I refer to your editorials (TMID 29 July and 7 August) with reference to enforcements on the exploitation of Comino by deckchairs and umbrella army. Your articles seem to miss the buck, biased and full of misunderstandings and misconceptions.

In your first editorial you mentioned the incidents that occurred on the pontoon without giving further information. Let me inform you that it was the bravery and instinct of the ‘deckchair and umbrella army’ which saved lives on that day. If it was not the case, nobody would have known what is happening on this tourist resort.

Who is in charge of the basic infrastructure and services that these entail?

Again, it is the ‘deckchair and umbrella army’ which guides tourists safely on board upon arrival. There are no signs showing the tourists where the toilets are. There is no basic infrastructure which helps and guides the tourists, especially disabled persons in Comino. We always talk about niche tourism and the need to advertise Gozo and Comino as a tourist destination separate and distinct from Malta. Yet, we always fail even in the bare essentials. You cannot expect tourists who visit Comino to stay there in the sun without the ‘luxury’ of an umbrella to protect them from ultraviolet rays and a deckchair to sit on. I ask: “What is wrong with this?” This does not happen in other tourist destinations, which are our own competitors. Surely something is wrong in the state of Malta!

Again with reference to your second editorial you failed to mention who really is giving proper service to tourists. Confiscation of umbrellas and deckchairs was in my opinion conducted on purpose, irregular and discriminately between the parties involved. The picture placed on the first page gives the impression that deckchairs are placed on the sand. This is not true in my case, since deckchairs are placed on the cemented pontoon.

Then, you mention that people are forking money to sit on deckchairs that they might not want. The laws of supply and demand are at work on Comino as well. Do you really think that by operating under the laws of demand and supply, business operators are taking illicit money from consumers?

You also mentioned that rules and regulations need to be observed by all. Diplomacy requires more than just a blatant statement. On one hand the authorities involved stress the importance of giving a proper service to tourists. At the same time these authorities do not understand that we need a basic infrastructure that supports all this.

The real question is not whether or not the umbrellas and deckchairs are a hindrance to public spaces. In my opinion it is another case of trying to monopolise another strategic supply. The answer to this is that the hidden hand is stretching its arms by placing all these authorities on the front. We are not hijackers, but lifesavers, servicing tourists in their daily needs. Who is more helpful to tourists, the authorities with their inaction or, the ‘deckchair and umbrella army?’

Dr Anton Refalo

on behalf of Anten Portelli

Editor’s note: The photographs mentioned by Dr Refalo’s client were provided by MEPA.