Pro-equality campaigners denounce Albert Town no-go comments

Six non-governmental organisations that promote equality and campaign against discrimination said immigrants living at the Marsa open centre have been unjustly negatively labelled.

Moviment Graffiti, the Peace Lab, Amnesty International, Third World Group, the Migrants Solidarity Movement and Koperattiva Kummerc Gust said Police Superintendent Silvio Valletta's comments in court last week that people were afraid of going to Marsa as a result of criminal actions by immigrants had, even unintentionally, put the migrants in a bad light.

"Members of our organisations frequently visit the Marsa open centre and they have never felt threatened by residents there," the NGOs said. "Therefore, we cannot understand the comments made in court, which give the impression that Marsa has become a place the Maltese are afraid to frequent.

"We understand that the part of Marsa where the open centre is situated is notorious for the presence of social problems, such as drugs, gambling and prostitution. However, this existed long before there were any migrants living there."

It was only natural that among the hundreds of people, there would be a few individuals who broke the law. This inevitably applied to any community of whatever nationality, including Maltese, the NGOs said.