Sleepless in Rabat

From the bucolic peace and serenity of a quiet Balzan residential area, we moved to Rabat's town core, because we wanted to retire where things would be close at hand and also to enjoy an atmosphere of bustling humanity. Indeed, it was a culture shock at first but we adapted very easily, for the Rabat people are friendly and obliging.

The only snag in our life is a tiny wine bar by the grand name of Café Noir in St Paul Street, only a few doors away. How Mepa could have issued it a licence is beyond comprehension, as well as scandalous, since it is right in the village core.

The youth who runs it is selfish and inconsiderate, with loud disco music blaring till the early hours of the morning. This is a nightmare during weekends and feast days, with uncaring youths outside talking, swearing and blaspheming vociferously.

When we dared open our balcony window to tell them to stop, we were regaled with a tirade of obscenities. Shame! To have to endure such public indecency in this day and age does not reflect very well on the authorities concerned. Where are the police patrols at night-time in Rabat? The Commissioner of Police should take note.

Now, time and time again, we have phoned the Rabat police station at unearthly hours, as late as 2.30 a.m., to complain. These instances must be on record, lodged practically every weekend. Some policemen do occasionally turn up after some time. They call someone from inside to the police car and presumably tell him to lower the music, but minutes after they leave, the abominable electronic thumping goes high again, vibrating through our bedroom walls and making sleep impossible, not only for us, but for 16 other residences. Nothing happens. Has the person responsible been taken to court, admonished, fined, told to desist or close down? I think not. Only in Malta... kind of thing!

This has been going on for well over two years, and the audacity steadily increases. With the last electoral gimmick of Lawrence Gonzi's pledge to involve himself in Mepa and stop the abuses, we expected some improvement, but alas, no such luck. To top it all, we have just heard that the owner of yet another two-roomed house in the alley behind our house, namely Sqaq Bir Il-Ljun, has now put forward an application to change from domestic to commercial, as a wine bar, in an even more intense village core, where houses are squeezed tight and the least noise at night echoes formidably.

Since we have neither redress nor sympathy from the authorities concerned, be it Mepa (that considers the original application), the MTA (that issues the licence), the Malta Police (who seem afraid to close the bar down, even when caught red-handed at 2.45 a.m.), and now encouraged by the triumphant case of Philip Amato Gauci in the European Court, we have no option but to resort to the same source for justice denied us.

We intend waiting a few weeks so that these abuses might be rectified by those concerned, but failing this, we will start the necessary procedures, no matter the expenses involved. We have been assured by a lawyer friend in Brussels that we have a good case, because noise pollution and the disturbance of public peace is a no-no in the European courts. And we also intend to go further and sue those concerned, even Mepa, indirectly responsible for all this chaos, for health impairment. We expect heavy compensation for sleepless nights and health threats caused by undue worry and anxiety. Our hypertension records, religiously taken and filed during these last few months, will bear witness to this.

We sincerely think that Mepa should reassess itself. It must stop processing and granting these licences indiscriminately to would-be wine bars that are turned eventually into mini discotheques with hell let loose. We, together with so many around us here in Rabat, have suffered enough. This letter is meant to be an eye-opener for Mepa and the MTA - we did not want them to be caught with their pants down, and then blame us for not having spoken before. We now have, so please listen. And take action!