Anti-tourist graffiti prompts reader to ask who is to blame

Von Marlis Zoschke

Hardly anyone knows what to make of the anti-tourist graffiti in Tenerife. In any case, it is very unpleasant for people who welcome tourists and a disgrace for the island’s politicians.

It’s unlikely that any of the older residents wrote it; their handwriting still looks quite different. Even if someone from the younger generation did come up with the idea, it’s no laughing matter.

But how does something like this come about? Is it the current delusions of grandeur and greed of the Island Council’s politicians? Tourism brings money into the country, which the Canary Islands desperately need. Yet all the foreign currency that comes in is reinvested so that the ‚guests‘ find a paradise when they arrive.

Tenerife sometimes feels like a big city

In the past, even the barren south was described as a paradise by the locals. Have the politicians ever given any thought to how the islanders feel when more and more people are flocking to the islands and much of their original beauty has been lost?

Some parts of Tenerife do indeed look like city districts. When the sewerage system breaks down and the sewage flows into the sea, a beach is simply closed off. After all, plenty of artificial beaches have been created.

Apparently, a fisherman is to blame for the poor water quality and the fish deaths (more on this below). How could he even go about his work?

Lanzarote and the joy of César Manrique

Even though things used to be more primitive: the fishermen would set out at night, and by early morning there was fresh fish for everyone to enjoy. Incidentally, fishing is still just as simple as that on many German islands.

I sometimes get the feeling that young people don’t give much thought to what is happening to their homeland. Lanzarote is very fortunate indeed to have had a man like César Manrique, who successfully prevented many architectural blunders.