No-go areas

During a speech in the House of Representatives on July 4, Labour MP Joe Sammut stated that parts of Marsa have become no-go areas for the Maltese people.

May I remind Dr Sammut that a lot of migrants gather at Marsa for the sole purpose that it was one of the few places we offered these people - an unused school with the power station at the back and a pool of drainage in front.

The "gangland" he mentioned is definitely not the choice of the migrants living there but one of the very few available places.

However. what really makes me wonder is why should someone consider this particular place a no-go area now when it is a place that had already gained a reputation for prostitution and other illegal activities much before boat people started arriving in our country.

I honestly do not want to sound offensive to prostitutes who, for some reason or other, had to choose a different way of life.

However, the truth is that the majority of the Maltese do not want to socialise with prostitutes, at least while they are doing their "work".

The only ones who don't mind are their clients and their pimps, most of whom are definitely not deterred by the sight of black people in the area.