A bit of this and that on Gozo

Yet my real relationship to Gozo was brought about by my involvement with ecological groups. 

I remember visiting Gozo and spending moonless nights sleeping rough at Ta’Cenc cliffs listening to the Cory shearwaters as they returned in their hundreds to regurgitate mackerel to the nestlings huddled in the crevices on the coralline cliffs.

As my sixth form friends were having ‘unorthodox’ weekends with the better sex in Marsalforn I was more concerned with the ‘feathered kind.’ Gozo, as we all know, was a cheap way of escaping the rigid family home.

Thankfully, I later aligned myself to the norm and underwent my fair share of long weekends.

Gozo had its charm and more importantly, it gave the impression of ‘going abroad.’

Indeed ‘travelling’ to Gozo for a weekend has become more expensive then getting on a cheap flight and staying in Barcelona for two nights.

I recall the time when I spent weeks in Gozo with a friend in Xaghra (no car at the time, just a bicycle) and there I discovered the ancient side of Gozo.

The terraced fields at Nadur, the ‘desert’ in the north of the island, the valley of Lunzjata and Wardija point.

The archaeology and history that lies hidden and undiscovered in hidden valleys and patches of countryside was impressive.

I remember the time the Brockdorff circle was rediscovered, and the various menhirs and temple sites, the silos at Nuffara and the very early signs of Neolithic times.

Then suddenly, the pleasure of learning about the past was delt a severe blow by the cruel reality that respect for this heritage was nonexistent.

Rampant building and roads destroyed many sites. This was a time when MEPA was not around. And even though we have MEPA today, the same level of destruction still takes place.

In 1981, pylons suddenly sprouted at Ta’ Cenc, and they were posted right on top of a temple site off the hotel there. It was my first environmental campaign, and one that targeted TeleMalta and the minister of the time – the late Philip Muscat.

But the government decided to remove the pylons and that little victory led many to consider setting up a small environmental grouping by the name of Zghazagh ghall-Ambjent.

In the years that followed, Gozo was earmarked by this small band of tree-huggers to highlight environmental destruction in Malta. It was as effective as it could be.

This was pre-1987 and Gozo was renowned for the renegade Labour MP known as Il-Fratell and with that time period the destruction of Qbajjar, Marsalforn and Xlendi.

During this time, hectares of coastline were converted to flats and apartments. Boxes of concrete on top of each other such as Zebbug and Xaghra and Nadur.

From the mid-eighties, the idea of extending the Ta’ Cenc hotel led many to confront the developers. It continued until the early 90s, with a protest in front of the hotel and subsequent arrest by the police. The protest had blocked Richard Cachia Caruana on his way to another lunch, and this led to an immediate arrest by the overzealous Gozitan police.

The protestors – of which I was one – were fined Lm5 each. We decided not to pay it, and Magistrate Carol Peralta converted the fine into a prison sentence. It was to be my first experience in prison. And it happened in 1992, under a Nationalist administration.

Needless to say, Peralta was over-reacting to the fact that the newspaper I wrote in at the time revealed that he was a Freemason, and responsible for the premises at Villa Blye in Paola. For his misdemeanour, the Magistrate was selected as a judge in Kosovo!

Peralta was not the only magistrate with a Gozo connection. A similar news report I had penned about unsanctioned works at a dwelling owned by Magistrate Montebello off Mgarr ix-Xini reaped unexpected dividends. Years later, when facing Magistrate Montebello, I was fined the largest fine ever in the history of libel laws in a case involving the former Labour minister – Louis Buhagiar.

In those years, when we campaigned to keep Gozo from ruining itself, there were various reactions from Gozitans who accused us, as the comfortable Maltese, of wanting to preserve Gozo as if it were a crib (presepju).

The reaction reached disproportionate levels when the idea of an aerodrome was successfully overturned.

Then, the shocking idea of selling Chambray to Memmo – a P2 Masonic lodge prince – by the Nationalist administration.

Gozo, with all its silly development, still has much to offer. Its small population is its saving grace, the very fact that villages are detached from each other and perched high on hilltops helps to promote the idea of insularity and a sense of detachment.

Eating out, until a few years ago, was unbelievably bad with the exception of two or three overpriced restos, but in the past few years, new restos have kicked off and provide a sterling service, sometimes offering better quality then their Maltese competitors.

Until some time ago, the issuing of a VAT receipt was a rarity.

But Gozo and the Gozitans also suffer from an inferiority complex which exemplifies itself with the need to present itself as being detached from Malta.

The ugly and horribly huge complex at Mgarr harbour is perhaps a perfect example of what should have been a simple transit area between two small islands.

And the very existence of a court in Gozo (renowned for functioning in a somewhat different manner to the one in Malta) as well as a Minister for Gozo, only contributes towards this perception.

Yet, the pretty and cute island is suffering, and going through a very clear economic glut.

Young people are abandoning the island.  And manufacturing in Gozo is disappearing.

Gozo’s little economy is suffering – big time.

Agriculture, tourism and construction are the main revenue earners. 

Construction is facing serious problems, as can be verified by the drop in prices for buying farmhouses and apartments in Gozo.

Tourism is still very much dependent on the Maltese who flock to Gozo and in their case, their purchasing power has continued to dwindle.

And agriculture – as is the case everywhere else – has its limitations and problems.

Gozo’s charm is matched by the Gozitan character, illustrated best  by their secretive nature and their ‘amour propre’ for the politician who delivers and services their needs.

Giovanna Debono is seen in many a Gozitan’s eyes as a person who sees to everyone’s needs – a factory of pjaciri for Nationalists and Labourites alike.

Nonetheless, the greatest Gozitan trait is their belief in ‘omerta’.

Until, that is, you find the perfect extremes who come forward and present you with the most unbelievable story which one would normally find uncomfortable to repeat.

The example that springs to mind is the Gozitan priest who came to me with a story.

He repeated what a man had confessed to him: that he had offered a kick back to a MEPA official to issue a permit.

I remember looking at him in complete bewilderment.

When I told him that I could not carry this story since it was completely unethical that I repeat what someone told him in confidence, he politely left.

Weeks later, I was informed by the Prime Minister’s personal assistant Edgar Galea Curmi that I knew of an illegality but had not talked about it.

It transpired that Astrid Vella had been approached by the same priest, and she had relayed the message that I knew about MEPA ‘corruption.’

The egocentric tree hugger had decided to take advantage of a stupid priest.

Needless to say, I explained to the ‘understanding’ Prime Ministerial aide that I had no intention of following up a story on the ‘private confessions’ of priest who had chosen to break his oath of silence.

Which takes me to the last item on Gozo’s traditional agenda. 

If Gozo is definitely separate to Malta, it is because of the supremacy of the Church there – overwhelmingly still popular, traditional and conservative. Gozo is probably the last bastion of Catholic hegemony.

Unwilling to see the writing on the wall, the Church in Gozo remains unperturbed by the changes that are happening around it.

And to lead it into this last crusade, we are welcomed by Bishop Mario Grech, who defies all  reason and trends and insists that his God has no compromises to make.

Unlike, of course, all the compromises that are constantly made by politicians and their constituents to develop and vilify the Gozitan landscape and countryside with hideous and unnecessary structures.

This opinion appeared in GozoToday published last Saturday