Last Monday the residents of Bahar ic-Caghaq, together with residents from Madliena, voiced their concern to the Government by means of a peaceful, coordinated gathering outside Parliament. There was no hollering or fanatic outburst, but from their facial expressions one could see the subdued indignity that most of these people are facing.

They came quietly, put their message across and left peacefully. Now it’s high time for us all to act.

Some of those present, whom I know personally, came across to merely say hello. At the same time, one could understand their discomfort in their being constrained by events, causing them to stand at a distance outside the Palace handing over a one-pager to each Member of Parliament as he entered the House. The message passed on to us was brought up during question time, with both sides commenting about it and opposition member Leo Brincat tabling a copy of the paper presented to us for any absent members to see at their leisure and pleasure.

Yet this was no pleasurable situation for these residents. An hour of discomfort which I hope will be swiftly addressed and the necessary sanctions put in place.

As to the Madliena protesters, their main concern is the road system. I have visited the locality and it does result that there are areas which need attention. I am sure that the relevant Ministry will be looking into the matter in the near future and addressing the problems of Madliena within the appropriate context and priorities.

However, the main grievance seemed to be coming from the people at Bahar ic-Caghaq.

I know the residents here as a non-grumbling, quiet, population who prefer to live and let live. This attitude possibly means peaceful, undisturbed living, with each and every family attending to its chores and duties without being too imposing on the Government of the day or the local council governing the area.

However the recent development, whereby what was supposed to be a day pleasure centre became not only a luna park entertainment area but also an open air disco, must have surely gone beyond the threshold of the residents’ patience. I definitely do not fancy living under such circumstances.

I live in a quiet area at tal-Virtù in Rabat. Here, the residents live their life doing their own thing with the least disturbance possible to one another. You know that the neighbours are there and ready to lend a helping hand if the need arises, but otherwise, every one is left to do his or her thing in peace.

The only hiccup at tal-Virtù is that every Saturday and Sunday, during the summer months, if one wakes up in the middle of the night, the droning and hard heavy music coming up from Gianpula Discothèque tends to ruin the pleasures of sleeping at night.

The sound that reaches us is really awesome, notwithstanding that the disco is mile-and-a-half or so down the road.

This means that at Bahar ic-Caghaq, living next door – a mere 20 or 30 meters – away from a live disco must be sending shivers down the residents’ spines and literally harassing them in the peaceful enjoyment of their residences. As far as I was aware, discos, if held in the open, should be operated at substantial distances from residential areas.

But the situation for these people seems to be different. On the one hand, the development permitted in the area is restricted solely to residential purposes with the exception, say, of a quiet wine or snack bar which, in itself, would be an acceptable social meeting place. On the other hand, however, these residents are subjected to continued harassment caused by the uninterrupted pounding of loud music as well as the additional high level of noise emanating from the luna park.

Well the luna park has now left – hopefully for good – not to return, ever. However, I believe that both the police authorities and the authorities that are responsible for sanctioning entertainment operations should look into the matter and reject any application that would have a negative effect on good neighbourhood conditions. A party here and there may be acceptable, but the continual deprivation of one’s right to peaceful residence definitely goes against the grain.

Voices are acceptable, and the laughter of children enjoying the day at the Splash and Fun complex is a pleasant sound for one and all. Family entertainment during the daytime is acceptable to the people of Bahar ic-Caghaq, to the extent that they have never protested against such operations. However, there is a limit. Noise compounded by the repetitive pounding of loud music is not acceptable.

To be or not to be? That is the question. In the case of the residents of Bahar ic-Caghaq we must put things in the right perspective and guarantee them a peaceful existence.

In other words – Let them Be.

Tony Abela is parliamentary secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister