Parish ignored in council magazine

From the date of their establishment, most local councils in Malta and Gozo have regularly issued a magazine/publication in which they keep in touch with the local community through articles of general interest related to the respective town or village. These local councils and their publications were meant to represent the whole local community.

However, I am sorry to say that the quarterly publication issued by the Birkirkara local council, Birkirkara Leħen il-Kunsill Tiegħek, does not represent people living within the Santa Marija parish church territory.

While the rest of Birkirkara was celebrating the feast of St Helen, a few days earlier the parishioners of Santa Marija also celebrated their feast; that of the Assumption, to which the historical and architectural gem known as Il-Knisja l-Qadima is dedicated. For three consecutive years, which included a number of unanswered letters, the local council's August publication has completely omitted any mention of our feast, the parish, its celebrations, or those who work so hard all year round within the church.

Admittedly ours is a small feast but we all put a lot of effort into it and we are very proud of both our church and the feast we celebrate.

As a person born and raised in Birkirkara, I feel disappointed that the local council, for which I have voted, decided that the parish territory in which I live is so unimportant that it doesn't even deserve a sentence of mention in its publication.