The rape of Nadur and of our valleys

Abstract

Anyone with a love for the typical Maltese and Gozitan environment is seething at the current assault on heritage houses all over the islands. The Gozitan villages of Nadur and Xaghra, the entire Cottonera area, Sliema, Valletta, St Paul's Bay, Mgarr and Mellieha in Malta have borne the brunt so far. Although I have deep respect for the inhabitants of Gozo, the current rate at which Nadur and Xaghra heritage houses are being raped is a great slur to their reputation. It seems that Gozitan property owners have nurtured quite a liking for eyesore blocks of flats and apartments, with which they aim to fill every nook and cranny of their island home. Unfortunately, the heritage houses, reminiscent of the way previous generations used to live, are a spoke in their wheels. Hence, they seek to obliterate them in every conceivable way - either through licit ways (with MEPA's consent) or else through illicit ways (i.e. by pulling some houses down during some pitch-dark winter night and blaming the event on some storm).