Gay Rights? Human Rights!

The first Pride March in Malta was organized yesterday by the Malta Gay Rights Movement (MGRM). The march took place in Valletta and marks an important turning point for the Maltese society at large. Most noticeable was the presence of MPs from both sides who appeared in the march at the risk of some flack from their homophobic constituents. Yet, in some ways, this can be seen more as an act of conformity than bravery.

Things have improved tremendously in Malta over the past ten years or so, thanks in part to older legislation passed decades ago. However, discrimination still exists and sadly will continue to some degree or other for some years to come.

I'm not trying to be controversial here. What I have in mind is the fact that for young gays who have been disowned by their families, survival comes before pride. Here in New York, there is no official count of gay homelessness, but the number of homeless teenagers is certainly growing. Most studies estimate that as many as half of all homeless youth are lesbian or gay, many of them tossed out by parents who scorn homosexuality for a variety of reasons.

Malta's case is not as severe as that of larger countries where a substantial number of gays end up homeless or dispossessed. Yet we all know that not every family embraces a son or daughter who comes out with pride. For such families (and not just the sons and daughters!) the MGRM has also just launched a National Gay Helpline on 21430006.

Malta can avoid running towards a similar situation by offering a better environment for all homosexuals. As one of the placards at yesterday's march pointed out: homophobia is a social disease.

Rebuilding Malta's old Opera House

Yesterday, the newly elected Maltese MEPs attended the opening session of the new European Parliament in Strasbourg. The fact that this the first time Maltese MEPs are sitting in Strasbourg as full members of the EU made me wonder whether they are now in a priviledged position to discuss certain issues with their counterparts from other countries, on equal footing.

I bring this up in light of the long overdue rebuilding of the old Opera House in Valletta. As we all know, this was destroyed mainly by German Nazi bombs during World War II. While some may argue that all is fair is (love and) war, perhaps Malta is now in a better position to request financial aid from Germany to rebuild the old Opera House. I would not be surprised if Germany has a way of getting special EU funds allocated towards this exercise too. Something tells me that Italy may have a thing or two to say about this issue, not to mention support from the UK, which got us in the whole WWII mess to begin with.

An achievement of this magnitude would show that the Maltese MEPs are truly serving a practical purpose in Strasbourg, beyond their bureaucratic call of duty, or perhaps as a natural part of it. I wonder if they'll use the Maltese language during their discussions on this matter, if they have any talks at all about this issue.

Making polluters pay

As I flew over the Atlantic Ocean back to New York last Wednesday, the Malta Government introduced the Eco-contribution bill. My friend Silvio De Bono commented about this before the ink had dried on newspaper reports about it.

I'm still trying to figure out what this is all about. I'm slightly confused by the fact that the government is moving forward with what may be considered a "green tax" after the Nationalist Party attacked Alternattiva Demokratika (Malta' Green Party) about its proposal for such legislation before the recent MEP election. I'm also a little unsettled by the idea that both the Malta Federation of Industry (FOI) and the General Retailers and Traders Union (GRTU) as well as Friends of the Earth (FoE) have issued statements against the Eco Contribution. As expected, the government released a counter-statement stating that this move is in favour of the Maltese environment. They all make a strong case; each in their own way.

As I understand it, the idea is supposed to make people buy and use environmentally friendly products. But because there are so few green alternatives in the Maltese market this bill is little more than a revenue-raiser: it will bring in about Lm4 million per year, according to official estimates!

However, as environmentalists and others have pointed out it is not the polluters who are paying but the consumers. The first impression will be that things are just more expensive because the government some of the funds it needs to upgrade its waste management programmes. This will give taxation in favour of environment-friendly products and practices a bad name.

The long-term intention is just right, but unless something is done about the immediate impact of the Eco Contribution, this so called green tax will be seen by most citizens as a worse burden than a polluted environment.