Qala's character being destroyed

Being a resident, born and bred, of the village of Qala, I could not help but reading with interest the interview with Joe Falzon, Mepa's audit officer (June 2), especially the part about the demolition of a section of the Qala Primary School. Frankly the reference to the pulled-down building as "an architectural gem of the 1960s" left me cold.

Normally gems, being precious objects, are taken very good care of, kept clean, polished, and usually attached to some other precious frame or chain usually made of gold, silver or some other precious metal. I cannot understand why, if the school was such a "gem", was it left in such a dilapidated state for so many years and when there was all the chance to work on its structure to transform it into a spacious and practical hostel, much related to the new scope for which the demolished section had been dedicated, but the opportunity was just ignored.

Qala can survive without half of its "gems of the 1960s". What Qala cannot survive is the rapid destruction of its character of a centuries old village with an "old quarter" composed of stylish town houses that are being overwhelmed by tens and hundreds of "farmhouses" that are turning various areas of the village into glorified hovels and slums.

Both Mepa and the Chamber of Architects consist of professional people who have a basic sense of culture and style appreciation. It is architects who are signing off innumerable applications for the building of these innumerable little monsters and it is other architects who are vetting these applications and issuing the relative permits. Where has the sense of architectural values of all these people gone? Have they sacrificed all their knowledge, training and even their common sense, for the sake of the proverbial quick buck?

Qala is a small place lying on a small island where the urban development for speculative purposes has grown out of control. What is happening in Qala and in Gozo is similar to what is happening all over the European countryside with one little difference. Large European countries can still absorb this systematic destruction of their countryside just because of their size. Just because of our size it is already too late for us!