to go up, the police are unable to intervene, or at best have limited powers. Eventually, like all things in Malta, these vol- unteers (and let us not forget that important point) have to resort to speaking to 'someone'—a minister or high-ranking civil servant, who will invariably offer a short-term solution, in return for electoral loyalty, thereby perpetuating this dysfunctional cycle. In 2023 the Maltese festa was inscribed in the official UNESCO register of Intangible World Heritage. It happened not because someone spoke to a minister or high-ranking official. It happened because the Maltese festa is unique—it is simultane- ously a complex piece of commu- nity theatre and a depository of great spiritual and cultural beauty. Once you destroy that community what you are left with is a cheap piece of cultural roleplay. It is also a title that comes with huge re- sponsibilities. Festas are precious because they reflect something about us. Right now, what we are projecting to the world is a broken statue at the altar of greed. All our policies, strategies, man- ifestos, and solutions to all our problems can be summarised as, 'change things by offering more of the same'. More tourists, more TCNs, more schemes, more fund- ing, more buildings, more roads… more, more, more! And crucial- ly, everyone is crying for change without wanting to be that change. Collective memory The problem is not a broken statue; the problem is a broken community. With every gentrified building, and with every displaced Belti, we are losing centuries of narratives that have shaped the city. The statue of Our Lady of Mt Carmel has been carried around the streets of Valletta every year on 16 July for centuries. It is the re- pository of the hopes and dreams of a nation. Every piece of festa decoration, including that broken statue, is part of a complex web. Even I remember that statue as a childhood memory. To destroy it is to destroy a collective memory. I wrote that everyone wants change, but no-one wants to change, but what happens when we have no other option? To whom can we turn to when we have been made so dependent on this ungodly system? I have re- frained from mentioning political entities or institutions not because I have any personal preferences or fear anyone, but because they are ultimately all part of the same bro- ken system. This last election has made that abundantly clear. I have no easy solution to offer. I, like you, are left mourning the broken pieces of a collective memory. God is murdered Many are familiar with Nietzsche's 'God is dead'. God is not 'dead'—God has been murdered, butchered, and sold as souvenirs by false prophets promising new gods. Even our values are nothing more than products churned out from the anus of amoral capitalism. Who do we turn to when God is dead? Perhaps I can ponder this as I wander the streets of Valletta, with a little souvenir of God in my hands, as I gulp down an over- priced sandwich served by a TCN whose daily wage is less than the price of my sandwich. I will then wander aimlessly as loud nois- es are belted out from armies of speakers, as I wade through a sea of tourists, eagerly looking for their own little souvenir of God in this empty shell of a city—as emp- ty as our motherland shouting 'Melita Christiana' whilst her high priests peddle cheap luxury goods and kitschy souvenirs of God. 9 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 19JULY 2026 OPINION Souvenirs of God: Broken pieces of a collective memory Many are familiar with Nietzsche's 'God is dead'. God is not 'dead'—God has been murdered, butchered, and sold as souvenirs by false prophets promising new gods. Even our values are nothing more than products churned out from the anus of amoral capitalism. Who do we turn to when God is dead?