Sliema used to be renowned for its tranquillity and respected for its refined qualities.
Now one need only glance at the sad demise of one of this town’s greatest and most significant architectural monuments at the time, the Chalet, to realise how much Sliema has deteriorated.
Sliema resembles a war zone or the aftermath of an earthquake, which has swallowed up entire townhouses that used to symbolise its majestic past. There has been no mention of fond memories or last words where the construction teams have assembled en masse.
No requiems and no hesitation to blot out a town whose very name signifies peace. One has only stroll down Dingli Street or Howard Street to see at least five large projects being undertaken at the same time.
Demolishing the past seems to be a way of hiding the shame, guilt and utter disrespect for Sliema’s rightful place in Malta’s history. Had I been elected to serve my town with the respect it deserves or been on the board of the Malta Environment and Planning Authority to explain to my children what Sliema should look like, had I not consented to its premature oblivion, I would bury my head in the sand and disappear.
Where I live, demolition and construction works have been going on uninterruptedly for eight years. Being abruptly awoken from Monday to Saturday at 7 a.m. is one of the daily sacrifices I and hundreds of other residents have had to make.
Only once in all these years has Mepa acknowledged our existence and rights as human beings to inform us directly that an application had been submitted and to request our opinion on the matter.
Sliema has become a town where former mayors and councillors do their utmost to embarrass us, where scandals proliferate and persist.Nothing further has been said about the proposed parking spaces for Sliema residents.
To add insult to injury, construction sites in Dingli and Howard Street have deprived us of even more legal parking bays with no explanation or warning. Malta is truly the land of property developers. They rule and Sliema continues to pay the price!