Orihuela Costa’s bid for freedom

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Orihuela Costa
Sept 23

Dear Sir,
I would like to express my thanks to your reporter, Nuria Perez, for her article under the heading, ‘Coast’s bid for freedom from Orihuela’ in the Sept 21 – 27 issue; could this really be the first step in a process leading to the obvious and only conclusion, autonomy for the coastal region?
Sr. Bascunana is simply the latest in a long line of Orihuela mayors who have treated the coastal area with contempt and have allocated only enough from the annual budget to, after each winter’s neglect, restore the beaches and roads, etc., to an acceptable standard for the influx of tourists with no provision being made for the needs of the permanent residents, many of which were listed in the report drawn up by the President of the Orihuela Costa party, CLARO, Dr. Roman Jimenez.
For any ruling council to put the aggrandisement of the city before the provision of an emergency centre for the coast, along with each and every one of the long-demanded facilities high-lighted by Dr. Jimenez, is, in effect, tantamount to being a criminal act which in most other societies would have resulted in demonstrations of public rage, i.e. riots!
Many people living on the coast have, for years, ruminated on the possibility of the coastal region becoming autonomous but as we are not au fait with the Spanish law, that’s as far as we have gone but now we have a leader who not only shares our concerns and views but is also a Spanish national, so we now have the potential for forward movement; apart from one thing: APATHY!
A ‘leader’, by definition, needs the backing of those he is representing or ‘leading’ and therein lies the problem – Us – or those of us who are good at moaning but unwilling to support or to take any action! I, like some other diehards, have attended numerous meetings, particularly and most recent, with regard to the sorely needed emergency centre which has lain dormant for over three, or is it four, years now and it has always amazed me how few people have turned up to show their support!
This just cannot be a lack of recognition of the fact that, in order to improve the living standards of everyone living on the coast, this centre and the others listed, are basic requirements so it must be attributed to either apathy, complacency or sheer laziness and unless we, local Spanish and expats from whichever country, start thinking of our community before ourselves, as individuals, nothing is going to change.
This ultimately means that the double standards exhibited so blatantly by the Orihuela City council will continue annually and will obviously lead, eventually, to the destruction of the coastal area and inevitably, to our present living standards, such as they are!

Your choice.
R.R.N

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