Life's no beach

Abstract

It seems that history keeps repeating itself each summer, with the previous year's unresolved coastal issues haunting those who go to the beach. I was prodded into writing this piece after reading an article in The Times of last Monday titled 'A day at the beach is, all in all, a good treat', in which the sordid aspects of a day at the beach were somewhat overlooked. And after reading the laudable initiative by the Parliamentary Secretary entrusted with the management of public land, Jason Azzopardi, to evict all squatters on public land. Such an initiative may be a tall order, especially if one were to address illegal squatting on the foreshore as well. While the cheek of many beach concession operators is despicable, especially at Armier and Għadira, some individuals' subtle squatting frequently raises few eyebrows.