That's right, there's no racism in Malta
Incredibly, beneath this letter on timesofmalta.com there are several comments justifying the driver’s action on the grounds that buses must leave the terminus with a number of empty seats. Who are these people? Are they standing next to me in the supermarket queue? X’biza!
The Times, Tuesday, 30th December 2008
Racial discrimination at its best! (1)
Rita Axisa, ŻejtunOn December 19, my son took route bus No. 29 from Valletta terminus to Żejtun, leaving Valletta at about 12.45 p.m. As soon as the bus was leaving the terminus, a dark skinned immigrant (irrespective whether he was irregular or not) boarded the bus. When he went to the driver to pay his fare, the driver told him to get down as the bus was full.
All the passengers noted that this was not the case. The immigrant insisted that he was not getting off the bus as, obviously, he could see that the bus was not full. But the driver kept insisting he should get off. Most of the passengers, including tourists, were very angry at the driver’s attitude and such racial discrimination. The tourists said it was a shame that such discrimination existed in Malta.
To make matters worse, the driver stopped the bus at the Valletta bus terminus police station, where he went to speak to the policemen on duty who, in turn, came to remove the immigrant from the bus and held him until the bus left, boarding passengers from Floriana. The driver and the policemen involved should be reprimanded for such discriminatory behaviour.
The immigrant had every right to board the bus and the policemen had the duty to safeguard his right. Or were they afraid of the driver?
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No one had the guts to say anything?
[Daphne – Well, apparently they did. But what they should have done was offer him their seat to leave the driver without an excuse and to show him up.]
This and other similar incidents are a sadly predictable outcome of the xenophobic and racially-charged discourse that is allowed to circulate unchecked in Malta today. Even more shocking is the apparent insensitivity of the police when such matters are brought to their attention.
Can we ask the Police Commissioner to explain this bizarre incident and make the report available to the public?
That’s a difficult one. It would need more than one person to speak up.
[Daphne – No it wouldn’t. If I had been there, that’s exactly what I would have done. I’m not scared of a fight, with a bus-driver or anyone else.]
If the route bus was full on leaving the terminus the driver was right. A route bus is not allowed to leave the terminus with standing passengers. On the other hand if it was not full disciplinary action should be taken against the bus driver.
[Daphne – The letter states clearly that the bus wasn’t full.]
Something to be proud of eh? Disgusting!
Amazing that the ADT has no teeth. It is being managed by a couple of fools whose only interest is to fatten their wallets with the excessive salaries they are receiving. Has anyone noticed that none of the complaints towards ADT, which appear on the media, are ever addressed. One letter to The Times mentioned how the Chairman never even as much as acknowledged the reader’s valid complaints. Well, the ”EXECUTIVE” chairman certainly is not leading by example. In the above case, the ADT has the power to withdraw the driver’s bus permit, but of course the chairman, CEO and their cronies are on holiday, permanently. Bus drivers are getting away with murder, and it’s pointless saying that reform is on the way. The public is demanding immediate action on this outrageous behaviour.
“No it wouldn’t. If I had been there, that’s exactly what I would have done.”
In that case I salute you. Although it would make a bigger statement if most of the bus made a big deal about it, otherwise it just looks like some crazy bleeding heart liberal crazy woman making a fuss rather than what it should be, a definite NO against racism.
@Tony Pace
Some Maltese bus drivers get away with brutishness. Once, on the bus towards Sliema I had the pleasure of watching following scene: A young Asian couple tried to board the bus and the driver, one of those toothless wonders in a dirty shirt, shouted at them: “Hey, hurry up CHINKY, CHINKY!”
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
You can say that also about the Malta Resources ‘Authority’ .
Koppja turisti telghu tal-linja mghobbijin mhux hazin.
Ir-ragel staqsa lix-xufier “is dis to di hajpogijom?”
“U poggijhom hemm Cali ” wiegeb pront pront ix-xufier.
Is-sena t-tajba lil-kulhadd.
Andrea
Chinky chinky ??? and he probably thought he was oh so funny. They are cowboys and peasants and there is only one solution which will work ………, but as it’s this time of the year, I will just wish you Andrea, Daphne and all your bloggers good health in 2009. I for one can say that your continuous posts have been interesting, informative, stimulating and most of all entertaining. Auguri
Did the son of this Rita Axisa give up her seat to the dark skinned would be passenger and in so doing , give a good example to others?
This letter reminds me of a similar one written last year where a gentleman bemoaned the fact that a bus driver had left a dark-skinned passenger stranded because of insufficient funds for a bus fare. It did not occur to this altruistic gentleman though that he would have sounded a lot more convincing and credible if he paid the bus fare of the dark skinned guy instead of watching him remain stranded and then gloating over the alleged racism of the whole Maltese nation in the Times. By the why this guy writing the letter at the time thought that people did not know that when he wrote that letter he was a past member of a local rent-a-crowd leftie/euro-funded ngo group and an active member of a pressure group well known for having a senior member caught not practising what he preached. C’est la vie. No one is perfect I guess.
Hello,
I would first like to say Malta is such a wonderful country and the people can be very accommodating. I am half BLACK and half white MALTESE and I believe there is still a lot of racism in Malta (and within my own family who happen to be Maltese). But at the same time you would also have those who are just careful with those who seem to be a bit different. I was in a restaurant having dinner with a girl I met in Malta and paid the bill with my credit card, when the waiter called the manager over and demanded i hand over the STOLEN credit card and leave the restaurant, as I could not possibly have a Maltese surname. I have been refused entry to a lot of clubs in Paceville by doormen and have been refused service in Bank of Valletta. I have also had the same bus experience as the guy above; I speak Maltese as I was raised in the south of Malta and I understand the custom so why am I treated differently? And why are good Maltese allowing this to happen?
Re Lippu Schembri
How do all the “I am not a racist but…” reply to this?
Should there not be some law to stop this shameful
behaviour from happening?
cikki,
There is in fact a law against it but it’s not always enforced. The problem is not that there are no laws but not enough people stand up to the bullies.
Unfortunately there are too many laws in Malta which are passed and then seldom enforced. Drunk-driving is but one example. When I lived in the country in Scotland, nobody drank more than they were allowed and then drove home. They were terrified of losing their licence, although the chances of seeing a policeman on a country lane at night were one in a million. Can the same be said of Maltese drivers at the weekend? As far as I know the same law applies here.