Personnel from the Lands Department, the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (Mepa) and the police corps’ Administrative Law Enforcement (ALE) unit handed out eviction notices to the small number of remaining campers in Marsaxlokk, telling them they would need to remove any tents, gazebos, caravans and any other camping equipment from the area within 24 hours (by around midday today).

The enforcement officers first targeted the area known as ‘Il-Magħluq’, where campers complained that according to a Mepa notice issued on 11 August, they could stay until 27 August. The campers said this was contradictory, and described it as a political “U-turn.”

But two days ago Fair Competition, Small Business and Consumers Minister Jason Azzopardi, who is responsible for the Lands Department, confirmed that the Commissioner of Lands had given his permission for Mepa to act before the end of 15 days laid down by law. The illegal camping site led to a protest a few days ago, with area residents complaining on various fronts against the summer-long camps set up illegally.

The protest sparked a verbal exchange between the protesters and the campers, and five campers even assaulted one of the Marsaxlokk residents.

The Marsaxlokk local council said two days ago that if no objection is made by the minister responsible for local councils – that is the prime minister – to bye-laws presented by the council, caravans and camps will not be allowed in Marsaxlokk. That would mean there would be no need for Mepa’s intervention, and local wardens and the police could act without delay.

Most of the campers have since left the area, and the handful of remaining people told this newspaper yesterday that they only spent one or two weeks camping in Marsaxlokk in summer. They claimed there was a particular woman who had been protesting about their presence in the area since last summer.

One camper said: “She called us ignorant, dirty pigs, and said the area isn’t fit for swimming, despite her coming here for a swim every morning.”

Asked whether they were concerned about the quality of the seawater considering the presence of a sign warning people not to swim in the area, they said the sign has been there for a very long time and probably needed to be removed.

Just by the non-bathing zone sign lies a concrete structure that is full of litter, which the campers said clearly attracted rats; however, they added, they made sure they kept the area by their tents and gazebos spotless.

“Four years ago, when we came here to have a barbecue there was a procession of rats. We have picked up heads of dead swordfish and tuna from the sea (in the area where the fishing boats are), as well as a dead chicken and syringes. We are definitely not the ones leaving the place dirty.”

Referring to last Sunday’s ‘protest’, the campers asked whether the protestors had a permit, especially considering they weren’t accompanied by police officers.

They also wondered why they weren’t being allowed to camp in the area while fishermen opened up their nets in the nearby parking area, taking up parking spaces.

“The protesters even claimed that one of the campers set up a pipe leading to the sea to dispose of the sewage. This is completely unfounded; we have set up mobile toilets and never throw any sewage into the sea, but dispose of it in the correct manner.

“The people who do leave rubbish are those who come here for one evening for a barbecue,” they claimed.

As the enforcement officers moved on to another area in Triq il-Power Station, the campers insisted that the area they occupy is extremely clean and said they end up having to clean up waste left by people who go there for barbecues.

One camper asked: “What’s wrong with us staying here for two days? I have two children and haven’t got a place to stay because I cannot afford to pay the rent. Can I sleep in my car?”

And a young man added: “I have a seven-month-old child and the government hasn’t given me a place to stay.”

But these campers soon realised that the eviction notice didn’t apply to them as it referred to the area known as ‘Il-Magħluq’, which is different to the area they were in, which is Triq il-Power Station.