Segregation and illegal activities
Paceville has long been one of Malta’s more notorious night-life spots, an area where Malta’s youths go to enjoy a night out with friends, share a few drinks and dance into the early hours of the morning.
Paceville however, has a darker side. It is also known as an area where gangs operate, where drugs are bought and sold, where brawls break out, and where sometimes bouncers can be a bit heavy handed.
Recently, sources familiar with the nightlife and entertainment industry told this newsroom that areas synonymous with nightlife, such as Buġibba and Paceville, have become more dangerous than ever before, with daily occurrences of brawls, drugs, and prostitution now normalised. Indeed others have told this newsroom the same quite recently, and residents normally follow this up by asking, where are the police?
Indeed there is a police presence in these areas, but they are not doing enough.
Over the past five years, and especially the last two years, the situation has deteriorated to the point that nightly brawls, and extensive drug dealing and abuse have become something of the norm, the sources had said.
This is very worrying. The area is not just a hub for local youths, but also foreign youths. Indeed any serious incidents could result in a blemish on Malta’s tourism reputation.
Indeed in Buġibba, sources highlighted the segregation between nationalities, and that, “it is well known that some areas are considered the ‘territory’ of certain groups.”
Indeed this was not the first time that such segregation has been indicated – last March lawyer Joe Giglio said in court that racial tension between Serbians and Albanians has now also spilt over into Paceville.
Racial segregation is the result of a failure in integration. It is a result of pushing foreign nationals to stick with their own, possibly out of exclusion, possibly out of fear, and even out of choice.
More needs to be done to facilitate the mingling of different cultures in Malta, and ore needs to be done to clamp down on those who remain adamant to form gangs and take part in illegal activity. But one must also consider what leads to these situations.
Offering jobs and facilitating business is not enough, the government needs to facilitate better integration once foreign nationals do decide to make Malta their home.
It would, however, be ludicrous to think that only foreigners are the problem. Segregation is visible in Malta by the Maltese themselves. People lowering their voice to talk about an African migrant when he walks into an establishment, people telling migrants to go back to their country .... it all adds to segregation, and segregation leads to mistrust, and hatred. It is a vicious cycle that needs to end. Yes when in Malta, Maltese laws must be followed, but it does not mean that Malta does things best. Malta does not have the best environmental policy, Malta does not have the best education techniques, and Malta is not the most accepting country.
While migrants need to accept and follow Maltese laws and traditions, the Maltese must also respect the traditions of those coming to live in Malta.
At the same time, the authorities need to clamp down on those troublemakers who want nothing more than to make a quick buck by selling drugs or causing problems.