A bloody disgrace
This is the very same man who has just died in hospital after his skull was cracked by a bouncer as he tried to enter a Paceville nightclub.
One of my sons was a witness to the incident below, last July. He and his friends saw the man being thrown into a police van like a sack of rubbish in Paceville. They followed the van down to the St Julian’s police station. They saw the man lying on the floor chained to a bench in the corridor like a dog, and when they insisted on staying there as eyewitnesses, the door to the police station was shut in their faces and nobody knows what happened behind it.
The man was dragged to court the next day to plead guilty to the charge of assaulting police officers, the very same false charge made against me by Anglu Farrugia in the bad old days before his reincarnation as the fresh, new and modern leader of the Labour Party. But unlike me, this man was extremely vulnerable, a stranger in a strange land and unaware of his rights.
He probably thought that the Maltese courts and the Maltese police are like those of Sudan, where it’s best to plead guilty so that they don’t beat you up some more.
It turns out that instead of beating up the police, he was beaten up himself. There was an internal inquiry and one or two police officers were prosecuted. But because the only eyewitnesses to the alleged beating would have been other police officers, they were let off. One of my sons testified against the police.
Fascinatingly, some months ago my car was parked close to the same police station in St Julian’s, right beneath a sign that says parking is barred before 1200hrs but permitted afterwards. I returned to my car to find a ticket issued by the police – not a local warden – with the time marked on it at 1205hrs.
I walked into the police station to ask why I had been given a ticket at 1205hrs when my car was directly beneath a sign saying that parking was permitted after 1200hrs. ‘You’ll have to go to court to contest it,’ the jerk behind the desk said. ‘Oh really?’ I said. ‘So what you’re telling me is that this ticket was issued a form of harassment by one of your people who recognised my car, or else the police force is recruiting officers who think that 1200hrs means midnight.”
They insisted that they had no idea which police officer had issued the ticket. I insisted they find out, so that I could report him for harassment. They said that if I didn’t leave the station and stop insisting, they would arrest me. I said I would love every minute of that experience because it would put the spotlight on the fact that St Julian’s police station is possibly one of the worst – if not the worst – stations on the island, staffed by hopeless, rude and unhelpful officers when it is right in the middle of one of the island’s busiest visitor areas and should be the best.
Nobody asked for my name, my ID card number, or my details. Yet a couple of weeks ago I received notice that I am being prosecuted for threatening police officers and disturbing the peace.
Isn’t it just unbelievable? Now imagine how much worse it would have been had I been a completely vulnerable black African immigrant called Abubaker.
Now these worst elements in the police force can no longer practice on Nationalist Party supporters and Maltese citizens, they found another vulnerable group on whom to let rip.
Just 11 months later Suleiman Abubaker is dead.
If we didn’t think before that the hatred could turn to killing, we know now.
I imagine that Joseph Muscat, as a great progressive, will have something to say about this. Or maybe not, because he’s the first progressive in Europe to gather the racists and the far right into his coalition of disaffection.
The Sunday Times, 6th July 2008
Immigrant insists he did not assault the police
Mark Micallef
Suleiman Abubaker’s incident took place right in the centre on Paceville.
Suleiman Abubaker, the Sudanese migrant who several eyewitnesses said was beaten by police officers while he was handcuffed, has denied assultaing the officers who arrested him.
This version contradicts his guilty plea in court last Saturday, when he admitted to assaulting three police officers.
Yet, when asked in a brief telephone interview yesterday about his guilty plea he said: “No, no, I never said I beat policemen, I never did that,” apparently unaware of what really went on in the expeditious proceedings which earned him a suspended jail term.
He was charged during an urgent court hearing last Sunday, a day after the incident. The hearing lasted only a few minutes after Mr Abubaker pleaded guilty.
He admitted that he did not tell anyone he was beaten. “I didn’t want any trouble and I was scared… I didn’t say that I was beaten,” he explained.
But despite contradicting his plea in court, his story seems to tally with that of a number of eyewitnesses who were baffled by his admission.
A number of eyewitnesses, spearheaded by Rebecca Filletti, who was arrested on the night of the incident after questioning the police’s methods, said that they had seen Mr Abubaker and another immigrant being brutally beaten by the police for no reason.
In the case of a second migrant, Kaba Konate, from the Ivory Coast, the eyewitnesses said that he had resisted arrest but had not been violent in any way. Yet he was also found guilty of assaulting the three police officers after pleading guilty.
In the case of Mr Abubaker, the eyewitnesses arrived after the police but none of them saw him behave violently. Ms Filletti said: “The man did not put up a fight. He merely lay on the ground crying and screaming for them to stop, saying he had done nothing wrong.”
The police launched an internal investigation after The Times last Monday reported comments from the eyewitnesses. Mr Abubaker was interviewed earlier on Wednesday in the presence of human rights lawyer Katrine Camilleri.
Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici told The Sunday Times in an interview that he was perplexed as to why claims the men were beaten did not emerge in court.
“This is part of my dilemma: They were beaten – alleged that they were beaten – and didn’t say anything about this in court. This bothered me a bit, but I will also get into that… It shows that maybe the judicial system didn’t work the way we want it to work. These things should be drawn to the attention of the court.”
The minister said he was looking into what happened, though pointed out that when an accused pleads guilty the court does not hear any evidence.
When asked if he would seek to do anything about their sentences if their beating claims were substantiated, Dr Mifsud Bonnici said: “I am not clear what should or should not happen at this moment in time. But we would consider this.”
Mr Abubaker is still sore and has a number of injuries, particularly to his hands, eyes and head, some of them sustained after he was punched by a Libyan man.
His ordeal started when he was refused entry into a nightclub. He said: “I was trying to go into a club and the security man there told me I could not go in. I went away and a Libyan man came over and said to me it’s obvious they don’t let you ******* klandestini enter, they don’t even let me in… how can they let you go in.
“I never spoke to him and he hit me in the eyes, he had a glass in his hand and he was about to hit me again, I defended myself and in fact he cut my fingers twice. When the police came I said please can you help me, and tried explaining about the Libyan guy…
“I never have a problem with him (the Libyan), catch him… I want you to help me… Then one police officer said arrest him, and they handcuffed me.
“The police beat me in the head on the floor. I started shouting, I don’t cause problems, please take them, not me. Then they took me to the police station.”
The eyewitnesses said he was handcuffed to a railing and left lying on the floor at the police station.
“He was treated like an animal, like a dog,” Katrina Zammit Cuomo said, pointing out that the police shut the door of the station for about 15 minutes after the crowd that gathered demanding that the man be treated humanely.
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Ha jiehu passi l-ministru? Il-ministru hu hati daqs min qatel jekk ma jtajjarx ras min ghamel dil-hnizrija. Il-ministru ghandu jiehu passi serji u mhux tad-dahq, jekk mhux il-ministru ghandu jintervjeni Gonzi personalment.
Iva, daqs kemm hadu passi meta miet Nicholas Azzopardi.
http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/2008/04/27/pix/video.html
The Nicholas Azzopardi case was subject to two independent inquiries by a magistrate and a retired judge.
Neither of these found any shortcomings in the way the police handled the case.
Both inquiries were published and scrutinised by the media. Even Malta Today (which had broken the story) had to concede that Nicholas Azzopardi jumped off the bastion.
Jes,
This is an involuntary murder in the eyes of the law and it has to be dealt with in the Courts of Justice. I don’t see the minister intervening whenever there’s a murder or assault.
As far as I know, this bouncer has already been arraigned by the police on charges of seriously injuring Abubaker. It is natural for those charges to be changed to involuntary murder during the next hearing.
Let justice take its course. That’s what living in a democratic country is all about.
[Daphne – But justice didn’t take its course in his regard, did it?]
Xbajna bl-iskuzi, sadanittat jibqghu jinqatlu n-nies. Forsi li kien abjad isir xi haga.
You are completely right on this one. The nature of the police force enhances the possibility of abuse all over the world.
Recently a man caught in a demonstration in London died after being ‘manhandled’ by the police. There was an attempt at lying to cover up what happened (as had happened even more notoriously in the case of the Brazilian whom the London police thought was a terrorist) but the truth came out. Faster than it comes out in Malta, of course.
These things happen even in the UK… but there the Independent Police Complaints Commission moves in and investigates. In Malta the police ‘investigate’ themselves.
See:http://www.24dash.com/news/Central_Government/2009-05-15-IPCC-to-investigate-G20-demonstration-death
The Police Board (which is the Maltese equivalent to the Police Complaints Commission) is in fact an entity which is totally independent of the police as defined in the Police Act. It is run by a retired judge and no police officer has any say in it.
you heart bleeding liberals are crying over this waste of breath’s demise, you cry and we laugh. the bouncer is a hero!
[Daphne – Lovely. What a small life you must have.]
Are you already a member of the collation of the wounded? No? Then Joseph Muscat would like to hear from you.
One of my colleagues was killed in yesterday’s bomb attack in Peshawar. You have the same mentality as the vermin who carry out these attacks.
I imagine you’re addressing the coward who uses the pseudonum “GTX”.
You must be joking right? You might be against illegal immigration, but no man’s life is a waste of breath. Idiot.
Oh come on, this jerk is a blogus trollus, just ignore him!
Go back to your trailer park, dirt.
This timeline was published in The Insiter last September.
28 June 2008
0200 hrs – Suleiman Abubaker is allegedly beaten by a group of police officers after he had a row with a Paceville bouncer. Ms Beki Filletti protests at the treatment of Mr Abubaker and is arrested.
0300 hrs – A group of students, mainly friends of Ms Filletti, gather outside the St Julian’s Police Station to protest against her arrest. After tense verbal exchanges between the police and students, Ms Filletti is released without charge. Mr Abubaker along with another migrant, Kaba Konate, are taken to the Floriana Police Depot.
29 June 2008
Despite several eyewitnesses claiming that the migrants are anything but guilty, both plead guilty to assaulting police officers and damaging police property, given a suspended sentences of eight and ten months.
30 June 2008
The police launched an internal investigation after The Times reported comments from the eyewitnesses.
2 July 2008
Mr Abubaker is interviewed in the presence of lawyer Katrine Camilleri.
5 July 2008
Contradicting his earlier plea, Mr Abubaker has denied assaulting the officers who arrested him. In an interview with The Times he says ‘No, no, I never said I beat policemen, I never did that’ and seems bewildered by the court proceedings and sentencing that took place.
23 August 2008
After nearly a two-month-long investigation, one police officer is suspended in connection with the alleged incidents at Paceville. Five officers were involved in the alleged beatings; two of these officers were actually assigned to Paceville again within the two month long investigation.
come on daphne approve my comment or it hurts you ? sad
[Daphne – I just did. Now I’ll challenge you to put your name to it, you cowardly little runt.]
Daphne,
Are you sure you meant to say “runt”?
Surely you meant to start that with a “c” …..
At home all of us condemn this brutal incident. We need to be more civilized and respect each other, no matter what colour or beliefs. What you said about Joseph Muscat is out of context, Daphne. I ‘m sorry but sometimes your mind runs away with you.
[Daphne – It is entirely within context given that he rode the anti-immigrant sentiment all the way to the polls.]
Right, that’s why he isn’t reaching out to people who voted for Norman Lowell – I don’t think.
I hope you did not pay the ticket but contested it in court.
Before implicating the Minister, why not ask pertinent questions to Mr. Rizzo, the Police Commissioner?
The behaviour of those officers in St. Julian’s is totally unacceptable and this would be a great opportunity to give them a lesson they will not forget soon.
As to the beating case itself, it is rather late to do anything about it since the victim had pleaded guilty forfeiting an opportunity to have legal representation in front of a judge leaving the judge with little alternative but to apply the law as permitted.
The man was dragged to court the next day to plead guilty to the charge of assaulting police officers, the very same false charge made against me by Anglu Farrugia in the bad old days before his reincarnation as the fresh, new and modern leader of the Labour Party.
“Now these worst elements in the police force can no longer practice on Nationalist Party supporters and Maltese citizens, they found another vulnerable group on whom to let rip.”
In my opinion you could have left out these Nationalist Party supporters and the Anglu Farrugia bit. Not everything in this country must be changed into a party political broadcast, especially the murder of a man.
[Daphne – The past is the present. If you wish to do the Stalin thing and pretend it never happened, go right ahead. My point is the entirely valid one that because the violent elements in the police force can no longer vent their brutality politically, they have chosen other ‘special interest groups’. I mentioned Anglu Farrugia because he was the police officer who falsified my confession. It is the only direct experience that I have had of a police officer falsifying the confession of somebody held in custody. A Sudanese man had no way of explaining in court what had been done to him. I, on the other hand, was able to explain in graphic detail, and did so. I knew even as I watched Farrugia falsify my confession that it would be rendered null.]
One must always remember the abuse that was done, but to apply the lessons learnt with caution. The present abuse has no connection with the Labour Party, is not political but obviously racial and the “police officers” carrying out their “duty” can be Nationalist supporters as well. I don’t think that only Labour supporting police officers abuse people, whatever the race of the victims concerned.
[Daphne – You miss my point, which is that the police force tends to attract violent people, and that the ‘power’ and ‘authority’ that comes with being a police officer is ripe for abuse when a person is that way inclined. Unable to vent themselves on one group, they will vent themselves on another. Twenty-five years ago, the unofficial victim group was anyone who supported the Nationalist Party, or rather who didn’t support the government. Now there’s another group of victims.]
Mhux ghal xi haga, qed thallat il-hass ma l-efett tal-fazola, x’ghandu x’jaqsam x’ha jghid Joseph Muscat. Nahseb, f’kaz bhal dan huwa hafna iktar importanti x’jghid min qed imexxi lil dan il-pajjiz!
[Daphne – I thought it was Joseph Muscat who was the progressive liberal, and Lawrence Gonzi who was the right wing conservative. Isn’t that what Muscat told us? So obviously, he’s the one who should be raising awareness about racism, rather than pandering to it.]
Daphne, so did Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando. Just because he isn’t the leader of a party, he is still an MP, he still has responsibilities. A man was murdered, he died this afternoon, and all we can think of is scoring cheap political shots. Wow, that’s really appropriate a few hours after he died.
[Daphne – He died partly as a result of the cheap political shots taken by our politicians, and their failure to crack down hard not on illegal immigration, but on racism. This is the raw face of racism, and I hope they’re happy with what they’ve helped achieve.]
It is a bloody disgrace. What’s the point of having anti-racial discrimination on the statute book if its provisions are never enforced? The Paceville Business Association, or whatever they’re called, should be taken to the cleaners on this point. They have cocked a snoot at the law for too long. It’s about time these establishments were held to account. As should the police force. Some diversity training is grossly overdue.
[Daphne – And so is investigation into police links with bouncers.]
The level of racism in the country is beyond alarming. The fact that people like GTX are not just around, but out and proud, leaves me speechless.
“GTX” is proud but not out. He’s hiding his real identity. No doubt, he’s got a very good reason for doing that – like currying favour or protecting his job.
I bet GTX is just the type to force his family to go to Sunday mass, receive holy communion and pretends he is a pillar of the community. What a nasty piece of work………(as I can’t call him a w====r).
What a cheap shot Mr. Pace.. you come here here critisizing GTX for being.. as you call it: racist.. and then you would like to use the term w====r in your post against him.
But that’s alright isn’t it? As long as you change the “n” to a “w” and as long as your adversary is white, you can call him anything under the sun, right?
Obviously if he’s black you won’t use ANY terms against him, you’ll just call him a man and be polite no matter how hateful of others he might be. He’d still be your little …… on a pedestal.
And do you know Mr. GTX? Since if you don’t you really have no business talking about his private life and what he is or isn’t.
You should really be proud of yourself – what a hypocrite..
I am not sure whether it is clear that Suleimen died of head injuries sustained last May 29th and it seems by one of those bouncers in Paceville.
I think it is about time that these bouncers are banned from these area. I can tell you that I am usually anxious that something like this can happen to my son when out in Paceville on Saturdays.
On the other matter of your experience, I would officially report it to John Rizzo and in addition I believe that you can also put up a case with the police board.
@Darren Azzopardi & Pierre Farrugia
Right on cue comes this announcement from Joseph Muscat that he’s now courting the racist vote.
Labour leader Joseph Muscat opined this afternoon that many of those who voted far-right in the European Parliament elections last Saturday were members of the uniformed forces and those on the front-line of the immigration issue who felt that mainstream political parties were not hearing them.
Speaking at a press conference this afternoon, Dr Muscat said the Labour Party wanted to hear these people in the same way as it wanted to hear all sections of society.
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20090610/local/muscat-sees-far-right-vote-stemming-from-members-of-the-uniformed-corps-dealing-with-migrants
Make that @”Mary” too.
Yes I read that too, and Muscat appears to want to please everyone. I have no idea where his principles and values lie, seems to me that it is all about power.
However, curbing racism within the authority ranks is not within his remit. After all he does not lead this country; and if he persists in uttering comments similar to the one published in The Times, I’m afraid that he will never savour the pleasure (if one can define it as such) of ever being prime minister.
Helping to curb racism among the public is entirely within his remit.
Imma x’racist vote jahasra! What PL wanted from the start was burden-sharing. PN objected at first, always trying to please their PPE friends in Brussels. However now, after a few somersaults, they are also for burden-sharing. What amazes me is that many of the conversative parties in the EU agree on the need to save people but few are keen to take responsibility for illegal migrants once they are safely ashore.
People need direction. Your party is without that direction. At present it keeps going backwards and forwards all on current issues. Even some of your Nationalists back benchers are not happy. Joseph might be counting their votes too. This is in reply to Corinne and friends.
“Imma x’racist vote jahasra!”
Those who voted far-right are racist. Joseph Muscat wants their vote. That is his policy, not mine.
X’somersaults u burden-sharing.
Enough of your silly waffling, “Mary”. I do not have a party. Joseph Muscat does. He says that he wants to hear from those who voted far-right. Those were his words. Why put them into someone else’s mouth?
That is the best way of defusing the rightist vote – you would see it if you were not so blinkered against anything that Muscat and the LP does.
What a load of nonsense. Absorbing the madness of the far-right means absorbing all the nasty rubbish that goes with it, including the vicious, the spiteful and the inhumane. That’s not an admirable way to go. How do you propose accommodating that lot along with the rag bag of moaners, whingers and would-be freeloaders hurrying onto Muscat’s bandwagon?
That is exactly what I thought when I read the report – the more time passes, the more he resembles one of those “regetira” – collecting all types of junk, maybe he might get lucky – and he calls himself progressive and liberal.
And the Maltese and those couch critics that call themselves Nationalists will vote this dangerous fool into power.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyAsS9ld0BU&NR=1
And what happened to the police involved?
Maybe they waddled off. Ever seen them “training” along the road near St Elmo’s in the morning? And I’m only referring to the ones supposedly fit enough to do so.
If proof is established that Mr.Suleiman Abubaker died as a result of the beating he allegedly received at the hands of the police, can fresh manslaughter charges not be brought against the officers involved?
Getting off with a reprimand for beating someone who happened to be intimidated and pleaded guilty to assaulting the officers, is not the same as when the same victim dies as a result of the same beating by the same officers!
[Daphne – It was the bouncer who is alleged to have cracked his skull, not the police. The police allegedly beat him last summer.]
I’m confused. So there were two separate incidents, one in which Mr Abubaker was beaten by police officers, and another, unrelated, in which he was hit by a bouncer. Is that correct?
[Daphne – Yes, he was beaten – allegedly by the police – in July last year. And he was killed by a bouncer this week.]
Thanks.
Keep us posted!
I condemn the murder of Suleiman Abubaker and I hope that an example will be made of the cowardly murderer.
I wonder on what grounds Suleiman Abubaker, a Muslim from Sudan was granted polical asylum in Malta, he is a Muslim from Sudan and therefore should not qualify for asylum.
Let’s not forget Sudan is the country where a British lady was jailed and nearly terrorised by a mob outside a kangaroo court in Kharthoom for naming a Teddy Bear Mohammed which caused riots all over the world.
I spent a lot of time in Arab countries, Arabs cannot control alcohol inside them, they get aggressive and uncontrollable.
“I spent a lot of time in Arab countries, Arabs cannot control alcohol inside them, they get aggressive and uncontrollable.”
I believe that, in this particular case, the bouncer was not an Arab, nor was he drunk. So what the hell are you on about?
Corinne, I don’t know anything about this case, but of what I have read, Mr Abubaker was only ‘pushed’ away, when he fell and hit his head against the pavement. Now, as far as I know, it is quite legal, if assaulted (in this case I presume Mr. Abubaker tried to gain entry to the club forcefully), to create a safe distance between the assailant and yourself, i.e. push or reasonable force.
Also, please note that this was not the first time Mr. Abubaker got into trouble while drunk.
Christian: If I were to push you over and you hit your head against the pavement and eventualy die, there would be grounds for me to be tried and found guilty of manslaughter or, possibly, homicide. That is the sort of case being discussed here, not whether we have spent time in Arab countries noting that “Arabs cannot control alcohol inside them” – a bit of nonsense, really, when you consider the drunken brawls that are a regular feature of the festa season in Maltese towns and villages.
If I read your post correctly, the argument you are making is that the perpetrator acted in self-defence. That is for the courts to decide.
Your point that “this was not the first time Mr Abubaker got into trouble while drunk” is neither here nor there, and I say this not only because I suspect what you know of Mr Abubaker’s supposedly drunken behaviour is through press reports of that other notorious case in which a handcuffed man purportedly beat up the policemen who had kicked him while he lay on the ground.
Plenty of people get drunk. Not all of them end up dead. You seem to have overlooked the glaring fact that this incident has implications for *everyone* who frequents Paceville, and not just those who are considered different.
I was referring to the dead Sudanese guy, he is an Arab.
Really? What makes him Arab?
Christian: You are right to say that you don’t know anything, because what you have said is a complete falsehood. It is never legal to push anyone, and you are completely wrong to assume that the victim assaulted the killer when there is no evidence to back up that claim.
Do yourself a favour and look up the British thin skull rule or the American eggshell skull doctrine. You’ll probably come across these citations:
“The injurer takes his victim as he finds him and is therefore liable for the full extent of the injury even if unforeseeable….” (Rardin v. T & D Mach)
and,
“There is almost universal agreement upon liability beyond the risk, for quite unforeseeable consequences, when they follow an impact upon the person of the plaintiff.
“It is as if a magic circle were drawn about the person, and one who breaks it, even by so much as a cut on the finger, becomes liable for all resulting harm to the person, although it may be death….
“The defendant is held liable for unusual results of personal injuries which are regarded as unforeseeable….” (Gibson v. County of Washoe)
Oh, and there is no such thing as ‘quite legal’. There is only legal and illegal.
Well said, Matthew. Pity that not many people reason the way you do.
OK, Christian. If you can’t understand the case under discussion, then maybe this sad one – although the circumstances are entirely different – will help you to understand things more easily:
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20090611/local/dont-take-her-to-hospital
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2009/06/10/doorman-christopher-swain-cleared-of-assault-91466-23839250/
http://www.romfordrecorder.co.uk/content/havering/recorder/news/story.aspx?brand=RECOnline&category=newsRomford&tBrand=northlondon24&tCategory=newsromford&itemid=WeED29%20May%202009%2010%3A46%3A08%3A397
Considering you are quoting court cases and judgements, here’s just a couple of other court cases were doormen claimed self defence, and were cleared. These are only two cases from hundreds of similar ones in UK and Europe.
It is easy quoting the law from behind a solicitor’s desk or from your office, but dealing with drunks, obnoxious and harassing ‘customers’ on a night in night out basis is a very different ball game.
Reasonable force / self-defence ARE legal. Unfortunately, accidents happen, then one is liable to prosecution.
Corinne, I never made any reference that Mr. Abubaker could not control alcohol inside him because he was an Arab. Irish, British and Maltese can be as bad – as especially when they are in their own country.
On the other hand, I believe that all doorman / security guards should be trained and licenced. Something, that from I remember from Paceville, very few, if not none of the doorman were. Very few doorman could handle an akward situation.
Off topic, but not to be missed:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/cheat-sheet/item/gaddafi-berlusconi-meet-in-italy/meeting-of-the-minds/
I suddenly feel very proud of our national leaders.
Unfortunately our police force has a number of ill-educated, rude, bigoted bullies that fill its ranks. They think that the ill-fitting uniform they wear gives them the right to hassle and push people around or worse. What cracks me is that when you try to talk to them even in the most polite and respectful way they pull out the classic ‘ittawwalx ilsienek ghax-…’ They want respect but the only feeling I see them generate is contempt. Police should be given a proper and lengthy education. In other parts of the EU a policeman ‘graduates’ after four years of training not after a few weeks.
Naqbel mieghek mija fil-mija, Frank.
M’ghandix esperjenzi sbieh x’nirrakkonta fuq kull darba li kelli mmur l-ghassa biex nirrapporta xihaga. Dan l-ahhar mort fl-ghassa tar-rahal …. il-pulizija lanqas biss fehem ghalfejn bdejt ninsisti fuq li ninsisti li nkellem lilu u pulizija mara fil-privat, f’kamra maghluqa. Immagina ftit! Ha tirraporta xihaga b’qalbek trid tinqasam, bit-tieqa miftuha berah u bin-nies ghaddejjin minn tahtha qed jisimghu kollox, u b’persuna tissemma b’par widnejn ta’ hmar fuq bank. ”Ghalfejn trid il-privazija?” qalli l-pulizija. ”Hawn tajjeb titkellem hawn!” Dan apparti li farfar il-kas kollu fuq surgent ta’ ghassa ohra u ghamilli appuntament mieghu li ma tlabtx ghalih.
U zgur li ghandhom bzonn erba’ snin tahrig u mhux ftit gimghat qabel jiggradwaw!
Ara l-esperjenza li ghandi ta’ spettur tal-pulizija – dik hija totalment differenti.
why don’t you out GTX Daph?
Mintoff’s legacy in the Malta police still prevails to this day. The PN failed to root out thuggish elements from the police. The police force is overdue an overhaul but politicians are too busy trying to get re-elected and they let the police do as they please without any accountability to anyone. Some police officers are extremely rude and they think they are above the law.
Daphne, the police inspector who issued your court summons should be sacked. The police behaved like cowardly bullies with you. I bet you they wont try the same tactics with bouncers. You are an easy target for them. Charging you and finding you guilty would have improved crime detection statistics, which makes the police look good of course, on the contrary charging a bouncer would end up with a policeman with a black eye!
Although I disagree with you at times especially on issues concerning illegal immigration, I admire your work, Daphne, we could do with a thousand more like you in Malta.
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20090610/local/muscat-sees-far-right-vote-stemming-from-members-of-the-uniformed-corps-dealing-with-migrants
ooops, sorry, didn’t notice someone had already highlighted the Times piece.
Members of the police force can retire on full pensiopn after 25 years’ service. The police force has been under the control of a PN government for over 20 years.
You are right to sceam to high-heaven about this case.
Pity you had to spoil it by turning it into a tirade against the PL.
John II: Do you see no direct connection between this case and the madness of courting the far-right vote, giving it more desirability than it deserves i.e. precisely zero?
There is a difference between “courting the far-right vote” (which is what Frank Portelli was doing in the MEP campaign) and trying to see what motivates that same vote and seeing if some of the grievances can be legitimately addressed in the hope of defusing some of the angst and insecurity that motivates them.
So Muscat is now just “trying to see what motivates that same vote”, is he? People who vote for the far-right are pretty specific about what they want above and to the exclusion of all else. There is nothing more to be seen. Please explain the difference between courting the far-right vote and pretending you don’t know what those voters want.
I think you are being much too simplistic.
You haven’t answered my question.
In my view the work ethics of staff in any organisation largely reflects that of who leads it. The police force is no exception. Today we have Commissioner Rizzo, with a very shady past. Let’s not forget the police force under Commissioner Pullicino. Would these incidents ever have happened under de Gray?
And of course, the Minister for the Interior must shoulder the political responsibility. Serious corrective action must be taken or he is a partner in crime.
And then there’s Anglu tal-iljunfant.
I don’t want to generalize, however the attitude of some police and soldiers is unbelievable. Some time ago a policewomen handcuffed a patient, who was bleeding, to the bed so that she could go and have a cigarette. We reported her but by the next day she was sent again to watch over the woman.
Daphne, did you ever listen to that song by ‘Brikkuni’….. there is a small part in one of their ballads which perfectly describes your attitude in a few words.
[Daphne – I have very little time, and so I spend it selectively.]
This is the same police force which could not control the bus drivers during their strike last year. Let us not forget the havoc of those two days, when the police were clearly intimidated by the violence. Let us also not forget that those striking thugs have been depicted by the PL as victims.
People like poor Abubaker are causing a national crisis, according to Joseph Muscat. He characterised them mainly as not letting women dress as they want, jumping queues – especially in hospital – and relieving themselves in the middle of the street.
Muscat doesn’t like “softies” where immigrants are concerned so I hope he’s proud of these bouncers and policemen. He has declared himself ready to lend them a sympathetic ear so, should they decide that Lowell is not good enough, they know they are always welcome at the PL. L-aqwa l-vot.
Hve you got links to where Muscat said any of those things?
[Daphne – There was report on timesofmalta.com yesterday afternoon.]
I have been through that issue with a fine-tooth comb, and I did not find those remarks.
John II, Joseph Muscat said “those things” about immigrants when he was presenting his notorious action plan in parliament. On that occasion he also implied that we could no longer be tolerant because the number of immigrants was not “within manageable limits”.
Scerri S
you said that you’re out of the country….better stay where you are, we don’t want more liberal communists dictating our country and tell us what to do and what not.
this serve as a good lesson for the immigrants who are residing here to take there ass back to Africa
Corinne Vella
i am not labourite, if you love niggers so much then go live in Africa, i am sure they have a useful job for you to do in their jungle
tony pace
i am not religious, dumba$$
As far as I know, I didn’t say I’m out of the country on this blog. So you must have been spamming timesofmalta.com as well.
Just because I have respect for life, it doesn’t make me a liberal communist. That’s very close-minded. Death serves as a good lesson? That statement speaks volumes about you. You are a threat to society, and you need to be locked away and have the key thrown away. I hope you get exposed and prosecuted, you racist coward.
P.S. It’s my country as much as yours, so I wonder who is ‘we’?
“It’s my country as much as yours, so I wonder who is ‘we’?”
Probably GTX and his gay african lover.
Pat: gay African lover? Somehow, I don’t think so. He probably made a pass and was turned down.
There you go! Fighting intolerance with more intolerance. Are you homophobic, Pat? Homophobia is akin to racism.
Scerri S: Don’t be ridiculous, I don’t see being gay as anything derogative, but people like GTX normally do. Besides, such issues as he espouse seems deeply rooted in a denied sexuality. As Corinne kindly pointed out, the gay african lover is but a dream for him.
Scerri S: That wasn’t a homophobic comment. It was a sarcastic joke.
To add to it, I’m sure we all know we shouldn’t feed the troll, but at the same time feel free to poke him with a stick.
It’s easy to throw rocks while hiding behind someone else’s name. I’ve never been able to understand “people” like you who feel threatened by those they think of as different. I feel less threatened by African people than by people who think as you do.
I know you’re not a Labour supporter. That much is obvious. You probably voted for Lowell or for some of the other crackpots who don’t think they’re on the far right. Joseph Muscat wants your vote. Maybe you should tell him where to put it.
Cora, you’d be surprised at the oh-so-normal-looking people who vote for Lowell.
What do all the other murders, thefts, sexual abuse, child abuse, wife beating, fraud, and sundry other crimes serve as?
Really, “people” like you deserve each other. The rest of us don’t.
@GTX
Well, well, so you’re not religious. But you never denied being a w====r. Which you obviously are.
It’s probably the only action he sees, hence his obsession that someone else might be getting his share.
It is true that the immigrants at times are being mistreated on this island and although a handful of them might be causing trouble I am sure that on the most part all they really wish is to find a better life and they really do deserve better. It has to be said that this migrant was drunk (at least that is what the media reports) … drunk means out of control hence this person being drunk was out of control.
Getting drunk for many means exceeding one’s limits to alcohol absorption most of the time purposely to have more “fun”. When this limit is exceeded at times certain people tend to get more violent and more susceptible to start fights. Nothing was said on what the immigrant did as to why the bouncer pushed him in the first place. I am not saying that what the bouncer did was right but one has to consider the entire picture as to what really happened.
Yet after reading this article which I guess the entire point was on this unfortunate immigrant – hence the intelligible title “a bloody disgrace”, and after reading a lot of colloquial personal ranting about your incident with the police, well, I could not help but notice, (which was to no surprise to me) a lot of political partisanship.
I am sure that Joseph Muscat and Anglu Farrugia being human beings would condemn this act of violence although as I said the whole picture was not entirely given.
[Daphne – We know through personal experience in the 1980s that Anglu Farrugia doesn’t condemn acts of violence, unless they are perpetrated against ‘Laburisti’.]
Means you have so very little time and spend it selectively which of your sons was the good samaritan who went to be an eyewitness? Was it that same son whom at the University of Malta in Sir Temi Zammit Hall last year showed the University up with his well educated f*ck off in front of the television cameras?
[Daphne – No, it was his eldest brother. All of them have been brought up to stand up for what is right. Hence one told Kurt Farrugia to fuck off after he had been bothering his mother with a camera for around half an hour (punching him would have been unfair, given that Kurt’s face hovers somewhere around his navel), and the other challenged the police about the treatment of this man who is now dead.]
You were sitting close by to him I am sure it made you proud. I’ll sign this comment with my name…just not to be a “cowardly little runt.”
[Daphne – You have signed off with your name. Lots of men are called Steve, and even some women.]
Steve II: You may have missed the following, made earlier in response to a milder form of the argument you’re making here.
Do yourself a favour and look up the British thin skull rule or the American eggshell skull doctrine. You’ll probably come across these citations:
“The injurer takes his victim as he finds him and is therefore liable for the full extent of the injury even if unforeseeable….” (Rardin v. T & D Mach)
and,
“There is almost universal agreement upon liability beyond the risk, for quite unforeseeable consequences, when they follow an impact upon the person of the plaintiff.
“It is as if a magic circle were drawn about the person, and one who breaks it, even by so much as a cut on the finger, becomes liable for all resulting harm to the person, although it may be death….
“The defendant is held liable for unusual results of personal injuries which are regarded as unforeseeable….” (Gibson v. County of Washoe)
Oh, and Steve II is not a name. If you wish to be identified, you should do exactly that.
I might be wrong but aren’t we all missing the wood for the trees? We are all focussing our attention to the fact that the victim was black and also on the shortcomings of the police force – please do not misinterpret me; I am disgusted at the incident and do not think that it paints a pretty/happy picture of the island, but it was a bouncer that committed the crime.
I condemn the police for beating the victim up, and very much believe that there is a major problem in the police force, but, is there any regulation in regard to bouncers? Do they have to go through any particular training and do they have licences or special requirements to carry out the job? It seems that they just have to be big burly guys and wear black skinny tops, to be entrusted with a job which according to our constitution should be exercised by the police (not that the latter exercise always due diligence when carrying out these duties!). Legally speaking, where do bouncers fit?
Our constitution does not require any security guard to be a police officer, so you’re wrong there. Bouncers carry no weapons. If you’re referring to the fact that they ask people for ID, you can ask anyone for ID if they’re entering private premises, which is the case with clubs. Incidentally, you can also refuse anyone, for no reason at all. That’s clublife for you.
Doormen / bouncers/ security guard should take a training program and get a licence.
Firstly , the bouncer did not murder anybody . I am quite sure he did not even mean to kill the illegal immigrant .
Secondly , we do not know the full details of the case . As the saying goes , there is no smoke without fire , and although the bouncer should have restrained himself from punching the DRUNK illegal immigrant , there is always the strong possibility that he was intimidated and provoked into punching him .
The bouncer’s job is to protect the people in the establishment and it is up to his discrecion whom he deems fit or unfit to enter .
Thirdly , who says this is a racially motivated attack ? Just because the victim happened to be a black illegal immigrant does not mean the the “racist card” has to be pulled out .
Ok… 1. Meaning to kill someone or not is pretty much beyond the point. The bouncer is at all times acting from a point of authority, hence their responsibility does lie above what would be expected from other people.
2. Punching someone in the face is an act of pretty harsh aggression. Whether you intend to kill or not, you are actually hitting someone in his most central and vital parts of his body. Maybe not murder, but without any reasonable doubt manslaughter.
3. A bouncers duty is to maintain control and decency, not select people based on their skin colour. That is racial discrimination.
4. Do a search on the word “illegal” on this page and you will find that it only occurs in the comments. Should tell you something.
5. When two drunk french people are let in, while a third black person are being not only stopped, but actually severely harmed, I will label the perpetrator as racist, until he stands straight and comes up with a better explanation. Problem is that such a miserable fuck could not stand straight for the life of him.
Quite an achievement to get so much wrong in such a short text.
Regarding point number 5:
The two french students although as you rightly put it were drunk , but still alowed in were not known as trouble makers .
On the other hand , Abubaker was known to be a trouble maker in paceville , and from what i heard he was told more than once that he was not allowed in that very night .
Yet he still went in first chance he had , and he alegedly smashed a bottle on the bouncer and provoked the attack .
What is so racist about losing your temper and punching somebody who has been provoking you ?
Fine , i would never condone this sort of violence and it is wrong and regretfull that Abubaker was killed , but this talk of racist just cause he was black is all nonsense .
OK, a question: Were the two drunk French students white or black?
Regarding a bouncer’s duty, and racial discrimination and all that: Selecting who goes in, based on whatever criteria the club chooses is the bouncer’s duty. We’re all against racial discrimination, but I wonder if you chaps have ever been to a club outside tiny Malta. Racial discrimination goes on all the time. A club playing a certain genre of music will rarely let in people who don’t fit. In the case of ‘black’ or ‘latino’ music, that means whiteys. And then there are techno clubs in Europe which will refuse blacks. In both cases, it’s well-nigh impossible to enter unless you have a supermodel hanging on to your arm. It may be wrong, it may be breaking human rights, but that’s life. You’ve no more right to get into a club than an earthworm. If they let you in, you count it as a special grace.
So, label the perpetrator all you wish, but be aware that discrimination is the norm, not the exception.
H P Baxxter: And your point is…?
OK, a question: which clubs here in Malta ban white people?
Corinne Vella
Please note that bouncers have not allowed and even beaten up Maltese people trying to enter certain clubs .
It is totally wrong and no matter what type of aggressive or drunk state the individual was in the bouncer should eject the person from the premesis without beating them up .
But the point is that this was not a racist attack and it shouldn’t be labelled so just because the victim was a black illegal immigrant .
Remember that racism cuts both ways and if we go by what most people here are saying, then every time a woman gets raped by an illegal immigrant or a Maltese is robbed while buying a soft drink in Marsa etc.., that should be branded racist against white people.
Allahares we end up like UK where every time a black person is disappointed about something he says its because of racism .
Chris Mifsud: You are addressing the wrong person. I have not called the latest Abubaker case a racist attack. What I have done is to take issue with “H P Baxxter’s” assertion that white people are routinely banned from clubs here in Malta just because they’re white.
You’re critical of the latest Abubaker case being judged as racist “without a trial or even knowing the facts”. For the same reasons, isn’t it appropriate to establish all the facts before deciding the case did *not* involve racism? The observation that Maltese people are routinely beaten up, ejected from clubs or denied entry may be correct, but it is not a deciding factor.
On a related point, repeatedly referring to Mr Abubaker as “a black illegal immigrant” undermines the credibility of your arguments. The victim had a name, so why not use it? The category you use instead is technically incorrect, anyway. Mr Abubaker resided here legally on the grounds that he deserved humanitarian protection.
@Chesterfield
The word “racist” was NOT a joke when it was referring to the times up until the 1960’s when in civilised countries like the United States things like segregation and lynchings by the KKK were common.
But nowadays the word “racist” is taken completely out of context.
@D.C.G
There is no proof that this was a racist attack. Let that be decided by the courts
“you are only assuming that it was a racist attack”
I wasn’t assuming anything of the sort. On the other hand, you have repeatedly made the assumption that this *wasn’t* a racist attack.
I referred to Mr Abubaker as a “black illegal immigrant” so that I can highlight the fact that a lot of people are pulling out the “racist card” just because of that fact.
[Daphne – He wasn’t an illegal immigrant. He had legal status and was awaiting resettlement in the United States.]
If he were a white Maltese nobody would have said it was racist. Nobody called the attack/robbery of a Maltese at Marsa by illegal immigrants as racist.
[Daphne – Because it wasn’t racist.]
Nor are any other crimes commit against Maltese by illegal immigrants considered racist.
[Daphne – They are not, that’s why.]
What makes me sick is that any crime committed against black people is considered racist.
[Daphne – Hardly. If somebody had robbed him, that wouldn’t have been racist. But physically attacking him? Yes, that is.]
If we keep going down this road we will end up like the U.K where it is considered politically incorrect (racist) to refer to Christmas as Christmas and where ethnic/black etc.. people are given preference over white people when it comes to jobs because the companies are afraid of being labelled as racist.
[Daphne – I think you’ll find that Christmas is Christmas in Britain. It’s the United States you’re thinking about, and they call it the ‘holidays’ for reasons that have nothing to do with black people, most of whom are Christian anyway.]
The word “racist” is a joke … what gets me is NGOs like Graffiti who say stuff like “colour blind” and that we are all the same, yet anything against a black is racist. They are contradicting themselves, because by calling somebody racist, they are automatically highlighting the fact that one party is white and the other black.
The word “racist’ is a joke, is it? Let’s leave aside the not so insignificant history involved in this particular case. Are you seriously saying that racism does not exist? If so please explain the meaning of the kind of sentiment expressed by “people” like the one who calls himself GTX, the support for Norman Lowell despite his illegal and inhumane proposals, and the vicious comments made online, on walls and in person.
I too would like to live in utopia. Unlike you I know that I don’t.
Chris Mifsud:
A “white Maltese person” or just “a Maltese person”?
Maybe that’s just an oversight. Or maybe, despite protesting too much, you really do believe that skin colour makes a difference – to others, if not to yourself.
Remember that bouncers especially the ones in Paceville are notorious for being hostile and using violence as a means of “controling a situation”. Many Maltese too have been beaten up by bouncers and whilst there is no excuse for the bouncers’ behaviour towards Mr Abubaker, the same goes for any person foriegn or Maltese who have suffered at the hands of some bouncers.
My point is that when a bouncer beats up a Maltese person, nobody says it is racist and rightly so. So what is so different about a bouncer beating a black person?
Yes, it could be that it was racist, but there is NO evidence and you are only assuming that it was a racist attack. Whatever the reason for the attack, be it racist or not, the bouncer had no right to act in this way to anybody, be they Maltese or not.
Chesterfield:
“On the other hand, you have repeatedly made the assumption that this *wasn’t* a racist attack.”
Of course i made that assumption . I may be wrong and that is why we have a legal system , so that it can be decided through evidence and statements by witnesess exactly what happened .
As far as I know (from what i read on the papers) , there has been absolutely no sort of evidence that the attack was racist and therefore it should not be considered a racist attack until such evidence is produced to the courts .
Before anyone mentions the fact that the 2 French students accompanying Mr Abubaker were allowed in and Mr Abubaker wasn’t , remember that Mr Abubaker was somewhat known as a trouble maker , at least when drunk .
Who would allow a known trouble maker with a conviction of attacking police officers and damaging police property into their club ?
It makes no difference if he is Maltese , immigrant or whatever , nobody wants trouble makers .
Like i said before , there is no excuse for the bouncers` behaviour towards the victim and the bouncer if found guilty of manslaughter (and/or perhaps racist behaviour) should be made an example of when being punished as this sort of agression from bouncers` needs to be stopped once and for all .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmPg5YwLvNk
That is one thing that comes out of having a personalised number plate – recognition by the unsavoury elements of society.
Meanwhile, you are a reasonably intelligent and assertive person who can stand up for your own rights. Malta is perhaps the only democratic country where legal representation during interrogation by the police is not allowed. God only (well perhaps the interrogators too) knows what happens.
Even PN backbenchers like Dr. Franco Debono MP have spoken out publicly about this shameful discrepancy and deficit in our democratic system (http://www.francodebono.info/) . But our minister of justice keeps mum about the issue.
As far as I know on tickets issued by the police there should be the number of the officer who issued the ticket so it would have been easy to find out who had done it.
[Daphne – Yes, and there was no police number on the ticket.]
There is one thing about Daphne’s experience at the St.Julian’s police station that fascinates me. Did she have this heated exchange in Maltese or in English?
[Daphne – In Maltese, of course. As you might have noticed in this blog, I’m perfectly fluent.]
I am asking because the requirements to join the police force are a couple of ‘O’ level certificates. Just in case anyone wonders – a couple of ‘A’ levels are required to apply for the post of inspector from outside the force.
[Daphne – I noticed that from the drop-jawed vacant look on their faces. ‘Oh my god, here’s somebody with a problem. Let’s see what we can do to pass the buck and get back to our dawdling and sandwich-eating.’]
Those who don’t even have an ‘O’ level can apply to join the army.
I am not saying that all members of the police force and army have that level of education – I am just stating what the requirements for joining the forces of order are.
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20080630/local/more-eyewitnesses-saw-handcuffed-migrants-beaten-by-police
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20080701/local/probe-into-police-beatings-of-migrants/
Just received this email…
Walk against Racism and Violence – Saturday 13th June 2009, 7:30pm, Baystreet
The first death in Malta caused by racism cannot go unnoticed! Suleiman Ismail Abubaker died in hospital on the 10th of June as a result of injuries sustained in Paceville after a bouncer pushed him and punched him in the head. Passers by also brutally kicked Suleiman while he was nearly out of his senses lying on the ground.
Paceville has long been a place where racism is the order of the day. The majority of clubs do not let black persons in and when these persons try to protest this decision they often risk violent aggression.
This is NOT acceptable! We will NOT accept apartheid in Malta!
We are not in any way accusing the Maltese people of being racist, however we cannot ignore that realities of racism are also taking root in our country.
Let’s show that there is a part of Malta which rejects racism. On Saturday 13th June Moviment Graffitti is inviting the public to a peaceful walk in the streets of Paceville, starting at 7:30pm from Baystreet.
Bring candles with you
Andre’ Callus
@ HP Baxxter….I never said that our constitution requires security guards to be police officers; what I said was that bouncers use rights which are entrusted to the police – as far as I know, it is only the police who have the right of arrest, which means to stop, and is distinct from detention, and this right of arrest is only exercisable when there is reasonable suspicion of a crime.
As regards your comments about private premises, once the property is accessible to the public against payment, it no longer is private. Identification should be presented for verification of age.
@ Chris Mifsud……I never said the bouncer murdered anyone; what I said was that the bouncer committed the crime and involuntary homicide is a criminal offence. If it is the bouncer’s job to protect the patrons at the establishment, then shouldn’t he have asked for further police intervention and not use physical force himself? Also, I never pulled out the racist card anywhere in my comments, although I again repeat that the incident in itself is disgusting, no matter what colour/nationality. The fact that the victim was coloured gives further bad press, but hey, I certainly don’t think that a bouncer involuntarily killing a person entering a club is good press. What I question is the use of physical force by bouncers. I have many a time witnessed a very rough attitude from bouncers and directed to locals, so no, racism does not come into the picture.
@ Mandy Mallia….I think you are the only who really got my point – there is a huge difference between use of force and excessive use of force and this is well demonstrated in your upload. So far, no one has however answered my question – I therefore ask again, how are bouncers regulated? I believe they do get some sort of licence, but how is this issued and controlled? Is there anyone they have to answer to in regard to their use of physical force as in the case of the police force which is answerable to a board?
I completely agree with you that a lot of bouncers are too heavy handed and think they have a right to beat people up .
It is completely wrong and it is unfortunate that this time somebody had to be killed .
I was not refererring to you when i mentioned the racist card. In fact i was actually referring to the majority of the ignorant people in these blogs and to Graffitti who have without a trial or even knowing the facts have already judged this person and accused him of being a racist .
Josephine,
Bouncers should all have a licence, and the EU now gave all countries until 01.12.09 to get up-to-date with this regulation.
As to whether entertainment places, accommodation places etc are private or not, YES they are. The owners and/or people employed to do so, have the right to refuse entry – without explanation.
Please don’t forget that being drunk and disorderly/incapable, breaching of peace as well as assault are all crimes, and therefore one can refuse entry to any place on suspicion that one might break any of these laws.
http://jeangove.wordpress.com/2009/06/12/racism-is-murder/
Don’t you think we’re really rushing when we call the Suleiman incident a racist attack?
I mean I’m obviously mortified by it. Whoever knew him says he was a really genuinely nice person.
But bouncers are always violent. It’s very likely that this could have happened to anyone.
I’m not saying the bouncer wasn’t racist. He very likely was, like most people in this country seem to be. And if its true that people kicked him while he was down, its very likely that they were racist too.
And it’s also very likely that if there wasn’t such a ridiculous policy in most clubs where bouncers are asked not to let in black people, this incident would not have happened.
But to say that the bouncer intended to kill his victim because of his race is stretching it a lot, I think. Ara if there were witnesses who heard him say something racist while doing so… maybe that could have supported the argument. But so far, ma nafx, I think we’re rushing.
I also think that by rushing we are further strengthening the far-right movement because they feel that we automatically take the side of the immigrants in all arguments.
Obviously nothing can justify violence or such a needless death, I’m not saying that. All I’m saying is that many people seem to be jumping to the automatic conclusion that this bouncer hated black people so much that he particularly enjoying smashing this guy’s head to a pavement with intent to kill. And that’s… I don’t know… I think it assumes too much.
Don’t you think we should have waited for the courts before organising protests and such? Don’t you think we might be missing the point here which could very well be excessive use of violence by non-qualified bouncers?
I’m curious to hear what you think on the matter. These are just my thoughts, I haven’t yet come to a conclusion.
Charlie:
“I also think that by rushing we are further strengthening the far-right movement because they feel that we automatically take the side of the immigrants in all arguments.”
Far-right thinking is impervious to reason. Why pander to it? If you suspect that something is wrong, you won’t work out what that is by using the far-right as a yardstick.
Christian,
You have repeated what I said. Being drunk/disorderly, incapable etc are all crimes, so why not call the police? Do you mean to say that bouncers using physical force act in self-defence?
So, aren’t bar owners accomplices to crime by providing the means, when allow their patrons, who enter their premises sober and with the owner/bouncer’s grace, to get drunk and susceptible to criminal behaviour? Or is it ok to empty out the patrons’ pocket and once these are drunk, then get the bouncers to throw them out because they would have milked all they could?
1. You only call the police after it is safe to do so. By that I mean, that while doing so, you will not be assaulted and/or injured.
2. Please note that I did not say physical force, but reasonable force. This means using physical force to a certain extent to control someone, without causing injury.
3. Bar owners / employees do not allow people in their premises ‘to get drunk’. It is illegal to serve a person who is drunk and incapable / disorderly. The last person to serve that person is ultimately responsible for his/her well-being and his/her safe return to their destination.
4. As I mentioned before, I do not know how many ‘bouncers’ are licensed to do their job in Malta. Then, they would not simply ‘throw them out’. We only escort people out from the premises when they either become physically abusive and/or entered the premises without consent.
“I also think that by rushing we are further strengthening the far-right movement because they feel that we automatically take the side of the immigrants in all arguments.”
Rather than that, what you’re doing is increasing the already ever-increasing racism of the general populace.
(Not you specifically obviously.)
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20090615/letters/no-one-person-can-be-blamed-for-paceville-death-1
Please publish yesterday’s post for I don not want to be associated with anti-immigrant sentiments IN ANY WAY.
I have no problem with immigration and I would like to thoroughly underline this since my position has been blurred.
[Daphne – Please send it in again as it might have gone straight to spam. But I don’t know why you are concerned as you are anonymous anyway.]
While I generally despise your writing [Daphne – If you despise my writing, then why in God’s name do you read it? Life’s too short.] and your continuous support (bullying) for the present government I have to say I am in line with your thoughts about xenophobia. This truly is the pits.
I thought my moniker would actually be more recognisable hence my using it. So Ivan please refrain from using our song lyrics in order to back up your sentiments. Brikkuni have no problem whatsoever with immigration. I have stated time and again my feelings regarding this matter. I do not feel threatened by these people. I do not identify with our authorities’ misplaced notions of sovereignty. The only problem immigration might be causing is strictly a logistical one. Albeit one that has to be dealt with the utmost regard for the human lives at stake.
I was not reading it, Daphne.
I was actually sifting through a google search for my band’s name making sure that no one was misquoting us on something and your page cropped up.
Despising one’s writing does not automaticaly translate to ignoring them. I am repelled by the standard of local television as well but I am partial to more than an occasional peek. It helps you re-affirm your faith.
[Daphne – Thanks for clearing up a mystery. The system logs the search words people use to find this blog, and I was curious as to why somebody looked for it by typing in the word ‘brikkuni’.]
In this jungle we call “the world”, and, closer to home, in this veritable dustbin we call MALTA, things ain’t all they’re cracked up to be, my friend. Where’s Christ? Where’s Christianity? Where’s the brotherly love our Saviour preached?
With very few exceptions, we are immoral, decadent, semi-literate philistines. Even our University Graduates are mostly semi-literate. And, if “light” be darkness, then how big is the darkness?
Vide our land, the execrable architecture which has replaced one-time gems of the art, it’s shocking and pitiable environmental shambles, its dying ecology, and prepare your plastic flowers, mate, for the real ones ain’t no more, my luv! Yet as the barker at the entrance to a porno-joint once said: “It’s heaven! Everyone happy on the inside!” of this living hell…..We prefer to live a lie………..We love darkness; it hides our inner nudity…………
Come September the 16th, next, I will have known the Maltese for 66 years, rubbed shoulders and broke bread with the best and the worst of them. There remains one redeeming-feature: the honesty and sincerity and the genuine hospitality of the 20 or so % who still follow in the footsteps of Christ. Who identify with HIM, and live Jesus every second of their daily lives, be they at work or at play.
I am proud to be a friend to people from MANY lands, including MANY Africans, whose hospitality I have witnessed first-hand, and whose company I enjoy no end. My heart reaches out to them; but, single-handedly, I cannot do much in this arrogant and sun-blistered land. The home of the sepi-tutti and the ne plus ultra…………
.
In the past, and even today, albeit in a different way, we invaded their lands, colonized their homes, pushed them to the margins, made pariahs of them, plundered their resources, denied them a share of the wealth we were misappropriating, raped their women. We damaged their environment, dumped hazardous waste on their lands, beat and brow-beat them into submission, forced them into ghettos, denied them the most basic human rights, insisted on their segregation. We bought and sold them into slavery, like cattle as it were, to toil and labour and die, and be sexually abused as desired by their “masters”. In their so-called, semi-“independent” years, we continued to grease the palms of their leaders to repeatedly give us permission to exploit their resources, without the accruing wealth ever percolating down to the many, enjoyed only by the few. We made separated public loos for whites and others for blacks where the whites had running hot-water and the blacks had to make do with dismal and dirty latrines. .
In America (God-loving America) where (if I’ve crunched the numbers right) over 40 million abortions, murders really, have been performed/committed since Rowe vs Wade, black men afflicted with syphilis, in the 40’s or 50’s, were left untreated by doctors to watch the progress and course of this very-devastating disease if left untreated.
In recent years, they were, and still are, used as guinea pigs by the pharmaceutical blood-suckers who take advantage of their poverty to test on them what westerners were loathe to see tried out on themselves. As smoking sales dipped in the west, we turned our attention to young African boys and girls to get them into the nicotine tunnel. We invented lies about them, like the done-to-death old saw that “ black skin exudes stink”.
Now, to rub salt into the wound, the unconscionable leaders of China have weighed in there: the heartless, ruthless repressive Chinese government which keeps a personal file on the private lives of ALL its citizens and denies them full-internet access on the flimsy pretext that it is a threat to the state (read: to the longevity of a criminal government). This gang of privileged folk doesn’t give its WONDERFUL Chinese people any say in the running of the country and their own private lives. Chinese citizens have no comeback. Another hideous dragon is poised to exploit Africa further.
I pity these people, far away from home and their loved ones, cut adrift in this cruel, harsh and unforgiving land, where they really have no future at all. Just let your average Maltese male take a coloured girl-friend home………Often worse the other way around: when girl takes boy…. Wait for the fireworks, the words of hatred and the flying glass……..
This is nothing new. Our hoary-headed sun has seen it all. We were always so, though somewhat more-covertly.
Today the racism and the hatred is more overt!
The cause is obvious: the decline of morals across the board, which cuts through all strata of our society, coupled with the ignorance of the gullible who are fired up by liars and inflammatory rhetoric, and who have not got the mental-wherewithal to challenge what they here, churn things up in their heads, and come to their own conclusions. Anyone in their right mind, with a couple of neurons still firing, KNOWS that we have to redeem and redress the ravages perpetrated by our European and American ancestors.
I am in regular contact with many young and handsome African boys and girls with the scrubbed-clean looks, who call me papa; we meet regularly and they are some of the nicest, sincerest people on earth. They are sons and daughters to me, and I am proud of them.
The antidote to our poisoned hearts is likewise as obvious as its cause: If we really loved God, we would see in ALL people, be they white, red, yellow or black, the Image and Likeness of their Divine Maker; we would not deny them the dignity which is their birthright! We would see, in everyone, a co-traveller (a gift from God to us) on this brief pilgrimage called life. Having done so, we would also feel much better inside of us, much more-peaceful and free of the cancer that’s eating away at us.
As I return home after writing this piece, the sun-scorched asphalt seems to burn my feet ever-harsher through the holes in the soles of my shoes………And I say:
Welcome, my beloved coloured brothers and sisters. May you find peace in this land of foul-mouths spouting acrid fumes…..
Marcus Flores
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