Beyond the forced euphoria

Unless we look closely, we may not notice the huge amount of conditioning we are subjected to on a daily basis. This is political but goes beyond politics.

In these troubled Covid times we are relentlessly fed the story that our response to the pandemic was the best in Europe. There was of course the low number of deaths from the virus. But the correct way to look at this is to cross-check this figure with the number of people residing in Malta, which is the size of a smallto-middle town elsewhere.

There may also be other considerations to factor in. Malta was mentioned as the sixth least safe destination to travel to by the Latvian centre for disease prevention and control.

Earlier, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control had pointed out that Malta had seen an anomalous high percentage of deaths of over-65s in March.

But of course you would not have heard this on TVM.

What we all were told, repeatedly and ad nauseam was how we were the best and how our health system and professionals had kept us safe. Even though we passed through experiences such as the reluctance to ban the entry of a cruise liner, then a reluctance to ban flights from North Italy, how we were told the second wave talk referred to the seawaves, and so on and so forth. Now this myth of our superiority despite all the back-sliding is looking at the near future in which we will emerge, naturally, as winners when the easing is complete, the businesses reopen and people regain their lost jobs. And we will enjoy a V-type of growth after this year’s slump. Even the European Commission said so.

Now this is all good and swell, if it does happen. Without trying to be in any way prophets of doom, we still have to see if the final outcome is as is being prospected. The government, like all the other governments, has come up with a raft of help while the European Commission has come up with its own big bazooka. More is coming tomorrow in what has been described in the appropriate hyperbole as a Budget of Millions.

The official bodies which had long been lobbying for more and more government help quite naturally are in no position to be objective. But their members know how hard the going is. The shops which reopened days ago know what levels of sales they have registered. The restaurants which rejoiced at the crowds last weekend look ahead at future weekends and wonder what will happen if jobs don’t recover.

We skip, or are made to skip, from one euphoria to another and now pin our hopes on the reopening of the airport and the return of tourists, confident that Malta‘s attractions will outweigh the fears of peoples after the trauma of the pandemic.

We are told, rather ordered, to be positive and realism is banned from our speech.

We are not over anything, if anything we are in the middle of the crisis, or even before that. Those who say otherwise must have their own reasons. Which don’t bear close scrutiny.

For each one of us, businesses as well as persons, this is the time to reassess the way we lived and worked. Some businesses may regret not having put their operation on a more secure basis. In fact, such is the opinion of experts, businesses will now devote more resources to inner strengthening – probably at the expense of growth.

It is a different world the one we are emerging to. The wearing of masks, the insistence on social distancing and the emphasis on cleanliness are all new. But we must find a way to live and possibly thrive in this new normal.

It’s very easy to say so. But when those who used to be employed face up to a life with no visible income, they will be forced to take some pretty drastic decisions. Hopefully these will open up new ventures and new openings.

With the government announcing that a part of its help is being wound up, the spectre of poverty starts hitting those more at risk. This is not something to wish anyone, not near nor far. Still, we must go on. Those who depend on us make us strong to go on.