Imagine an idyllic bay. It’s mid-September to June. It’s quiet, relaxing. You’re listening to the birds, looking at the capers in bloom, the lone fisherman on the rocks, the chapel on the cliff.

Fast forward to summer. Now this beach is crowded. It’s like squeezing 600 people into a 300 maximum-capacity theatre. The serenity of this bay is gone for the summer.

Yes, I’m talking about Hondoq ir-Rummien. Now fast forward to the near future, with this bay suffocated by development like an encroaching cancer. If the Hondoq project is realised, then Hondoq will be no more. The problems Hondoq faces in the summer will be magnified. Many believe it is Qala’s problem. In fact, it’s everybody’s problem, since this bay is popular with Maltese and foreigners as well as Gozitans. Also, it will be a symbolic struggle – if Hondoq falls to the developers’ greed, then no “green area” will be safe from exploitation. What will be next? A golf course at ta’ Cenc? Ramla? There were rumours once of a hotel there. They plan a hotel at Hondoq. Why?

The Mgarr Hotel closed down despite being chic and having a great view. And who is going to afford the flats proposed for Hondoq? Not the newlyweds, I bet!

A philosopher once spoke of “The greatest good of the greatest number”. Then surely, Hondoq should be saved for the good of the many and not be prostituted for the pockets of the few.

If the plan is realised, then in the near future parents will tell their children: once upon a time, there was a beautiful bay…

Joanna Refalo

Qala