Ħabib li għandu kredenzjali tajba fil-ħidma ambjentali ġie jgħidli kif irridu noqogħdu attenti li ma neħduhiex bħala ħaġa lesta li t-tniġġis tal-ibħra madwar il-kosti jinsab taħt kontroll. Skont hu, jista’ jiġri li l-kejl li qed jittieħed ta’ kemm u kif il-baħar hu nadif jirrefletti ċirkostanzi okkażjonali ta’ titjib. Malajr jistgħu jinqalbu lejn inkwinament li mhux lakemm tinjorah. Hemm evidenza, qal, li l-ħxejjex u ħdura oħra li jinsabu (jew kienu jinsabu) fl-ibħra tagħna qed jitbielu bil-mod il-mod.
Ma nafx dan hux il-qrid li ta’ spiss nisimgħu dwar l-ambjent minn nies li mhux dejjem ikollhom aġendi ċari. Min-naħa l-oħra, it-theddida li ħabibi qed iqajjem mhux ta’ min iwarrabha bla ħsieb ta’ xejn. Il-baħar hu wieħed mill-ftit riżorsi naturali … forsi l-uniku… li jipposjedu l-gżejjer tagħna. Veru jew mhux veru per eżempju, li l-għelieqi ta’ taħt il-baħar madwarna għadhom qed jiċkienu u jitmermru?
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KOMUNITÀ MUSULMANA
Attendejt għal laqgħa interessanti ħafna ma’ membri tal-komunità Musulmana, Maltin u barranin. Tkellmu dwar kif iħossuhom fis-soċjetà Maltija.
Spikkaw żewġ tipi ta’ kumment.
L-ewwel wieħed kien minn Maltin ta’ oriġini Nord Afrikana u oħrajn li mhumiex ta’ ċittadinanza Maltija. Semmew id-diffikoltajiet kbar biex jiksbu ċ-ċittadinanza Maltija jew drittijiet ta’ residenza. Naħseb numru mhux żgħir minnhom għandhom raġun. Pereżempju mara miżżewġa Malti, biċ-ċittadinanza Maltija, ilha tgħix hawn aktar minn sittax-il sena: minħabba kundizzjoni medika, tixtieq li f’ċerti żminijiet oħtha tkun magħha. Baqgħet ma tistax iġġib viża li jippermetti lil oħtha tidħol u toħroġ minn Malta għal aktar minn darba.
Bħala sekularist ma stennejtx it-tieni kumment imma kien ġenwin. Jirrigwarda d-divjet tal-qtil ritwali tal-bhejjem għall-ikel fil-produzzjoni tal-laħam ħalal.
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EŻATT FIL-ĦIN
Bil-ħolqien ta’ żoni ta’ kummerċ kważi ħieles fid-dinja globalizzata, kompla tħaffef il-proċess li bih jiġu manifatturati l-prodotti. Meta jitwasslu partijiet tal-prodott fil-fabriki, iqum anqas saram. Allura m’hemmx għalfejn twassal il-partijiet kmieni ħafna qabel jinqala’ l-bżonn għalihom.
Kemm jista’ jkun, il-partijiet li jmiss biex jintużaw jaslu f’fabrika eżatt fil-ħin – “just in time”. Hu kunċett li żviluppa sew.
Ninnota li qed jintuża wkoll fil-qasam tas-servizzi. Fuq quddiem nett, it-trasport bl-ajru. Hawn żgur li ż-żieda fil-volum tat-traffiku nkoraġġiet dil-proċedura. Mal-ħtieġa li t-titjiriet bl-ajru jseħħu bl-akbar sigurtà, issaħħet dik li t-trasferiment ta’ bagalji u persuni ħerġin u deħlin f’ajruplan iseħħ jsir bl-anqas dewmien. Għalhekk, l-ispazji li minnhom l-ajruplani jtiru jew jillandjaw, u l-kurituri li minnhom jgħaddu l-passiġġieri jridu jintużaw bl-aqwa mod possibbli.
Hawn ukoll il-“just in time” sar ir-regola.
English Version – Pollution of the seas
A friend with good credentials in environmental activism came to tell that we need to beware of assuming that the control over marine pollution around the coasts of Malta is a done thing. According to him, there is a probability that measurements being recorded as to how, and how much, the sea is “clean” may only reflect occasional moments when improvement happened. Such moments can easily reverse direction towards a deterioration that simply cannot be ignored. There is evidence, he claimed, to show that the meadows and other vegetation which are located (or used to be) in our waters are slowly rotting.
I wonder whether this is the same kind of pessimism about the environment that we frequently get from people, some of whom do not always seem to have transparent agendas. On the other hand, the threat identified by my friend is not one to be filed away on the spot. The sea is one of the few national resources, perhaps the sole one, possessed by these islands. So, for instance, how true is it that the submerged meadows around our shores are shrinking and rotting?
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Muslim community
I attended a very interesting meeting for Maltese and foreign members of the Islamic community. They related their experiences as part of Maltese society.
In their comments, two points stood out.
One came from Maltese of North African origin and residents who do not have Maltese citizenship. They discussed the great difficulties they face to acquire Maltese citizenship or rights of residence. I guess that quite a large proportion of their complaints are justified. Take the case of a woman married to a Maltese person, who has acquired Maltese citizenship, and has been living and working here for over sixteen years: as she suffers from a medical condition, she wishes to have her sister with her at certain times. She still has not succeeded in obtaining a multiple visa that would allow her sister to visit and leave more than once.
As a staunch secularist, I did not expect the second matter that was raised to be considered as having so much importance, but the concern was clearly genuine. It related to the refusal to allow in Malta the ritual slaughter of animals for food according to methods needed for the production of halal meat.
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Just in time
The creation of free trade zones in a globalizing world continued to quicken the process by which manufacturing is organised. Components of a product began to reach factories with less difficulty. So there was less need to get them to the factory too early before they are needed for assembly.
They had better enter the factory production process while arriving there as much as possible “just in time”. It is an approach that has become very well honed.
One notes that it is also being deployed in the services sector. At the forefront of this comes air transport. Here for sure, the rise in traffic volumes has encouraged the approach. Alongside the need to ensure maximum security for airline flights, greater priority came to be placed on the need to affect the transfer of luggage and of people entering and leaving aircraft with the least possible delay. So the areas from where planes depart or land, and the corridors along which passengers move must be used as effectively as possible.
Here too, just in time management has become the rule.
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