There are lessons to be learnt from the campaign Insalvaw Wied Ghomor.

1. If one believes in the rights of the community, one should stand up and be counted. Never give up.

2. Protests do not get results as much as education and information campaigns do.

3. When neighbour councils join forces like the three neighbour councils of San Gwann, Swieqi and St Julian’s did, the authorities will listen.

4. The three mayors worked hand in hand. Let this serve as a lesson that councils can be a public force.

5. When, on behalf of the Swieqi council, I invited the environment oriented NGOs to meet round a table to advise us, we never expected such collective support. We all learnt from each other and the Wied Ghomor seminar served as a mine of information that helped us set a winning strategy.

6. If residents take initiatives, together they will change the mentality that in our three particular localities property speculators reign supreme.

A great share of this success is owed to two determined residents from San Gwann, Ms Sandie Galea and Ms Myriam Warrington. They put their lives and that of their families on hold for 10 weeks to gather signatures and collected over 5000.

Finally, I wish to thank all the NGO speakers at the hearing, but the best was the great speech in Parliament by our local MP Dr Marthese Portelli who spoke extremely well, researched the law carefully and made it so easy for the board to throw out the application.

We will not stop here because we have other battles to win. We will prepare ourselves well. Let this be a clear warning to all those developers who think money can buy everything. They will never buy the hearts and minds of the residents of Is- Swieqi, San Gwann and San Giljan. We have had enough. We owe it to our future generations.

 

Paul Fenech