It's a Long Way to Malta by Paddy Cummins

Author:Paddy Cummins
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi, azw3
Publisher: Bridge Publishing
Published: 2012-01-01T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 9: You’re Welcome, Sir.

It is my humble opinion that every person born has a uniqueness, a character, and a dignity that deserves recognition, appreciation, and respect. Throughout history, across the world, this basic tenet of civilisation has been denied and desecrated — a fatal flaw that has led to inequality, suppression, and disastrous conflicts and wars.

Malta has had its share of turmoil and trauma, but over long centuries of travails and tragedies, and to this day, they have managed to preserve the one great characteristic that sets them apart: charity and respect for each other, and courtesy, tolerance and friendliness towards all that visit them. That is what first attracted me to Malta, and, like a magnet, keeps pulling me back, because, as someone who regrets the abandonment of these high moral principles in his own country, to be the recipient of such affection and respect in a foreign country, is nothing short of inspirational, and I can’t get enough of it.

“Good morning, Sir.” “Good afternoon, Sir.” “Good evening, Sir.” “Thank you, Sir.” “You’re welcome, Sir.” “Have a nice day, Sir.” “Enjoy your holiday, Sir” Sure that’s pure poetry! Sweet music to my ears. Where else would you get it? Perhaps in other places that I have yet to visit, but I would venture to suggest that nowhere would you find these greetings expressed with such goodwill, warmth and genuine sincerity, as on the little Island of Malta.

But the Maltese are not just all about being nice, courteous, and respectful. They also give tangible expression to these qualities by endeavouring to provide the best services and facilities their limited resources allow, for themselves and the millions of tourists they welcome every year. Take the Health Services for example. Now, for a little island, isolated in the heart of the Mediterranean, with less than half a million people, they have a ‘top of the range’ Health Service. How they provide it on such meagre resources baffles me. The Health Centres, Medical Clinics and Hospitals are second to none, and available free of charge to their permanent residents. But, as you’ll have noted by now, I keep emphasising that the Maltese are in no way greedy, and they gladly share this wonderful facility with their visitors at a very reasonable cost.

I have been the beneficiary of Maltese health care on two occasions, and in both instances, I was pleasantly surprised with the efficiency, skill and genuine warmth of the professionals that treated me, and, coming from a country with a cash-devouring, malfunctioning monstrosity, that passes for a Health Service, it’s no wonder I’m impressed.

The first health scare I had was a few years ago, and although it turned out to be trivial enough, my Maltese carers weren’t taking any chances. For a few days after arriving, I had difficulty walking due to a pain in the calf of my left leg. I called to a private clinic near the hotel, and on examination, and being informed that it had been bothering

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.