This column first appeared on Malta Today

This last week has hit us with a number of news stories which shook us out of our heatwave-induced lethargy.

Opposition leader Bernard Grech resigned, and a few hours later we learned that the Maksar gang had been sentenced to life imprisonment. The first was almost expected but the second was more of a surprise because we have become unfortunately used to certain sentences which do not seem to fit the gravity of the crime.

This was following by the shocking collapse of a building in Paceville – it was only thanks to an architect who raised the alarm that the decision was taken to evacuate 34 English language students, avoiding what could have been a potential national tragedy.

On the same day, a cyclist was killed in a traffic accident – according to the grim statistics, this is the ninth road fatality this year.

The final horrific news story was of larger proportions. An Air India plane bound for London crashed a mere 30 seconds after taking off, in the Indian city of Ahmedabad, with 242 passengers on board. Astonishingly, one survivor walked away from the crash, still clutching his boarding pass, with relatively minor injuries.

Meanwhile, armchair critics have been busy bashing away at their keyboards, with everyone weighing in on what should happen next for the PN. You would think that with so many expert political analysts, the party would have found the answer to all its woes by now, or at least found a suitable, electable candidate who can bring the fragmented party together to give Labour a run for its money. But alas, all I see are more potentially disastrous choices such as one politician who thinks that “outing” people who criticise him by posting their photo on his wall, is an intelligent way to campaign for the leadership. OK Franco, if you say so.

Roberta Metsola has come out with a very strange proposal: she will be party leader and Adrian Delia will be leader of the Opposition. How that will work is beyond me, especially given the fact that the PN is still very much divided over Delia – how are those who ousted him going to accept him back now?

Alex Borg seems to be the most divisive of all, because the perception is that he is more aligned with Labour than with his own party. I would think, however, that the biggest red flag is that he supports Trump. If that does not worry anyone then they are not paying attention to what is turning out to be a civil war in California.

Through the courts, Governor Newsom challenged Trump’s decision to take control of the California National Guard troops and deploy them to the protests taking place in Los Angeles. “President Trump’s actions were illegal—both exceeding the scope of his statutory authority and violating the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution,” Judge Charles R. Breyer ruled, referring to the amendment preserving certain powers of the states from federal interference. “He must therefore return control of the California National Guard to the Governor of the State of California forthwith.”

However, Trump administration appealed and the appeals court blocked the order temporarily, with the hearing to be heard on Tuesday.

Newsom has gained my admiration for his leadership qualities and determination to stand up to Trump. “He is not a monarch. He is not a king, and he should stop acting like one,” Newsom told reporters. It is imperative to have leaders with integrity like this in a time of crisis, who can articulate public sentiment and not just cower before someone who is basically a dangerous bully. We should only be so lucky to find politicians who will call a spade a spade and be on the side of the people.

In the meantime, back on this island, even as I write, more people are being evacuated from the area in Paceville where that building collapsed. A block of flats adjacent to the one that collapsed has had to be torn down as it could collapse at any time. Who is going to compensate these owners? And what action will be taken against the developer who has multiple ongoing projects all over the country?

This scary event was something many of us had long been dreading, despite new laws and codes and a need for licenses. How many times have we heard claims that “from now on” there would be better supervision, more obligations and responsibilities? Yet we all know deep down that this was just an attempt to allay our fears. The reality is that the construction industry is so out of control that no amount of inspections, rules and regulations can keep up with the sheer quantity of construction sites, and the pace and frenzy of developers wanting to get their flats built so they can rake in the cash from their investment. We know corners are being cut, we can see it every day with our own eyes, and this latest building collapse is irrefutable proof.

The cracks have been there a long time, both literally and figuratively, and now it’s all coming to a head in every aspect of our lives. Our roads are a death trap, buildings are falling down like dominos and instead of keeping the government in check, the Opposition is in tatters, flailing around for a leader. There’s a mad man in the White House and wars rage on in all corners of the world.

In the midst of all this chaos, the Air India tragedy was a sobering, chilling moment for all of us, particularly because of the poignancy of one particular photo. It was a selfie taken by an Indian family which had set off to make their dreams come true by settling in the UK. A couple with their three children smile happily at the camera, so full of optimism and hope, looking forward to this new chapter in their lives. They posted it to their social media moments before the crash, and it now remains a stark, permanent reminder of their cruel fate.

These type of tragedies always stop us in our tracks. We screech to a halt from our hectic ives and pause to think, what if that were us, or someone we knew? One minute your life seems to be looking so promising and the next, it’s all over. I often wonder if it ever dawns on those consumed by greed and an insatiable desire for more materialistic things, that this life is so very fleeting, that no matter who you are and how much you have, you cannot take it with you. What are these already very wealthy people chasing, or better still, what are they running away from? Is it a race against time, against growing older, against the fear it can all be taken away from them, against death itself? Whatever it is, I hope they realise it is futile, for we came into this world with nothing, and we will leave it the same way.

The thing is we never know what is in store for us; a student who missed getting on that Air India flight because she was stuck in traffic due to an accident, says that the accident saved her life. She was late by a mere ten minutes. Much like in the aftermath of 9/11, I’m sure more stories like this will keep coming in. Sometimes a few minutes are all it takes in the twists and turns of our lives for us to avert tragedy or to be one of the victims, because it is all so random.

As for the man who walked away from the crash as the sole survivor, he will probably spend the rest of his life wondering…why me?