Dealing with touts and pickpockets

Ever so often, quite regularly actually, we get a flood of comments by visitors about how they are never again going to spend time here. These comments are usually from the UK. Timeshare touts, pickpockets and garbage in public areas really turn them off. Rightly so. At the same time the complaints are unreasonable.

The timeshare touts here are mostly British, at least in my experience. I have been approached several times and never had any aggression problems. One must think beforehand how to handle the situation. In places like Mexico and The Canaries one just shakes his head to "Are you English?" "Italiano?", etc. and keep on walking. If they persist, invent a country. I have been approached here, as well, usually when I am with a visiting friend. An answer with a question always throws the tout off, the stupider the question, the better. If touts are seen from a distance revert to sign language. I'm not too good at it, either. You're not likely to find a deaf tout!

As one writer to these pages said recently, pickpockets are found everywhere, especially in large touristy places. Again most of them are foreign to the country, know one another well, congregate in busy areas and observe one another. Believe it or not, they enjoy playing games on one another. It's a brownie point for a pickpocket if s/he can pick another pickpocket's pocket. The epitome of humour is to "give" a hot item to a rival, without the receiver becoming aware of it, when law enforcers are around. I got it all from an article written by a professional.

As for garbage, it is again mostly created by visitors. The locals need to smarten up, no question about it. Just see the difference in the amount of bottles, cans, food scraps and wrappers when visitors are around. A few mornings ago, four male foreigners were getting into a taxi. All had drinks in their hands, three had just finished, or maybe were asked not to have food in the cab. Their snack and the paper bags ended up on the sidewalk, not far from a bin.

The fast food outlets should take some responsibility and have pride in their surroundings. It wouldn't be much to ask them to send one of the employees with a garbage bag and a picker. If they can keep a reasonable area from their place of business tidy, it would make for a better environment. It might also set an example to their customers to become more responsible. Who knows, maybe we'll be reading how responsible the fast food outlets are because they are making sure the streets are cleaner.

Get creative with timeshare touts and street-smart with those wanting your belongings and you'll be on the sunny side of the street. After all, that's what Malta and Gozo are all about.