[WATCH] New documentary sheds light on the ‘modern pandemic’ of solitude

A recently launched documentary sheds light on the “modern pandemic” that is solitude.

The documentary by the Faculty for Social Wellbeing titled ‘Il-Ġerħa tas-Solitudni - it-tieni edizzjoni’ depicts a number of human stories of people coming from a broad range of areas who have experienced solitude.

The documentary was produced by WE Media and team led by veteran journalist Peppi Azzopardi.

People from the entertainment industry, a sportsperson, young people who participated in the first edition of Love Island, people who are on the poverty line and a mother whose son has recently been sent to prison for a crime committed over 13-years-ago all feature in the documentary.

One of the hardest hitting stories of the documentary is that of Maltese footballing veteran Carmel Busuttil. He speaks about the trauma he had to deal with following his retirement from the public sphere. Jonathan Abel, the popular radio presenter also speaks about how the tragic death of his father left him struggling with loneliness. 

Addressing the documentary’s launch, producer Peppi Azzopardi said that authorities need to move from words to actions and proposed a new initiative that would see people ‘adopting a prisoner’.

One of the key researchers in the study on loneliness, Prof. Marilyn Clark, said during the launch, that the statistics clearly indicate the seriousness of the issue.

Faculty dean Prof. Andrew Azzopardi on the other hand said that notwithstanding the data is “as clear as crystal”, it still beckons the direct tackling of the issue by policy makers and politicians.

 “We have done our bit and continue to do so, but now the ball is in the court of the policy makers, politicians and service providers, they really need to wake up and smell the coffee,” he said.