Unnecessary graffiti in Gozo

It used to be that the colour in Gozo came from the beautiful flowers which seem to bloom all year round in one form or another, the sea and the sky, the merging of the lovely honey coloured buildings with brightly coloured windows, shutters and doors. Now, other, not so harmonious, aggressive and harsh colours are appearing on the ancient, honey-coloured walls of old farmhouses and other buildings: graffiti. Why?

I am aware that graffiti can be an enhancement – I think of one horrible concrete wall in Malta which is covered in a magical picture. However the type of graffiti appearing in Gozo is the sort one finds in the shadiest of areas in all big cities and certainly does nothing to improve the image of Gozo.

Who is responsible for the recent spate of ugly graffiti now defacing so many buildings in Gozo? I am sure it must be fun to have a huge free ‘canvas’ available to spray paint on, but imagine what it must be like if it was your honey-coloured wall which you had just lovingly built or restored? Are the authorities doing anything to apprehend the person responsible before he decides to ‘beautify’ the newly refurbished bastions of the citadel?

Yes, we have gleaned a lot of knowledge from ancient graffiti and the Bushmen cave paintings in South Africa spring to mind; closer to home, the etchings of boats on the church above Hondoq in Qala. However, surely today, with the internet and other social networks, it is no longer necessary for people to deface buildings with their mostly illegible messages.

I sincerely hope the authorities take note and put a stop to it.