Want illegalities to stop? Stop supporting them

As long as people keep frequenting the Montekristo zoo, which is rife with illegalities, it will continue to remain open.

The result, as we have seen, led to Saturday’s horrific incident when a tiger which was not inside a cage but outside the restaurant on a leash, seriously injured a toddler resulting in lacerations to his head and face. At the time of writing, reports say that the boy will probably require plastic surgery. (And no, I am not impressed by the fact that the owners closed the zoo temporarily, after all, that is the least one would expect out of respect for the family).

And yet, while everyone is well aware that (apart from the lack of necessary permits etc) the zoo is not as safe as it should be, there are even official school outings to this place. Parents organize children’s parties there, and it is a popular outing for families. The authorities have shown time and time again that they are unable to enforce the law, so now it is about time that the public takes matters into its own hands. Without people paying to go to places like this illegal zoo, it won’t be able to survive financially.

And if we are really serious about standing firm on our principles we would not attend any function which is held at this large premises which is used to hold host various events. Every euro spent there is a way of patting the owner indulgently on the back and saying, “we don’t like what you’re doing but don’t worry, go ahead, we don’t really mean it.” You can’t condemn a place on the one hand and condone it by contributing to its finances on the other hand.

But who are we kidding right? As NGOs and Alternativa Demokratika rightly pointed out, when you have politicians and even the President organising their activities at a venue which is openly flouting the law, what kind of message is that to give to the public? Basically, they are saying that you can break the law as much as you like, but if you have enough muscle and clout we will look the other way.

It’s not just Montekristo either. As it happens this is the third tragic event over recent weeks when you count the Paqpali event where a supercar injured members of the crowd and the stampede at PlusOne nightclub which led to a glass bannister giving way, also leading to many injuries. What they have in common is a blatant lack of health and safety procedures and the breaching of the law.

We need to come to a point where, as members of the public, we refuse to attend or set foot in places which do not appear to be safe. Especially where children and minors are involved, I would think that parents (who are often accused of being too over-protective) would be much more hyper aware of checking out a venue and ensuring everything is as it should be. It is clear from these incidents that we simply cannot assume that any kind of fun park or place advertised as being family-friendly has been thoroughly inspected and found suitable for children.

Even adult nightclubs carry their own hazards as we have seen, when owners do not provide exits and procedures for emergency situations. It’s true that when you’re young you never think of these things, or else you assume they will never happen to you, but they do, and they have, and frankly in Malta we have been very, very lucky that more tragedies have not taken place, although we have had our share of them. It is bad enough when we are unaware of the danger or the illegality of certain places, but once we have become aware that some place is simply not safe, or is downright illegal, we really should not continue to be so complacent.

Those who should be responsible are failing us, and enforcement seems to be nothing but a joke, so the only thing left is to hit unsafe, illegal venues where it hurts: in their pockets. Every time we learn of a new place which is operating against the law, we should simply not to go there, otherwise we are simply being complicit with the owners in their law-breaking. It is useless gasping in shock or muttering to ourselves that “these people keep getting away with it”. Stop putting money in their coffers, stop giving them your business, and make it clear why.

The crux of the matter, of course, is that there have to be enough people willing to stand firm and boycott these places. You would think that the outrage following each incident would be enough to ensure that these boycotts work, and yet sometimes it seems that people either forget or don’t really care enough to follow through on their principles. Or else, all their friends are going to some event at the venue, so they throw in the towel, and say, what the heck, it’s remained open anyway, so I might as well go.

It reminds me of what happens with restaurant or cafes which serve inedible, highly overpriced food and have appalling service: we tell each other by word of mouth not to go there, plaster their name all over the social media and give them bad ratings on TripAdvisor and yet, there they remain, unbelievably open for business even though “everybody” knows they don’t deserve to be.

It is bad enough that those in government are turning a blind eye to the rule of law, we don’t have to be the same. Because if we keep these kind of places open by giving them our business, we have no one to blame but ourselves.