The local council in Gozo’s first village, Xewkija, has on many occasions been instrumental in conserving places and items of historical value. In the past few days, the popular website www.xewkija.net reported that the flagstones covering the main entrance to a shelter in Tingi Street, dating back to World War II, caved in.
I strongly urge the Xewkija local council to be proactive and take this opportunity to transform this site into a public museum. This would give the locals and others an inside view of what life was like in those bygone years.
At that time, there were 18 shelters in Xewkija. Two shelter entrances were in Tingi Street, costing £365 and £686 respectively for their construction (Il-Qilla tal-Gwerra Fuq Għawdex, Charles Bezzina, 2000, page 302).