A world of change is possible, if we all get together.
Moviment Graffitti have been the go-to NGO for social and habitual change in Malta for a while now. Their insight on Malta’s political, economical, social and environmental climate has been pivotal in many local forks in the road.
Catching up with them now, I discover that their biggest concerns for 2019 are mostly focused on sustainable development and environmental impact. “The environment is definitely one of our main concerns for 2019, with a number of massive projects currently in the works or being planned, such as the dB tower on the former ITS site in Pembroke, the proposed Gozo tunnel, the possible Land Reclamation in Xghajra, the numerous road widening projects and building of fuel stations on ODZ sites,” they reveal.
Moviment Graffiti's concern is one that is shared with much of Malta and Gozo’s population, and this radical NGO has a solution for some of the issues at hand. “As an NGO, we are calling for evidence-based policy which is ultimately for the good of the people rather than to satisfy the greed of developers, which is pretty much the opposite of what we are seeing at the moment,” they say, adding that “development should not be carried out for development's sake, but should take into consideration the effect on people's lives, whether it be their quality of life in terms of their surroundings, the levels of pollution caused by overdevelopment or the loss of our fields, agricultural land and green areas which are crucial to our health.”
When asked about the imminent changes that our governments should adopt for the benefit of our future, Moviment Graffitti speak about energy and emissions.“There is a definite need for a commitment to green energy. As stated by Prof. Maria Attard, Malta is firmly set to miss its international carbon emissions reduction targets as established in the Kyoto Protocol.” They continue to discuss the question of fuel stations and the cars they would help run, “certain actions taken by Government, such as allowing fuel stations to be built on ODZ land are ridiculous, considering Government's intention of having a cut-off date for the importation of petrol and diesel vehicles.”
“We also desperately need better transport solutions to reduce the use of personal cars, as well as a thorough review of local plans when it comes to urban planning, as conflicting policies and bad planning are causing mayhem in the streets of Malta,” they add.
But change does not happen overnight, and neither does it happen if the campaigners are in small numbers, beaten by the odds of democracy. Here, Moviment Graffiti encourage the people of Malta to work together.
“People need to know that they have the power to bring about change, and that they shouldn't hold back when they see things which are wrong - make your voices heard; sign objections, attend protests, email your local MPs, inform yourself about current issues and tell your friends and family about them, join forces with other residential communities and support each others' protests and campaigns. One of the biggest obstructions to change is apathy, and it is only by doing nothing that nothing will happen.”
Hear, hear!