A view from the future

Abstract

If Gozo is allowed to develop haphazardly, according to off-the-cuff decisions and ephemeral contingencies, it would end up, in a generation, by losing the character of its landscape and its social fabric. This would destroy not only a unique ecological-historical-cultural niche, but would also impoverish our national heritage. Gozo is not another peripheral district of the country but a viable regional centre of the nation. To assert the obvious, Malta is not an island but an archipelago, however Lilliputian. Being modern may mean solely to mount the rollercoaster of history on a fast track of incessant growth and exploitation. Being enlightened, however, demands meditation and judicious choices. This applies not only to national planners; Gozitans need to awaken from their slumber and reflect on what kind of community they seek rather than supinely following Maltese models of development. After languishing for centuries in a backwater, stagnating in the peripheral field of vision of the central government, it is natural for Gozitans to hanker for equality with the Maltese. It is essential, though, to side-step a major fallacy: to mistake equality with similarity; Gozo should demand parity not identity with Malta. This calls for a separate strategy of development and the targeting of specialised goals.