Suburb of Damascus – The Malta Independent
Those who have been following what I write know that for a number of months, if not years, I have been expressing worries about the general situation of Hamrun, the city where I was born and where I lived for most of my life.
Now, the premonitions turned out to be completely wrong. We have just celebrated the feast of San Gejtanu after a two-year delay due to Covid in the best possible way, and we also had a secondary celebration due to football. This is Hamrun, where since 1987 the festival has become a battle between the Blues and the Reds.
But then, when you think the danger is over, a group battle breaks out between Syrian residents in broad daylight, on the main street and in front of the police station. The hostilities did not last long and were quieted by a detachment of special police. Two people needed medical support and it is not known if there will be any charges as a consequence.
Now everyone seems to have found a new right to comment and everyone seems to have been commenting for all it’s worth, including prejudices and racism.
First of all, we want to listen to the people of Hamrun who have seen their city transformed into a suburb of Damascus in just a few years.
And not just Damascus either. Only a few days ago, two elderly people, a woman and a man, were raped around midnight in the same area as the battle on Thursday.
People, especially the elderly, are in shock and, although they go out to buy things, they are very careful because they do not want to find themselves like that woman in the video, who have to risk being hit by passing cars. in order to escape from the fighting.
People were shedding all their prejudices and finding simple solutions. Of course the racist comments came first. Then came partisan comments, as usual.
Those who read what I have been writing know that I have been asking for better law enforcement for months and years. Despite all the complaints to all the authorities, nothing was done. When all the shops were closed in the pandemic, some shops remained open. The police saw but did nothing. When certain shops remained open until almost midnight, the police watched but did nothing. The police would move over double parked cars if the owner was Maltese, but would turn a blind eye if the car was being driven by a non-Maltese person. A culture of impunity has been created. The police were openly denied.
Talk, as I wrote just a few weeks ago, to the local people from the local council and they will tell you that they get little or no help from the police who also have duties and rights that should not be theirs. The irony is that Hamrun was chosen for the Community Policing experiment.
And when you report to one of the newly created bodies like LESA, you will be pointed to this or that office and you will know that nothing will be done, and that the person who spoke will not come out of it probably with the air conditioning. office and follow up on your complaint about, for example, garbage in black bags that came out on bad days.
The local worthy people, of both sides, along the coast and were probably in Belgrade when this commotion took place. Then they gave comments to the media and that was that.
We don’t know what they were fighting about and maybe never will. Because there is no integration between foreigners and Maltese. They understand our language but we don’t understand theirs. There is no effort for integration. Surely the Maltese side, at the ground level, has never tried and I am not sure that the Citizens of Third Countries want integration at all.
These are not boat people fleeing wars, although they are Syrians. Many were attracted to Malta by jobs in the construction industry that do not require skills and were encouraged by the policy proposed by the current minister for finance when he was head of JobsPlus, that the encouragement of such people would be ensured our future pensions. There is no effort to teach these people skills and therefore they, and other groups like them, remain grouped in strict nationality groups. If they have women among them, they fall into the same rut. If children, especially girls, tend to get pregnant at a young age and have many children, all on the National Health Service as you can see every time you go to Mater Dei.
They get to live in most of the decrepit houses rented by unscrupulous owners and this again contributes to the appearance of a slum around.
Hamrun is not the only city like this. There is Marsa, there are many comparable cities. Not only migrants, not only people with dark skin – there is also a continuous process of harassment, a race to the bottom, where what happened on Thursday can happen again and where law enforcement and order remain disturbed. with lack of funds and lack of initiative.
The warnings have been sounded but no one seems to be listening.
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