Here we go, Joseph: a racist attack on a bus-driver, and the xenophobic physical assault of another one. And you think you have nothing to do with it?
Timesofmalta.com reports just now:
Two bus drivers were attacked in “a shameful act of misguided racist aggression” in Mgarr yesterday evening, Arriva said.
A 26-year-old black woman driver, a Maltese national, stopped the bus because a car was blocking the road. The bus driver asked the other vehicle driver to reverse, but she refused to budge, according to the police.
The driver started being insulted by the car owner, “because of the colour of her skin” and other people soon joined in hurling insults at the bus driver.
Another bus driver, an Italian national, who was driving by, went to help his colleague but he too was insulted by other people, the police said.
Arriva said in a statement that the incident necessitated police intervention the Italian driver was also subjected to xenophobic comments and was physically assaulted.
Arriva’s operations director Kim Purcell said drivers were hard workers who often work in difficult situations.
“Arriva is unequivocally stating that all aggressions will be reported to the police and drivers will receive full assistance in any eventual court proceedings.
“All our buses are fitted with CCTV cameras which will be used as evidence. The company will not tolerate any type of violence, especially racism,” Ms Purcell said.
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Joseph Muscat has opened a scary Pandora’s box.
It’s always been open and It’s time to shut it. It boils down to the colour of one’s skin. If you’re black in Malta then you’re generally regarded with a sense of otherness. If all the migrants landing on the island were blonde Scandinavians you can bet your life nobody would be marching, moaning or attacking anyone.
Even parents of adopted children are now being accused of filling Malta “bis-suwed”. These parents were just enjoying some fun time with their toddlers at a playground. The only thing the PM managed to do with his pushback was to incite more hatred and give free reign to hot heads to hurl abuse and attack people without justification.
Practically what he did, he institutionalised racism.
Probably he did not know how racist the Maltese are and with his actions many people think it is ok to be racist.
I am hearing more people proudly saying they are racist.
Either the police have to clamp down on such behaviour or there will be serious repercusions.
Joanne, I don’t agree totally that these incidents are the PM’s fault.
It’s true that there was a surge of racism lately but these things happened in the previous years. People just found their excuse to be racist, that’s all.
Whether or not we agree with pushback is another thing….but we cannot throw it on the PM that the Maltese are racist.
When Tonio Borg send the Eritreans back to their country, many applauded him so there you are!
I am the mother of two biracial children; if it comes to this, I will hold the PM personally responsible for fomenting this hatred.
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20130712/local/two-arriva-drivers-assaulted.477703
Shame on you Joseph Muscat. Their blood is on your hands and you will be judged in due course. Stop this incitement to violence now before it gets worse.
Stopping is not enough now because the harm has been done. The seed has been sown and is starting to grow. It’s growing fast because it found fertile soil.
What Joseph Muscat should do, but won’t, to repair some of the damage is to radically change attitude and start urging people to accept immigrants.
J’accuse! Joseph Muscat this is your legacy.
The situation calls for an official pronouncement by the authorities, appealing for law and order and an unequivocal condemnation of such acts.
But how can you condemn such behaviour when you were planning to do much worse and in the same vein?
We all know what’s going to follow next. Michelle will brush up on her PR skills and get a few snap shots with black people to atone for her husband’s transgressions.
She did that before the elections.
Comment under the article in The Times.
“Philip Grech
Today, 17:22
The problem started when the illegal immigrants started being defended(?) by sections of the population which are not much liked if not hated. This prompted an opposite reaction.”
This is getting sick.
So that’s what it is. Hatred for those Maltese.
Some idiots can also spell.
I think persons like this Grech hate everyone, except themselves.
If he is being serious, he is probably referring to bloggers like us, the PN, the 69 lawyers who filed a judicial process and the human rights NGOs, among others, who cannot agree with Joseph Push Backs Muscat.
Bravo Tweedledee and Tweedledum. All options are open for the National Interest, the great visionary politicians keep insisting in saying to continue with their nationalistic mantra.
Fr Joe Borg has told you in his blog this week that this dastardly politicking may get the PM some “popularity but will stain his hand in blood”.
Move your butt from Castille NOW and visit these Arriva drivers accompanied by the GWU nomenclature to save some face and immediately issue an unequivocal statement and Press Conference to make very clear that such incidents WILL NOT be tolerated. We are not some Uganda or Pakistan.
Ara f’hiex gabuna f’anqas minn 4 xhur.
Niftakru jghajjat “Ejja ninghaqdu f’poplu wiehed.”
U kulhadd icapcap.
A press conference? Now, in the middle of this mess? The last thing they want to see is the press.
Probably the orders in Castille are “Get those cannons in front of the main door loaded for all eventualities.”
Ahseb u ara sa hames snin ohra.
The bipartisan parliamentary committee proposed by Marlene Farrugia had already been in place during the PN administration.
Muscat forgot about it. Hopefully.
We were wrong, he’s far beyond what we imagined him to be.
We are now truly close to Joseph Muscat’s old dream – that of becoming the (xenophobic) Switzerland of the Mediterranean.
http://c278424.r24.cf1.rackcdn.com/Double_image%201.jpg
X’arukaza. SHAME ON YOU, Mr. Prime Minister.
There are even young mothers posting racist comments on their facebook wall – in less than ten, fifteen years time their children will be doing exactly the same thing, or worse.
I feel so embarrassed, and am ashamed to call myself Maltese.
These bus drivers are legally employed and therefore paying taxes. There goes the argument of the hotheads who insist that their worry is due to the ‘burden’ on society.
So these melanin phobes are simply disguising their hatred. I do struggle to understand however how some from the African continent could be described as our cousins and others attacked.
It seems that the pertinent question for people who only have one button on their TV remote and know of only one newspaper will continue to be ‘How high?’
Let the chaos start.
As a nation of immigrants ourselves, we should know better. Or we could simply stop feeling incensed when Australians refer to us as ‘wogs’ downunder..
The true colours of Malta coming out. But of course the Maltese are very friendly, especially when you hand them some money!
Imbaghad dik ic-cercura Abela Garrett jew whatever lil Austin Gatt marret tghid “Fuck’n wanker”.
Thossha proud illum nassumi.
According to this report Muscat wants to attract more students from the North African region.
How are we going to tell them apart from immigrants? How are we going to know who to hate? Unless we get the immigrants to wear a star on their chest.
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20130712/local/pm-wants-more-foreign-students.477678
That’s not racial abuse….it’s British humor, always according to our beloved PM Gowzef
What a lovely legacy Joseph Muscat is leaving the island.
In just over three months he has managed to create more division, fuel racism to unprecedented heights and to create an atmosphere of social unrest.
What’s next, segregation?
Where are all the “we want change just for the sake of change” switchers now?
It’s a government that leads by example.
We have a government that listens and the people have listened too.
The government considers all options even if these are illegal, so the people are now considering all options too.
Our government will take all the steps, any steps, to wake up Europe and smell the coffee. It’s now the people who are waking their government to smell THEIR coffee.
Let them savour the meaning of some ‘illiberal, conservative and retrograde’ advice given thousands of years ago:
“THOSE THAT SOW THE WIND SHALL REAP THE WHIRLWIND” — Hosea 8:7
If Joseph had any shred of dignity, he would immediately address the nation, apologise for his words and actions, and say unequivocally that racism will not be tolerated.
This is most serious and can have a snowball effect to the detriment of tourism, investment etc. I think it calls for the President to take the bull by the horns immediately, call the Prime Minister and Leader and Opposition and start a national anti- racist campaign.
Now let’s assume for one minute that the grand majority of the Maltese people, irrespective of political colour, is somewhat racist or xenophobic or both (a very realistic albeit disconcerting assumption), then Joseph Muscat may have increased in popularity.
A double scare.
The Arriva statement is quite dodgy actually. “Misguided racist attack” gives the impression that racist attacks are normally OK but this one was misguided.
That’s probably not what they meant, but the mind did boggle a bit and I was wondering if they meant the attack was misguided because the driver was a legitimate worker and not an illegal immigrant.
How shameful. How utterly shameful. I bet that these arseholes have relatives who 40 years ago emigrated to Australia with just the shirt on their back.
These are the same people who beat their chest every Sunday in Church. Disgraceful.
Some of the comments on Facebook on this subject make me want me to throw away my Maltese passport once and for all.
If Joseph Muscat were minimally responsible as head of State he would never have unleashed this mass hatred nor fomented this fervour.
Our dear prime minister has now instigated hatred towards people with a darker skin.
I have noticed this in the last couple of days, when talking to friends of mine who support Labour.
They never spoke about the subject before, but now their hatred is appalling.
I’m ashamed to be in the company of such people who describe themselves as Christians.
Our prime minister should apologise for what he has started.
And what about the Minister Manuel Mallia wasn’t he part of it to? He made a statement last Tuesday on TVM’s news (where only he was allowed to speak but not PN ) and amongst other stuff he said that now that push back was stopped we have a card less to play with.
Top comment of the day
Jennifer Muscat Sawan TAF,LI MIN MINDU,QEDT NITTLEW,B DAWN IN NIES,ANKE IL MARD TAS SIDHER,REGHA QEDT JINHASS??????????
In England they’ve just put a bomb next to a mosque, has David Cameron incited any racial hatred?
[Daphne – You’d make a brilliant scientist…or detective.]
I believe it is time the bishop issues a stern pastoral letter condemming this racist behaviour outright. It as absolutely shameful. I wouldn’t treat an animal in this way let alone a human bieng. Have we lost our senses.
Where is the GWU? Oh, one of the drivers, although a Maltese national, is black and the other is Italian. So the GWU stays quiet.
The PM must bear his share of responsibility because with his racist xenophobic push-back stunt of last Tuesday he encouraged these racist idiots – just read the comments on timesofmalta.
He was also poorly advised by his consultants or advisors as nobody told him that sending male immigrants without ascertaining if they qualified for refugee status was a no-no as the EHCR had already ruled about this.
The PM and Manwel Mallia should seriously consider withholding the permit for next Sunday’s demonstration or do they want blood on their hands?
I doubt if this incident has a racist motive. Bus commuters are still disappointed with the inefficient bus service and vent their anger with the drivers.
The Prime Minister has no option but to quit from politics.
Here we go, little Joey.
Daily Mail, today. ‘Twitter agrees to hand over details of people who post rascist comments’. Facebook next?
You and your low life friends have just been fingered.
I’m afraid by being too politically prejudiced we are not thinking of the bigger picture.. at this point we should be focusing on the real hot issue at hand. Our problem with illegal immigrants needs to be solved and soon
Joseph: Do your duty before it is too late. Don’t let it escalate.
Don’t his actions remind you of MIntoff and yet he believes he is innocent of inciting hatred. I truly believe we are back in the 1970s and 80s.
It could have been him . . . or one of us.
https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/1044140_471844676239474_266607955_n.jpg
Muscat is not realizing that his arrogant way of dealing with illegal immigration is fomenting hatred.
Unfortunately discrimination does not stop at skin colour. Once it becomes okay to violate human rights, then others will be targeted.
Joseph Muscat started nothing. The real issue is ignorance and poor understanding.
[Daphne – Where there is ignorance and poor understanding, a person in power should be very careful in his words and actions. It is very obvious that the prime minister started this. He flung a match into a tinderbox.]
Even though you didn’t publish my post yesterday, I’ll keep trying. (rest of comment deleted)
[Daphne – You can keep trying, but until your comments are civilised and not racist and pig-ignorant, they will not be uploaded.]
My comments are more civilized than yours. I was stating facts that are taking place in Britain, I don’t think that Joseph Muscat or David Cameron incited racial hatred in Britain (bombs in mosques etc).
[Daphne – You’ve got the wrong end of the stick, Mark. David Cameron would have been very incendiary indeed had he said in parliament and outside No. 10 that he planned to defy international law and an ECHR ruling and begin pushing back immigrants. The consequences of that would be predictable. Yet that is just what Muscat did. He is irresponsible, immature and a ‘small pond’ politician. Cameron is not.]
Then why the attacks go on?
[Daphne – Which ones, Mark? The ones in England or the ones in Malta? And which attacks, specifically?]
the ones in England…..
[Daphne – Which racist attacks in England, Mark? I think you are confusing race and religion. Islam is not a race.]
Let’s not make a mountain out of a mole hole.
The incident has to be condemned.
But it just happened one of the drivers was coloured
I don’t think this is the first time that bus drivers were involved in arguments, but nothing is made out of it if they are not coloured.
But wonder of wonders because this time she had to be coloured,it instantly reaches the head lines and we are labled as racist..
And by the way,why should they be offended if they are called Black ? It’s nothing but inferiority complex, some are yellow some are white and some are black, so what
.
What should we call our fellow Maltese, we are surely not white either black so what?, so how about Camaleontes?
[Daphne – Mole hill, Silvio, not mole hole. The assault happened PRECISELY BECAUSE she is black.]
The use of the word “coloured” shows exactly the innate racism. That term used to be used in the United States during segregation. “White Restroom – Colored Restroom”.
Thank you for correcting my spelling.
This has proved right what my father use to tell me.
“You can even learn from those who know less than you”
What makes you so sure?
Was the Italian driver black as well?
[Daphne – No, but he is an outlander. And one of them even called him a Muslim. That’s how bad it is.]
In 1974 Malta suffered earth tremors and PN supporters (backed by tal-Muzew and various rightist clerics) blamed Dom Mintoff for bringing God’s wrath on Malta! Since then, 39 years have passed but the stream of ignorance remains paramount. Muscat is now blamed for racist attacks. Had the PN had the decency to unite with the Malta Government on what is purely a matter of national interest rather than adopting a “holier than thou” attitude to try and claw back a handful of that 36,000 majority, matters would not have escalated. The end gambit is that the PN has lost more support than it has gained as a result of its deceitful fifth columnist stand..
ALBERT FENECH
[Daphne – You must come from a very backward part of the island, Mr Fenech. I don’t recall anyone in Sliema saying that the minor tremors were an Old Testament-style affliction. And if it had been, surely it would have been a lot higher on th Richter scale. It’s not as though anything happened.]
I do recall a dim-witted ‘Sliema type’ woman exclaiming that the previous night’s happening was all Mintoff’s fault.
My mother-in-law retorted, to the evident embarrassment of the woman’s husband, that ‘earthquakes have nothing to do with politics’.
I am from Sliema – not your artificial Sliema tal-pepe cocooned in arse-licking grandeur, but the Lazy Corner – and very proud of it. You have a very short and restricted memory otherwise you are not sufficiently savoir faire. Cross-bred mutants of your kind suffer from paranoia of shallow grandeur. As the great Dom Mintoff once said when addressing a meeting in Dingli Street “dawk li joqodu hawn kollha kurnutti”.
ALBERT FENECH
[Daphne – “I am from the Lazy Corner”. Gosh, what a surprise. You don’t say. And you’ve got your Sliema history TRAGICALLY wrong. The original Sliema people were those who lived in Valletta and built the first houses in Sliema – down the hill from Stella Maris church, where I grew up, and along the front – as their summer homes. I don’t wish to be rude about the Lazy Corner, but when houses are built like that, you know why they were built in the first place. Your chip has crippled you, Fenech. A whole life of bitterness about having grown up deprived in the Lazy Corner, when most of Malta is self-made and proud of it. You speak about being from the Lazy Corner as though it’s your personal achievement, rather than your parents’ choice and where they happened to be living at the time. Il-vera dwejjaq ta’ bniedem, keem int miskin.]
A very, very stupid deduction Caruana Galizia. At the age of seven our family went to England and I was brought up and schooled in England. I was brought up mostly on RAF camps because my father was an Officer in the British RAF and therefore in elite Officers’ quarters and housing. So much for your attempt to shoulder me with a “chip”. I also went to two elite Grammar Schools in England. Your stupidly wrong calculation and response ensured you did not answer the points I raised – quite typical of your gutter journalism.
ALBERT FENECH
[Daphne – If you left the Lazy Corner for England at the age of seven, you’re not from the Lazy Corner but ‘from’ England. I stand corrected: your chip is not the result of being from the Lazy Corner, but being the Maltese kid “in elite officers’ quarters and housing” in the 1950s. You must have had a really tough time. Did they call you a wog or a wop? Or just a dago?
Incidentally, it is sufficient to say ‘officers’. There is no such thing as an elite officer, only an elite regiment. I see that you also went to ‘elite Grammar Schools’. I am inclined to disbelieve that. You would have been taught about the use of capital letters and the definition of a proper noun.]