President’s Fun Run Causes Controversy Among Online Maltese Community
The ninth edition of the President’s Solidarity Fun Run went down last Sunday, with an incredible attendance of some 15,000 people. The run began in Rabat, with parallel walks kicking off at University, Santa Venera and Paola. While the thousands of people all made their way to Valletta to help raise funds towards the Community Chest Fund, an online controversy was brewing.
Hundreds of balloons were released during the run, and a particular photo which seems to have been taken in the Fleur-De-Lys area between Birkirkara and Santa Venera quickly surfaced online.
“We should all condemn such actions,” a post on Facebook group Malta Clean Up read. “People are fined for littering but at the same time, it is OK to release hundreds of balloons that end up in our sea, killing the marine life? The marine life we are spending so much time saving…even holding an Our Ocean conference in Malta about it?”
“Bio degradable or not, they will entangle and kill,” the post by popular clean-up activist Camilla Appelgren continued. “Bio degradable will not disappear in a second., and they will never degrade in the sea.”
The post carried with it a couple of worrying photos from birds who were entangled in similar balloon-releasing events abroad.
The Facebook post quickly gained a lot of traction, and a petition attached to it soon started being shared as well. The Change.org petition currently has 351 signatures, but continues to be shared on Facebook. “The sea doesn’t need more plastic and there are other ways to celebrate,” the petition said.
When contacted for a statement, The Malta Community Chest Fund Foundation had this to say:
“These are an initiative of the various companies taking part, therefore we suggest that any questions about the matter should be directed to the respective entities.”
The total raised from the President’s Solidarity Fun Run 2017 will be announced, as always, during this year’s edition of l-Istrina.
Last year, the 11.3 kilometre run from Rabat’s Saqqajja Hill to Portes des Bombes in Floriana (with the grand finale being held in St. George’s Square inside Valletta) raised thousands of Euro.