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Kurt Sansone
Eddie Fenech Adami, the very same person who prior to the 2003 referendum and election had gone to speak to the farmers in Manikata, offering them assurances that their livelihood would not be threatened by EU membership, has now given his consent to government’s plans to evict the farmers from their land to make way for a golf course.
On 21 July, Piju Mercieca and another 30 farmers in Manikata were informed by government that the president had given the go ahead for public land in Manikata to be evicted. The “public purpose” quoted in the letter makes no reference to a golf course, which will fit snugly next to the lone five-star hotel being built in the area.
The area earmarked for possible golf course development has a rich garigue habitat, is strewn with archaeological remains and also hosts agricultural land, which is tilled by the farming community in Manikata.
Today, Piju Mercieca is distraught. Encouraged by government aid handed out to farmers wanting to invest in vineyards, Mercieca has for the past few years transformed large swaths of land, which he has been tilling for ages into vineyards.
Only yesterday, experts from Camilleri Winery were present on Mercieca’s land to help him plant vines that will yield grapes for the production of quality wines. “The people from the winery were bewildered when I told them about the termination of lease,” Mercieca says.
He does not hide his disappointment. “Before the referendum, Prime Minister Eddie Fenech Adami had come here with Edwin Vassallo and Censu Galea to put our mind at rest that EU membership will not threaten our livelihood and that we would be able to continue working the land leased to us by government. Now, I receive this letter telling me the lease is terminated,” Mercieca says.
He turns his face to hide his tears. Even a seasoned farmer can cry. His story is the story of others in Manikata. The farmers feel that a golf course will not only rob them of the land they have worked on for decades but it will also destroy their lifestyle.
Joseph Dimech, another farmer, has a bigger problem. His house for 30 years also lies in the zone identified by government for the development of a golf course. “Will they send me to live in a flat, a cage?” he asks.
His wife says that their life is intrinsically linked to the land. “This is where we raised our children. We are all farmers,” she says.
The Manikata farmers, egged on by pre-referendum promises that agriculture had a bright future after membership, have invested in their fields. Drip irrigation to save on water is a common feature in the area.
Joe Galea, who also stands to lose from the proposed golf course, explains that an underground water gallery provides the whole area with fresh uncontaminated water. “There are also a number of old wells hewn out of rock. A golf course would require high amounts of herbicide and fertilisers to maintain throughout the year. This risks contaminating the underground water we use,” he says.
Standing at the top of Manikata hill, Joe Galea points down towards a group of abandoned inter-linked farmhouses, which had formed the original hamlet. The last family to have moved out from the small complex did so in 1980.
If restored, the complex could be an ideal place to attract tourists interested in the agri-culinary experience of a country. But the fate that awaits these farmhouses is totally different.
The Ghajn Tuffieha golf course report suggests the complex be turned into the clubhouse.
“If government were to grant me a longer lease over a period of years, it could be worth it for me to restore them. But now everything is finished and we will soon be uprooted from our land,” Galea says.
The small Manikata community, including non-farmers are incensed by government’s plans for their locality. A sizeable area forming part of the zone earmarked for the golf course is identified for residential development, which residents contend will double the size of the current community and threaten the social and cultural make-up of the hamlet.
Representations with the Mellieha local council and MPs who contest on the district have as yet proved futile.
Residents and farmers feel let down by the political establishment’s disregard for their plight. Government is determined to go ahead with its plans while the Labour Party has refrained from taking an official position. The Labour-led Mellieha council has also stirred clear from expressing an opinion on the proposed development.
“We are determined to fight this development to the end, it takes whatever it takes,” a young resident says.
Mario Cardona, a youth community leader, insists the area over which government has terminated leases is also strewn with archaeological remains. He takes us on a brief tour of the paleo-christian tombs hewn into the rock face of one particular field. “There are also Roman remains and cart ruts in the area earmarked for the golf course,” Cardona explains.
“During the war my father used to bring us hiding in one of these tombs during German air raids,” a farmer interjects with a smile.
It may not be his last smile yet but it will be very difficult convincing these Manikata farmers that a golf course is to the community’s benefit. Indeed, a golf course in Ghajn Tuffieha would also deprive the general public from one of the few remaining unspoilt open spaces in the island.
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