A grassroots movement is growing against the ruin of Gozo, as residents are rallied through social media and some refuse to remain silent in the face of “ridiculous” development projects across the island.
The movement, according to NGOs, activists and mayors, surmounts political affiliation and incorporates those who would never have spoken out against contentious permit applications – Gozitans in particular.
It is not just the “immediate residents”, those directly impacted, who care, said Joanna Spiteri Staines, a council member of Din L-Art Ħelwa.
The heritage NGO is actively working on an outreach programme to set alarm bells ringing about worrying projects. The idea is for the public to be alerted to them before it is too late and to encourage them to object and be vocal.
The Gozitans themselves have generally been seen by NGOs as reluctant to speak out. While more and more people are standing up to the ruinous development on the island, generally they have been expats, with perhaps a stronger civic sense and feeling for the environment.
Expatriates would generally have no business and employment connections with the construction industry, which could cause fear of reprisal.
Around 70 per cent of members of Wirt Ghawdex are foreigners and it is not easy to find volunteers, said a spokesman for the heritage NGO, adding that lots of grumbling does not necessarily translate into action and protests.
However, a movement was now forming, he said, and while membership had not increased, people were becoming more aware of the “unbearable” situation in Gozo.
They tended to stay quiet until it directly affected their property, but that was now happening, he said.
The general sentiment is “massive frustration and disappointment”, while some have even given up. But the pinch is now being felt among the locals because the cranes are in their backyards, Spiteri Staines concurred.
These developments are not just ruining someone’s street but are also flooding the market with apartments and devaluing property.
Gozo is under siege; it is being attacked on all fronts and people have had enough
“Gozo is under siege; it is being attacked on all fronts and people have had enough. They have felt powerless but are up in arms because it is being ruined, particularly due to five to six floors in areas that should not go beyond two to three,” Spiteri Staines said.
Awareness of controversial development applications is being raised among disgruntled citizens through calls to action at the objection phase – and not when they are faced with the incongruous end result.
Private Facebook pages and Whatsapp group chats could seem vacuous and just an echo chamber of complaints, but Spiteri Staines said the idea is to motivate members to object – and objections to Planning Authority permits could make a difference.
“People are, indeed, objecting more,” she said, admitting, however, that if social media is turned into mere channels to vent frustrations, as is often the case, it would be useless.
“We need to be realistic about what can be changed.”
What the rising movement actually achieves is another story, but the ultimate objective would be a change in mindset at the PA, which would see it start planning for the community and not the construction industry, she said.
Photographer and environmental activist Daniel Cilia feels the rise of protesters, even if on social media, is “better than before” when it was just a handful of people voicing their concerns – and others patting them on the back.
“People need to realise that what happens in Żebbuġ, Malta, can also happen in Żebbuġ, Gozo, and must not only move when it touches them directly,” he urged.
The number of objections to a project should make a difference and are more effective than online petitions, he maintained, encouraging objectors not to be anonymous.
Noting also that Gozitans often complained but failed to take action, staying in the shadows due to their connections, he encouraged them to take a stand and make sacrifices.
“Expats in Gozo are more militant. They have chosen to relocate to an island in the middle of the Mediterranean because it is the way they want to live, but they are seeing this being destroyed before their very eyes,” he said.
The unprecedented union of all 14 Gozo mayors against the island’s destruction is a reflection of this rising voice, said Gozo Regional Council president Samuel Azzopardi. The mayors are, after all, representing their localities.
Qala mayor Paul Buttigieg also feels the existence of the movement “100 per cent”, saying it is becoming “ferocious”.
Buttigieg has been fighting the proposed Ħondoq development for 19 years, starting off as a lone voice in the wilderness, blamed even for prospective job losses and branded obsessed with the environment.
But people, he said, have now had enough.
Buttigieg no longer sees political divides on issues that concern the environment but agrees that Gozitans do fear to comment critically – even on Facebook because they are being monitored.
“They want to protest but will not show their faces. However, the voices are there. And they are angry,” he said, insisting that results are achieved when people talk freely.
Gozo mayors take concerns to president
Gozo mayors have taken their concerns about the “unprecedented environmental degradation and defacement” of the island to President George Vella in their united drive to stop the overdevelopment.
The meeting, held last week, was attended by Gozo Regional Council president Samuel Azzopardi and Qala mayor Paul Buttiġieg, representating the 14 local councils that span the political spectrum.
In a statement issued later, the Gozo Region said it explained why the councils “unanimously demand an effective call to action” and expressed their concerns about the destruction that Gozo is “unfortunately experiencing”.
It recalled that Vella had already expressed his own concern about the “loss forever of the natural beauty of Gozo because of excessive development” during Gozo Day last October.
In a Facebook post after the meeting with the local councils representatives, President Vella merely said that, “according to them”, the excessive development in Gozo “could” ruin the natural beauty of the island.
The 14 Gozo mayors, who recently joined forces for the first time to fight a common battle against the island’s ruin, will be meeting Environment Minister Aaron Farrugia and Planning Authority executive chairperson Martin Saliba next month – six months after they urgently called for the meeting.