The illegal camping at Il-Magħluq beach in Marsaxlokk as well as the paltry €60 fines handed out to the five campers who assaulted a peaceful protester have understandably led to a public outcry.
For weeks the authorities did nothing about the fact that a number of people had illegally set up camps at the beach, filling the area with tents and caravans, to the obvious displeasure of residents and other bathers. After watching in disgust as their beach was turned into a shabby shanty town Marsaxlokk residents decided, rightly, to protest peacefully against these squatters.
The reaction of some of these illegal campers to this protest was to disrupt it, and a number of them – in full view of the media – attacked a Marsaxlokk resident, Chris Haber, striking him a number of times in the face, chest and back.
After the assault on Mr Haber, Marsaxlokk mayor Edrick Micallef correctly summed up the situation when he said: “It’s clear that this area is being taken over by a community which is prepared to resort to bullying to keep others out.”
Unfortunately, it seems that some people in Malta think they are above the law and the attitude of the illegal campers was perhaps summarised perfectly by one of them who was overheard saying during the protest: “I pay my taxes. I can do what I like.”
It was not enough that these campers were in blatant violation of the law; some of them had to resort to violence when people protested about this illegality.
Photos documenting the Marsaxlokk incidents even found their way to international news sites, which is not exactly good news for Malta’s international image.
The police soon charged five people with slightly injuring Mr Haber as well as with swearing in public and breaching the peace. The picture of these men – dressed in shorts, T-shirts and flip-flops, some of them carrying a soft drink bottle – outside the law courts, also caused public outrage as it showed an utter disrespect towards the law.
While the requirement for jacket and tie in summer is ridiculous, are people not meant to go to court dressed appropriately? Why were these people allowed to enter court so shabbily dressed? The fact that one of the accused actually stuck his tongue out at the media also shows a lack of remorse for his actions.
The accused admitted to swearing in public and breaching the peace and were fined €60 each, leading to a barrage of protests on the social media and among the public.
The five men, however, were acquitted of slightly injuring Mr Haber because the victim was willing to forgive them. Mr Haber made it clear that he was worried about the repercussions of the case and was justifiably concerned about his brand new boat in Marsaxlokk which had already been vandalised once before.
In other words, Mr Haber feared revenge attacks had he not forgiven the men, a sad reflection of the fact that he had no faith in the authorities’ ability to protect him.
The campers have now dispersed after being handed eviction notices by the Lands Department and a direct action notification by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority. This is well and good, but the questions remain: Would the authorities have acted had the Marsaxlokk protest and subsequent violence not taken place? Or if the media had not given so much prominence to these incidents?
Why are so many people being allowed to take over precious beaches – either with caravans, so-called boathouses, or umbrellas?
This latest incident should serve as a wake-up call. People are becoming increasingly frustrated with the authorities’ unwillingness to stamp out these abuses.