The Real Story Behind That Funny Video Of Maltese Soldiers Taking The Piss Out Of A Gate
Snippets from the viral video
A hilarious video of soldiers laughing and swearing while exposing the uselessness of a newly-installed gate in Pembroke did the rounds on Maltese WhatsApp groups yesterday.
For those who haven’t seen it, the video shows soldiers in a jeep driving towards a gate which had been erected to keep people out of the field and then promptly swerving into an adjacent dirt road.
“Look at the intelligence of the Maltese,” a solider says sarcastically. “No, you can’t pass through the gates, but you can still pass as so…Then they say they don’t have money for army undergarments, socks and gloves. Well done!”
Lovin Malta isn’t publishing the video due to privacy issues.
Pembroke mayor Dean Hili (left)
However, this website got the lowdown from Pembroke mayor Dean Hili, who confirmed that the site in the video is a Natura 2000 protected site close to the reverse osmosis plant. The site is partially owned by the Malta Armed Forces (AFM, which uses it for target practice.
“Although the council had raised ecological awareness about the site, trucks used to simply go there at night and dump rubbish,” he said. “After speaking to the AFM, Nature Trust and the Malta Tourism Authority, we agreed to barricade the field off with gates to ensure the site was only accessible by foot.”
Hili said the plan worked for a while, with far fewer dumping sites found in the area, until a few weeks ago when the council noticed a dirt road had formed near one of the gates.
“The council issued a work order for a contractor to block the dirt road with boulders that were already on site, so it would look as natural as possible,” he explained.
A concrete wall was erected near the gate
Its construction caused cement runoff onto the grass
However, things didn’t quite go according to plan, and Hili was yesterday stunned to find out that the dirt path had been blocked off by a concrete wall, which he suspects was erected by the AFM despite not obtaining a permit.
Photos indicate that the wall’s construction also caused cement and water runoff, all in an environmentally protected area.
“Shortly after seeing the wall, someone sent me that video. Maybe the AFM knew the video had started doing the rounds and wanted to block access immediately….”
Hili confirmed that he has officially complained to the Environment Minister, AFM Commander Brigadier Jeffrey Curmi and the Environment and Resources Authority (ERA). Lovin Malta has contacted the AFM for comment but no response has been received as of the time of writing.
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