The Three Cities’ Residents vs the AUM: the Power of a Unified Community

The initial divisions between ‘the real people of Cottonera’ and ‘outsiders’ were overcome during the campaign. It is this type of unity—standing up together for a shared goal—that brought the residents together and led to success of the campaign.

by Raisa Galea

Collage by the IotL Magazine

 

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he rejection of the AUM application to extend its Cottonera premises was among the few successful campaigns by residents to safeguard public open space. However, the company behind the AUM, Sadeen Group, have recently appealed the Planning Authority refusal, which also brought the campaigners back to action.

Raisa Galea spoke to Andrea Dibben, an academic and a community organiser from Cottonera, about the campaign’s success and its challenges. 

 

Challenge 1: Misinformation on the Status of Objections

The major challenge to resisting this development, first announced in March 2019, was a lack of information regarding the local authorities’ position in relation to this development. “We found out that the local council and the MPs representing the Cottonera area were misleading their constituents. While telling the people they were objecting the development, they were not,” says Andrea, who herself learnt about the state of affairs from a Facebook post shared by one of the residents. “I was shocked since, as many others, I trusted the councillors were objecting whereas in reality nobody was doing anything about it.”

Although the local council claimed they were objecting and MP Glenn Bedingfield, the head of the Cottonera regeneration committee, also spoke against it, these statements were informal. The letter sent by the local council to the Planning Authority revealed a different situation. From the document, Andrea learnt that only one councillor from Senglea objected due to the impact of the proposed development on the skyline. The local council of Bormla objected to the lack of parking, while stating they were not against the development, if additional parking would be provided. Once the AUM promised to include parking spaces, the council had no more disagreements. The local council of Birgu did not object at all. 

 

 

The residents also realised that Glenn Bedingfield spoke against the dormitory—a specific building whose status was to be decided in a separate application. The MP did not argue about the frontline development that was first to be reviewed by the PA in September 2019, without the residents’ overseeing. Later, he did attend one of the protests organised by the community.

Thus, contrary to how it was reported in the media, the local councils did not immediately object to the proposed AUM campus extension per se. The real objectors to the development were a number of environmental and heritage NGOs. 

 

Challenge 2: Sinister Narratives Seeking to Divide Residents

Andrea Dibben and Rebecca Cremona, the resident who exposed the local councils’ inaction, soon faced another challenge: divisive rhetoric.

In one of the social media groups, a councillor asserted that the residents actively opposing the development were not ‘the real people’ of Cottonera, but expats who had ulterior motives. “I got in touch with this person and encouraged him to join the protest,” says Andrea. “Although I can call myself ‘a real person of Cottonera’ since my family has been living there for generations, Rebecca did not fit the criteria—although Maltese, she moved to Birgu a few years ago, thus was not perceived as a legitimate member of the group identifying as ‘the real’ locals.”

Both campaigners agreed that dividing residents into ‘the real people of Cottonera’ and ‘outsiders’ was sinister and counter-productive. Despite the numerous complaints by residents of all kinds against this development, there was no unified front to oppose it. 

 

 

Rebecca and Andrea decided to create a ‘neutral’ space where all residents could feel free to express their concerns. They set up a pressure group and a Facebook page titled Azzjoni: Tuna Artna Lura / Action: Give us Back our Land aiming to inform the public about the status of the application and the development. Prior to launching the campaign, Andrea made sure that the residents, including ‘the real people of Cottonera’, were indeed opposed to the proposed AUM extension. “The response was strongly against it. This is when our campaign began.” 

 

Campaigning Together

When the campaign kicked off at the end of August 2019, the pressure group set their action plan in motion. They released a petition, got in touch with the media, as well as the NGOs Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar (FAA) and Moviment Graffitti. On 7th September 2019, the campaigners joined the national protest Iż-Żejjed Kollu Żejjed. 

There were only a few weeks left before the PA hearing, and so following an effective strategy was key. “We ensured that the campaign was non-partisan, which is why I declined the invitations to discuss the matter with the AUM and MPs. Our goal was to raise public awareness,” says Andrea. 

The video sponsored by a resident vent viral on social media, thus sparking public interest in the campaign.

 

Once the objections had been in place, the campaigners organised a literary night on the spot earmarked for the development, inviting the community to once again enjoy the area which they were about to lose. The residents required permission from the AUM to host the event, which was another reminder of its grip on the surrounding public space.

“Our strategy was to keep the campaign in the media headlines. More media exposure meant more pressure on the PA and higher chances of success,” Andrea recalls.

 

 

The efforts to organise the community and raise public awareness on the issue paid off: on September 26, the PA announced it would reject the project but postponed a final decision to another meeting, requesting the AUM to submit new plans.

Nevertheless, the AUM closed off the public car park. At that moment, the majority of Cottonera residents understood that the area no longer belonged to them and that the university intended to go ahead with its plans. The blocking of the area brought up memories of the colonial era, when the British authorities did not let the locals move around freely.

The AUM’s illegitimate actions encouraged more residents of the Three Cities to unite against the intrusive project. The campaign reached its culmination point when a trusted member of the community, Joseph Tonna from Senglea, came forward to lend his support. As a medical practitioner, he was respected by many locals thus was in an advantageous position to mobilise them. Tonna’s support brought many more people, especially Senglea residents, to the cause. He was also the one to suggest a protest against the AUM. 

 

The Power of a Unified Community

On Sunday, October 27, hundreds of people attended the protest despite heavy rain. This turnout would not have been possible without the continuous support of Moviment Graffitti, who also promoted the event. 

 

“The protest was well-attended. It sent a message that the community has power and that we were not going to accept this development,” says Andrea. “Since the Three Cities is a Labour Party stronghold, it was important to point out that we opposed this specific development and were not against the government as such. In order to solicit mass support and participation, the theme of the protest was protecting heritage and public space.” While the residents spoke approvingly of the regeneration programme and the restoration of the bastions, they stressed that ‘il-gvern li jisma’ [the government that listens] cannot force this project upon them, thus, betraying their trust.

 

 

One of the residents went further by stating that although the majority in the area were Labour supporters and would probably still vote PL even if this development went ahead, the government should not abuse of the party supporters’ trust thinking that they can be easily fooled into accepting anything at all.

The campaign by the residents put the much needed pressure on the local councils. It was due to this common unity against the development that the Senglea council decided to support the campaign. Cyrus Engerer, Jason Micallef and Glen Bedingfield were among the influential Labour officials who joined the protest. 

In order to be inclusive towards the now multi-ethnic local community, Andrea made a short intervention in English, expressing gratitude to all non-Maltese residents for their participation. “Thank you! You are part of our community,” she asserted, recalling that this remark was met by the locals with applause. This was a sign that the initial divisions between the ‘real people of Cottonera’ and ‘outsiders’ were overcome during the campaign. It is this type of unity—standing up together for a shared goal—that brought the residents together.

 

 

On November 21, the residents arrived at the PA hearing together, in a vintage bus—a manifestation of the community spirit, which the Three Cities are known for. The PA unanimously rejected the application, however, the AUM contested the decision in an appeal, so the campaign is now back at the decision table. In less than a week, Azzjoni succeeded to collect over €5,000 in donations to engage legal professionals in order to dispute the appeal in tribunal. The fight goes on!