Recently, the Nadur parish organised a Mass at the new cemetery site. Mepa has stopped work due to certain irregularities and I presume that the Mass served the purpose of attracting divine and Mepa blessing alike for work to start again.

While the abundant spring water coming out a few tens of metres beneath the cemetery is now pure, since we drank of it in addition to irrigating our fields with it, with the effluence coming from a cemetery and dead bodies the water will be contaminated.

Given that the ex archpriest was advised not to choose a site near a water service corporation borehole, because the water a hundred metres or so beneath might be contaminated, and in view of the fact that less sensitive sites with less environmental impact could have been chosen, I wish to ask the following questions.

Dear politicians of Nadur, you who are champions of eco-Gozo and social dialogue, don’t you think this cemetery has a negative impact on eco-Gozo and was an exercise in which the local farmers’ pleas were not heeded?

Dear parish church of Nadur, and dear diocese of Gozo, you who do well to defend the truth, don’t you think it was a mistake to choose that site? If so, even if hundreds of thousands of euros are involved, you who rightly view money as a tool and as something that may influence our decisions in a bad way, don’t you think it would be the right thing to do to reverse the decision and rehabilitate the scar of the new cemetery, now that our dwindling natural environment is crying for help? You who pride yourselves on being our national conscience, why don’t you speak by example? You know, you who gave so much property to the government all free of charge and for the sake of social justice could well sell two properties and earn the money needed.

Dear solid citizens of Nadur, pillars of society and devout Catholics, do you think that contaminating something akin to Lunzjata spring water is good? Or do you put your minds and consciences at rest because it does not affect you?

Dear Mepa, do you really think you are championing the natural environment?

Dear Church Commission for the Environment, why did you not criticise the Nadur cemetery? Or was it because Gozo was not under your jurisdiction? If so do you think that sins done in Gozo don’t blemish your reputation?

Dear political parties, Malta and Gozo may become like Nauru Island if we don’t take care of the essentials, and the natural environment is the foundation of everything else we cherish.

Dear mass media, when you talk about the environment please don’t just talk about cleaning up after BBQs, but talk about the most important thing: taking care of our natural environment, which is difficult to do because it involves big money and so is likely to succumb to corruption.

Dear Din l-Art Ħelwa, and relevant NGOs, remember that our cherished architectural heritage has the natural environment as a backdrop. If this is ruined, much will be lost and will never be regained.

Joe Portelli

NADUR