‘Banana Republic’: ADPD Leader Who Experienced Surreal Ambulance Incident In Valletta Reacts To ‘Dangerous Reality’
ADPD leader Sandra Gauci has reacted to the surreal moment she watched unfold in front of her in Valletta yesterday afternoon when an ambulance ended up getting stuck in Merchants Street, leading people to quickly try to move restaurant tables and chairs out of the way as it struggled to get on with its emergency.
“I was there,” Gauci wrote in the comments section of the Lovin Malta post revealing the moment. “First they tried to go through Sta Luvia street but had to reverse because with the tables they couldn’t pass. Then it went through Merchant Street and what you are seeing is what happened.”
“These tables need to be removed. We are putting people’s life in danger.”
The video – which makes for some painful viewing – shows the ambulance take minutes to navigate down the short stretch of road, with everything from tables to street buskers blocking the street as the ambulance slowly nudged forward while its sirens lit up its surroundings.
“The residents and their health needs to be prioritised and come before tables and chairs,” Gauci reiterated. “Remove them at once!”
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Just last month, Peppi Azzopardi spoke to Lovin Malta about the dire situation in the capital.
“I don’t have a problem with a few outdoor tables but some places are exaggerating and taking up the whole street,” Azzopardi had told Lovin Malta, saying he sometimes sits down at outdoor tables without ordering, refusing to budge as a protest.
Mere days later, fellow journalist Mark Laurence Zammit recounted how he was forced to jostle dining tourists to attend his grandmother’s funeral in Gozo.
That same week, stickers showed up across public spaces around Malta – from Mellieħa to Marsaskala – reading “No Pavements, No Vote”, with a protest in Valletta being called that weekend against the “land occupation” by tables and chairs.
Do you think more needs to be done to reduce the tables and chairs in places such as Valletta, or do you like al fresco dining options like the ones in the capital?
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