Protecting the Maltese dghajsa

A small number of Maltese boatmen - ‘barklori’ - are risking having their licence suspended and being charged with breaking the law, according to a recent report in the Times of Malta.

This is because they are defying a port notice banning them from carrying passengers in the traditional Maltese boats across Marsamxett Harbour. The Transport Ministry has explained that the ban is in line with the exclusive concession granted to ferry operators in Marsamxett Harbour in 2012.

Gerald Camilleri, president of the Għaqda tal-Barklori, claims the ban is endangering both their livelihoods and the country’s heritage: “These boats are part of our Maltese cultural heritage and have been used for the past 400 years, and now they want this part of our culture to die...”

There is no doubt that the Maltese ‘dgħajsa’ is part of our cultural heritage, a tradition that is still alive today and should be protected. Today, around 45 dgħajjes are keeping this tradition alive.

But for the past 12 years, these boatmen have been excluded from operating the Sliema-Valletta route due to the monopoly given to the ferry operators.

This is nonsense and the government should not have allowed this situation to develop.

Despite having a licence granting them the right to operate in both the Grand Harbour and in Marsamxett Harbour, they are only allowed to offer tours from Sliema and must take passengers back to Sliema at the end of the tour.

Camilleri is right in claiming that the use of the traditional dgħajsa will die a natural death if it is not taken care of. He complained that the barklori had not managed to persuade the authorities about this issue and have had to face closed doors when attempting to present their case to the authorities. He recalled how the Labour Party had promised them that once the eight-year concession expired in 2020, they would again be allowed to operate the Sliema-Valletta route.

Yet, the promise was shortlived when the concession was extended for another three years, because of the COVID-19 pandemic and because work on some wharves had not yet been completed.

The boatsmen have had enough of being ignored and are now operating the Sliema-Valletta route in breach of the port notice. They claim that they are doing so in pursuit of an industrial dispute after the extension of the port ban ‘until further notice’, was issued on 20 June, ‘coincidentally’ a day after the ‘barklori’ began to operate in protest.

The use of the traditional ‘dgħajsa’ in Maltese harbours should be considered a heritage issue - not just a commercial issue. The attempt to restrict their use in favour of the ferry concession is, in my opinion, a stupid short-sighted overkill.

Why risk the disappearance of this Maltese tradition when all that the ‘barklori’ want is to be left working in peace? Will the tourism authorities end up discarding all the photographs of the Maltese ‘dghajsa’ that they use for promoting Malta?

How can the government justify this ban? Surely the impact of the presence of the ‘barklori’ using their boats is minimal, if not negligible!

Has the Ministry responsible for Cultural Heritage intervened in this issue, as it is obliged to do?  It seems it hasn’t.

Personally, I think that the ‘dghajsa’ should be propelled by oarsmen and the use of outboard engines attached to it should not be allowed. The use of fuel guzzling engines is, in itself, a contradiction to the idea of preserving the authentic Maltese traditional ‘dgħajsa’.

What is the opinion of the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage about this issue? Does its opinion matter, after all?

The Cultural Heritage Act only covers objects, but surely the Maltese traditional ‘dgħajsa’ is an object that should be preserved. And the best way to preserve it is by promoting its traditional use.

I think this aspect of the Maltese ‘dgħajsa’ cannot be ignored. The boat owners and operators are not asking for any subsidies but only to be allowed to work in peace.

Surely, the ministry responsible for cultural heritage should intervene and take up the case in favour of the use of the ‘dgħajsa’ in the traditional manner.

The power of handouts

A piece in a recent issue of The Economist deals with the effect of handouts on voters in India.

It explains the issue: ‘An Indian receiving any sort of benefit from the government in recent years was left in little doubt of whom to thank. Got vaccinated against Covid? Narendra Modi, the prime minister, beamed from the certificate. Applied for housing under a 50-year old programme? The words ‘pradhan mantri’ (prime minister) were written all over the paperwork.’

The article says that ‘welfare politics’ has been a long-standing feature of India, but Mr Modi sought to perfect the art of loudly claiming credit for doling out benefits to ordinary people. It goes on to say that for some time this was a reliable electoral tool, establishing the prime minister and his party as benefactors. Wherever they were in power in Indian states, Modi’s rivals joined the bandwagon, hoping for a similar effect.

Yet the recent election - in which Modi’s party lost the majority - shows that the tactic may have run its course. In India, of course.

For a while, it worked. The personalisation of welfare payments, food aid and subsidies created a direct link with voters, while playing down the role of bureaucrats who administer benefits and the taxpayers who fund them.

The Economist correspondent has concluded that in the last general election in India, the link between handouts, credit-taking and electoral success has weakened. The strategy, it seems, is suffering from diminishing returns as it has become more widespread. Otherwise, voters are increasingly seeing the limits of welfare schemes.

Is there a lesson for the current Labour administration in Malta, where doling out cheques to many citizens on the eve of elections has become normal?

Using benefits paid out by the state to persuade citizens to vote for the party in power is no Indian invention. Probably, the Maltese were at it much before the Indians.

Comparing Indian politics with Maltese politics is done at one’s peril. But in the end every voter is a human - whether from Bormla or from Andhra Pradesh.