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Cultural heritage is in the spotlight once again after vandals struck at Malta’s most prominent historical monument, the Portes des Bombes at Floriana.
It is an incident which naturally leads to a condemnation. But condemnation alone will not take us anywhere.
That our main thoroughfares carry no camera other than speed cameras is distressful when one considers that installing audio-visual surveillance at salient heritage sites is not rocket science.
One need not wait for such incidents to take place to highlight the sorry state of our national heritage.
This is not the first time that historical monuments have been the target of vandals.
In previous years, in the early nineties to be precise, vandals struck at the heart of our monuments soon after a legal notice reduced the spring hunting season irritating some hunters to vent their frustration at Hagar Qim and Borg in-Nadur.
There are numerous case situations across Malta and Gozo which take place without being reported and noted.
Paleo-Christian tombs, cart ruts, towers, coastal fortifications, bastions and neolithic temples are the target of illegal constructions and direct destruction.
One of the main culprits are undoubtedly the hunters and trappers. Hundreds of these individuals have taken over the countryside without any legal title, converting sites close to historical and archaeological areas for hunting and trapping purposes.
They remain untouchables.
Take the trapping sites at the Mnajdra neolithic site, Heritage Malta, the police and the Environment Ministry appear impotent to act and kick these squatters out of the way once and for all.
Another case in point is the Roman temple at Wardija off Saraflu in Gozo, lost under two trapping sites and surrounded by a wall and then Xemxija and Borg in-Nadur temples hidden under hides in an area managed or used by hunters and trappers.
There are innumerable other instances where our heritage has suffered irreparable damage and the silence from the authorities has been deafening.
The state of our heritage is aggravated by the massive building and road development that has taken place in the last 40 years.
Temples such as Bistra Catacombs can be found under asphalted roads. Hotels continue to surround megalithic temples and five star hotels tower over coastal towers.
Understandably we have far too many sites to protect and conserve and the yearly budget for the upkeep of our heritage is a pittance for the number of existing monuments.
On the political level, there is an unwritten history of lip-service to our cultural heritage from the dim-witted habit of destroying village cores with by-passes in the sixties and seventies, to the Mintoffian disregard for the value of our historical gems by allowing quarries to be opened next to temples to the complacency of the Fenech Adami premiership with the mistakes at Chambray and the garish flats at the Cottonera sea front next to Fort St Angelo now partly owned by the Knights of St John.
The advent of Heritage Malta and its very clear brief to upgrade the heritage in Malta augurs well.
What is needed are more funds and the incentives to make the dreams of Heritage Malta a reality.
Firstly, there must be more funding and certain entities such as Maltco, the new replacement for our National Lottery, and others should be encouraged to siphon part of their revenues to Heritage Malta.
Secondly, there should be tax incentives for individuals and companies to donate proceeds to Heritage initiatives.
Public private partnerships with NGO’s such as Din l-Art Helwa and corporate businesses should be encouraged and the structures to implement them put in place.
And thirdly, money must be redirected into heritage by way of the state much in the same way France and Italy do.
Finally there is no possibility for all these dreams to come through without the intervention of the political class.
The Prime Minister and the Minister responsible for heritage are duty bound to tackle these issues.
The time is now not tomorrow.
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