Mark Anthony Falzon, in his column of May 31, made incorrect statements regarding the Safari Camping Club.
We are quite sure that these were based on hearsay and that he will change his opinion about camping and caravanning if he had an opportunity to experience it. We strongly recommend that he spend some time at caravan sites in Germany, Switzerland, or Italy, which are situated in prime scenic areas.
The way our club promotes camping and caravanning is not different from those of European clubs. We are totally opposed to the coastal shanty towns Dr Falzon mentioned. Unfortunately, in the past, we operated in a shanty town environment since there was no backing by the authorities to enforce our standards and regulations.
This summer we are going to operate according to a contract whereby the government has conceded land at Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq for a handsome sum, and also vested us with the authority to administer the site under mutually agreed conditions. If we breach these conditions we are liable to forfeit the bank guarantee of €12,000.
As for Dr Falzon's statement that a member of our club set his Boxer on him, I wonder who told him that the dog's owner was a member of our club.
Whoever did so should have directed him to the club's committee so that we could have taken disciplinary action. We insist that pets are strictly controlled by their owners.
It could also be that your columnist mistakenly concluded that the dog's owner was a member of our club. In the past, we had a large number of non-members alongside our members and they were totally unregulated.
This year things are different since one of the requirements for camping at our site is club membership.
About the "soon to be resuscitated Safari Camping Club", may we inform Dr Falzon that our club does not go into cycles of hibernation in winter and resuscitation in summer. Last winter, the committee had an uphill task to convince the authorities that we can be trusted.
Since last October we held over 40 committee meetings, three extraordinary general meetings and the annual general meeting. The committee also held meetings with government. All the work was done at great sacrifice for everyone involved. Apart from all this, we successfully held the usual wintertime leisure activities for members.
We will be very glad to welcome Dr Falzon at the campsite this summer, show him around and explain how we administer the site and the activities we plan for this season.
Incidentally, today we witnessed a boat capsizing in rough sea about 100 metres from the Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq coast and were it not for the "filthy, stinking" caravan people, who jumped into the sea to their rescue, the persons on board would surely have perished. This was not the first time our members have assisted and given first aid to people in distress. Unfortunately, such heroic events never make it to the newspapers.