Last year, in the midst of preparations for the embellishment of the Senglea promenade, residents noticed that many of the trees had been marked with a large red T. Had the plague come to town? No, it was just a rather primitive way of instructing the workers to “kill these trees”.

A protest meeting was swiftly organised onsite with the help of Flimkien ghal Ambjent Ahjar and Facebook groups. It got media attention and a stay of execution was issued. Protesters went home relieved, looking forward to enjoying an embellished promenade in all its leafy splendour. “Ho ho ho!” chuckled the Grinch in his control lab. Soon enough those pardoned trees took on a striking resemblance to something one would expect to see in the Addams family garden – barren of foliage and very skeletal. A tree expert assured the alarmed protestors that the trees were alive. Yes, and so is Elvis Presley.

Recently, a Senglea resident took it upon herself to get another tree expert to assess the damage and he concluded that for the trees to have a fighting chance of surviving the brutal treatment they had been subjected to, they had to be heavily watered each week. Immediately, in a truly inspirational demonstration of personal civic responsibility, the resident, in collaboration with the local council, hired a bowser to water all the sickly trees.

Quickly the call went out to residents and members of the community awareness group, Friends of Cottonera Forum, and an action plan to water the trees at citizens’ expense has been initiated. Will this sum of money be thrown down the drain? Hopefully not, but whatever the outcome, a potent message is being sent: for many members of the public, tolerating the wanton and gratuitous destruction of trees is over.

Some questions remain – why should residents foot the bill for watering the trees, which should be carried out by the state, and how much longer will this continue? Moreover, if a citizen were found to be wilfully damaging public property, she or he would most certainly be arrested and fined. How is it therefore that those responsible for the unnecessary damage caused to these trees and the subsequent failure to adequately care for them are not being held accountable?

Caroline Said

On behalf of Friends of Cottonera Forum