Fiona Galea Debono
Maltese in London safe but ‘cautious’
‘Violence for the sake of violence’
The mood in London – the scene of riots and violence since the weekend – has been described as “tense” by Maltese living there and they are exercising caution and changing their plans, although they may not have experienced the unrest first hand.
Malta also decided to temporarily close its High Commission in the British capital as rumours spread that there could be riots in the area during the night. The High Commission would reopen as soon as it “is believed to be safe”, a Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman said.
(London, however, was quiet last night as 16,000 police officers were deployed on its streets).
Although Maltese in London may not have witnessed the scenes of thuggery and criminality by the hooded mobs that have hit the streets, they are not unaffected and unfazed by the goings-on.
Many have been in touch with other Maltese to “check on each other” and have been inundated by calls from family and friends in a show of solidarity between them. Some have considered the option of returning to Malta if the violence escalates.
Although they do not reside in the areas that have, so far, been the stage for the rampage, torching and looting, an element of fear is lingering and they fail to understand the cause of the violent outbreaks.
“It is hard to define the rioters’ motive,” said cosmetic specialist Raina Zarb Adami about the “loads of teenagers that are looting London”. She is ready to fly back to Malta “in a heartbeat” if the situation deteriorates.
“We have never experienced such a situation and while terrorist attacks may not come as such a surprise, these riots are totally unexpected.”
Dr Zarb Adami, who runs the Aesthetic Virtue Clinic in Knightsbridge, lives in a residential area in South Kensington and believes commercial properties are being targeted more.
She is, therefore, more worried about her clinic, which is surrounded by shops. “I tend to leave quite late at night, so I am concerned I may come across a mob of petrol-bombing, hooded youths.”
The riots were definitely damaging to Dr Zarb Adami’s business, although August was fortunately one of the quieter months.
Meanwhile, an e-mail from the charity she works for has told staff to go home early due to “potential rioting in Uxbridge and more trouble flaring up in other parts of London”.
Her friend, Simona Camilleri, also lives in a quiet, residential area but was “rather scared last night” given that the riots were spreading around London and closing.
She works in Chalk Farm, one of the scenes of the rioting, where a bike shop had eight of its windows smashed as she walked down the cordoned-off road.
“The employees were clearing up the debris, the police were outside and bikes had been stolen. A few doors down, Sainsbury’s was also badly damaged and had been raided,” she said.
Employees at her workplace have been told to leave by 6 p.m. and the idea is not to be out on the streets late but “it seems to me that it is about theft and thuggery rather than attacking individuals,” she said.
Actress Francesca Fenech lives in Paddington, so she has not experienced the rioting but the University she had attended is in Clapham, close to the action, and many of her friends still live there.
“We do not know where the riots are going to strike next, so I am careful at night,” the 21-year-old said, planning to be “extra cautious” and stay in yesterday.
University student Lea Gatt, who lives in Russell Square, never expected such a threat to safety in a city like London and while she has not witnessed any rioting, she has friends who have had to leave their homes.
“It seems to me like a case of violence for the sake of violence,” Ms Gatt said, adding that “no message is coming out of this”.
Ms Gatt was confident the situation would return to normal. However, London’s image and general safety in the run-up to the Olympic Games was at stake, she pointed out.
Another Maltese actor, Jean-Marc Cafà, who lives between Battersea and Clapham, said he was scared and intimidated by the riots 15 minutes away from his door on Monday night.
Beyond the thuggery, much solidarity has been expressed, with doors opening up for those who needed to get away, he said.
Mr Cafà said shows had been cancelled as a precaution and rehearsals ended early.
“I do not understand the point the rioters are trying to make... The last thing they should be doing is attacking the affected community.”
The social media had their advantages in that it was easy to check on friends but the downside was that they built up the hype and, consequently, the panic as predictions were made about the next riot’s location, he said.
Mr Cafà was planning to be in by sunset and keep an eye out for what was going on, although the riots were isolated and unexpected.
For Sharon Spiteri, the images on TV seem to be “happening in a parallel London”. She was in Piccadilly Circus on Monday night and walked through Oxford Circus and Tottenham Court Road – both hot spots – but “saw, heard and felt nothing”.
Life in London continued as normal, she said, adding that “we have scares regularly”.
Ms Spiteri lives close to Enfield, where rioting has occurred, but the sound of sirens on a Saturday night is “really nothing remarkable”, so she did not think much of it.
Nevertheless, based on the news footage she has seen, she cancelled her plans to go to her book club in East London yesterday evening, following the advice of the Met Police to remain home.
The government said any Maltese nationals in the UK who might need assistance while the High Commission was closed should call 07836 503 990. The number should only be used by Maltese who required assistance while in the UK, a spokesman stressed.
49 Comments
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Mr mario aquilina
Aug 10th 2011, 22:54
Seen it all before, and will happen again and again.
A lot of us lived and worked in Central London during the seventies IRA bombings, through the Brixton 1981 riots, and the hundreds of weekly muggings, not to mention the rapes.
This is the route that we in Malta are heading for, with the constant increase of undesirable people flocking to our shores. Ask the ladies and the old, for an honest answer, whether they feel safe walking home alone at night.
Riots we had, muggings we had, and also a few rapes though small in numbers. The Maltese themselves are not perfect, but where do we stand compared with foreign nationals!
If I heard the news correctly this evening, the British Prime Minister said that he was going to punish all of those caught rioting, and that he was going to put Human Rights away on this one. A bit too late in the day for this Mr. Cameron. Not when the UK toddlers cannot sing ba-ba-black sheep any more.
Mr Mario Cassar
Aug 10th 2011, 21:08
These riots were about race. Why ignore the fact? <= Note the ethnicity of the author, she's Indian.
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/katharinebirbalsingh/100099830/these-riots-were-about-race-why-ignore-the-fact/
McCabe said the ethnic make-up of the gangs was clear. “IC3s every single of them,” he said citing the police’s ethnic classification for black.
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/world/2011/0810/1224302182918.html
Mr Charles Cremona
Aug 10th 2011, 20:18
The areas most effected with rioting are multicultural as is most of London these days. In fact very few English people live in these areas. Tottenham and Hackney have always been places were problematic people like unmarried mothers have been dumped by the authorities on crime ridden council estates and forgotten. The Blair government used to spray money at them in the form of tax credits and other benefits so they never bothered to work but that was during the good times, now austerity measures have started to bite and these layabouts don't like it, they don't want to work and even if they tried to get a job they will not get one because they never bothered to get qualifications so they say there is no work but the Poles and other Europeans easily find work because they work hard and they are qualified. So now they riot and loot because that is what they know best.
Tim Gauci
Aug 10th 2011, 17:41
Multiculturalism at its best
Mr Joseph Thwaites
Aug 10th 2011, 16:19
There are 'idiots' 'morons' scumbags' or whatever other label you want to apply (see below) to these people but there HAS to be a reason why they act the way they do. Somebody below mentioned years of failed social policies, perhaps that's the case but either way we have to agree that its not always they're fault. Poor parenting, poor housing, poor education, poor social, economic and environmental neighbourhoods, lack of opportunity and most of all - lack of hope, will be key variables here.
Whatever the outcomes, solving these problems is going to come with a very hefty price tag and Mr Osborne tells us we haven't got any money. Ever heard of 'Cause & Effect Theory' George?
carmelo duca
Aug 10th 2011, 15:28
I LIVE 2 KILOMITERS AWAY FROM MANCHESTER CITY CENTRE AND LAST NIGHT WAS TAL BIZA..WHAT IS MORE WORRIYING IS THAT THESE GANGS ARE A STEEP IN FRONT OF THE POLICE USING FACEBOOK AND PHONES TO ORGANIZE THEM SELVES.YESTERDAY ONE COULD FEEL THAT SOMETHING IS GOING TO HAPPEN.AND GOD IT DID.I AM SO UPSET AND ANGRY WHEN I SEE ALL THIS .WHLE IM WRITING THIS I HAD A PHONE CALL IT START IT AGAIN ON MARKET STREET.VERU TAL BIZA
Corinne Vella
Aug 10th 2011, 13:27
http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9560000/9560646.stm
BBC correspondent Nick Ravenscroft spent the night in Manchester as police battled to keep control of the streets.
"I'll keep doing this every day until I get caught," one rioter told him. "When I get home nothing is going to happen to me."
Mr Joseph Brincat
Aug 10th 2011, 13:17
WELL THE NEW GENERATION TURNED LONDON
IN TO A POLICE STATE ? ? ? ?
D.Stallion stewart
Aug 10th 2011, 13:14
May i ask, who exactly said that the Maltese are safe in London but cautious, please try and get your facts right, because i heared that some of the rioters amongst them were a small minority of young Maltese who werer actually born there, lootging and causing trouble. mostly from the east end of London and some in Manchester according to twitter.
carmelo duca
Aug 10th 2011, 13:53
what ever nationality they are they are scmbags. i am maltese and proud of it .i was lucky enough to be born in a country were we had respect fof everybody and i still have.it is so upsetting to see this horrible horrible things happening in a countrythat welcme millions of people to give them a chance for a better future and look how they are paying back, MALTA PLEASE NOTE
Karl Flores
Aug 10th 2011, 14:18
Maltese born born there are English citizens.
Karl Flores
Aug 10th 2011, 14:21
Of the thousands of English youngsters causing havoc, is it the small minority of Maltese that worried you most?
Mr Stephen Borg
Aug 10th 2011, 13:06
No one should ever condone or accept these riots because they only leave distruction in their wake and do nothing to improve the standard of living of the frustrated people taking part in these riots. We shall never try to condone such acts, we only have to try to understand why such acts are happening. One example could be because there are many people nowadays that are living or are being pushed to live on the poverty line and then on the other hand there are others which are filthy rich and are still becoming richer. In history the World has already gone through such occasions let us hope that on this occasion common sense prevailes and the politicians on a World wide scale start to rectify these very very grave and volotile situations which the World is facing.
Mr M Briffa Viva malta
Aug 10th 2011, 20:15
Karl Flores quite right the small minority of Maltese that worry us most, i don't give two hoots about the majority of the Brits.causing mayhem thats for them to sort out.
DR EMMANUEL BEZZINA,MA,MAG.JUR.[EU Law],LL.D.,
Aug 10th 2011, 12:08
As everyone knows LONDON is not VALLETTA..........Central London is absolutely safe. No doubt the authorities would not allow anything ``spectacular`` to occur and I am sure down-to-earth plans have been drawn up including and incorporating the three services should the real necessity demand this.Regrettably devastation has been caused outside Central London and Malta should learn from what is occurring,not because of illegal immigration but because of the immense disparity arising day by day between those who cannot do otherwise and those who are abusing of their positions and situations.There is an invisible demarcation line: let all involved see to it that it be not crossed.
D.Stallion stewart
Aug 11th 2011, 13:32
Well said Mr.Briffa, its the Maltese that are in the UK that is our main concern and not the British, thats their look out. Yes?
Mr Lawrence Calleja
Aug 10th 2011, 11:42
I have just came back to Malta from central London. All I can say is that those on holiday in central London arenot affected whatsoever by the riots in Tottenham and other areas. I came to know about these riots from the tv news otherwise I would have not known that something was wrong. Those who are visiting London or who have family members over there need not to worry at all.
Mr K Littlejohn
Aug 10th 2011, 11:14
This is the result of England's failure to fight criminality. The result of abundant Political correctness. Most of those condemning the violence are the same individuals who brought Britain in this shameful and pity situation. Thugs and robbers found their one time chance to make crime in anarchy style. You know they like it.
Its not about Mike Duggan anymore. They could not careless about him. Its just sheer opportunism.
Ms D Galea
Aug 10th 2011, 09:56
One guess as to who will be footing the bill for the damages and for free legal aid to the vandals and hooligans who caused it in the first place. The law abiding tax payer.
Hurrah for a liberal progressive modern EU society where anything goes .
Asta Peterson
Aug 10th 2011, 15:57
I disagree Karl Flores Maltese born in the UK are Not I repeat Not English, but deemed as British citizens unless the father is an Englishman, in that case the father has rights to his children under 16. however if both parents are of Maltese decent and the children born outside Malta they will still adopt the nationalitiy of their parents primerily unless they are naturalized British citizens with a British passport.check with the British Embassy.I am a British citizen my parents were both Maltese, but please do not call me English cause i was born in Plymouth,.i am still Maltese and bloody well proud of it too.
Karl Flores
Aug 10th 2011, 16:29
You are right Asta Peterson. I realised I was mistaken a few minutes later but the few minutes were too late.
Mr Eric Soames
Aug 10th 2011, 09:20
As I watched news clips of cops watching the destruction, I wondered where the rubber bullets, water cannon and tear gas were.
Carlo Laurenti
Aug 10th 2011, 09:49
The Prime Minister has finally authorised the use of plastic bullets to be used if necessary. What we do hope is that this incident would serve as a wake up call to the present government and re-consider the considerable cost cutting scheduled to be implemented across the Police forces across the UK
Liam Kelly
Aug 10th 2011, 11:49
The one thing nearly as shocking as the scum who are rioting is the woeful response of the police. It just goes to show that the police force in the UK are nothing but a reaction force after a crime has been committed....and even that they are not very good at.
With 1 police officer for every 250 odd people nearly every street should have a policeman visible; at least then he/she would be able to act as deterrant to a mob forming, but also would get to know the community they are supposidly serving and get to know who the trouble makers really are. But instead they are off locked up in their offices doing important work on facebook.
But ones thing for sure; if this was a major event/royal event they would not hold back as they are doing so now, they would not let anything kick off, but since this is only affecting Joe Public they really couldn't care less.
Reg Fitzpatrick
Aug 10th 2011, 09:17
Malta! Look, watch, listen and learn.
This could be Malta a generation further on if you don't strictly control illegal immigration NOW!
l vella
Aug 10th 2011, 09:37
omg where did you get that from ? what does illegal immigration have to do with the riots in UK ? but some people are just obsessed with skin colour *sigh*
Robert Louis Fenech
Aug 10th 2011, 09:37
Good sir, you disgust me.
Malta! Look, watch, listen and learn!
This could be Malta a generation further on if you don't fix the income disparity between the rich and the poor! People are fed up of being "consumers" and "resources".
Carlo Laurenti
Aug 10th 2011, 09:46
Dear Mr. Fitzpatrick, the criminals involved here are not imigrants and immigration has absolutely nothing to do with it at all! Ironically, most of them are spoilt, benefit sucking lazy brain dead English drop outs who have never worked in their lives or as I mentioned previously are as young as 9 years old!
Jonathan Deeley
Aug 10th 2011, 09:48
This is simplistic racial stereotyping which serves no purpose other than to 'stoke the fire'. Perhaps you were watching different news channels but I noticed that many of these rioters were white British. This disorder in Britain is the result disastrous social policy in Britain over many decades which has resulted in a generation of youths who have no respect for either parents or police.
Summer evenings in Malta are typified by families outside enjoying themselves. Parents know where their children are, and vice versa.
Reg, I share the shame of what I am seeing on TV, but to blame it on 'race' does not even begin to get to the root of the problem.
Reg Fitzpatrick
Aug 10th 2011, 10:35
The majority of these rioters are 1st and 2nd generation descendants of the immigrants that flooded Britian in the 60s, 70s and 80s.
Having lived in Britain for 40 years I know these areas. After the first day of rioting I predicted the exact areas that would be next, just as in the 1980s riots which I lived through. Toxteth in Liverpool, St Pauls in Bristol, Handsworth in Birmingham, St Annes in Nottingham, etc, etc. These are predominantly areas where the descendants of these immigrants now live. Albeit, deprived and jobless areas, mainly of their own making, but that doesn't justify the riots.
Yes I watched it on the BBC, Sky News, etc and yes, they were predominantly black youths.
So all I said was "Malta watch, look,listen and learn from it all. We do have lessons to learn here! Our future, and our children's future here in Malta depends on it.
Jonathan Deeley
Aug 10th 2011, 11:01
Reg, unfortunately your opinions are riddled with contradictions: you believe that the rioters in Britain are predominantly second and/or third generation 'immigrants', even were this the case, which is dubious, then their parents were presumably 'legal immigrants' encouraged to come from the colonies to work in Britain during the aftermath of WW2. Therefore, whichever way you look at it they are not 'illegal'. They may feel disenfranchised but that is altogether another matter.
The problems in Britain run far deeper than simply playing the 'race card' and I would urge you not to indulge in this stereotyping.
Mr charles vella
Aug 10th 2011, 11:12
I hope you are not serious in what you just said! First of all, the majority are White British Hooded gangsters... Also the reason to this is because labour government cut stipends, reduced allowances and increased taxes. So think before causing racist discrimination. Immigrants in Malta just want a better life, and who are we to keep that away from them? They do the best to integrate, though most of us don't let them and we should learn to live in a more diverse society.
Mr charles vella
Aug 10th 2011, 11:30
so sorry, i meant to say the conservatives... Must correct my self there.
Mr Steve Attard
Aug 10th 2011, 11:34
I simly agree with what you're saying.
Nathalie Frendo
Aug 10th 2011, 12:18
Mr Fitzpatrick racist comments are uncalled for. I think its the freckled white hooligans who at the helm of these riots in the UK. The usual uneducated people who are always ready to get into trouble and hope to get better. Thankfully in the UK they are locked up and taken care of. If it were to happen here I think they ould be given a suspended sentence.
Mr William Pierce
Aug 10th 2011, 12:43
The opposite of what Jonathan Deeley states is actually true. Years of political correctness have made it impossible to address the problems which has led to the riots. Anyone with a brain knows from where the problem stems and that is mass immigration. Of course, White criminal opportunists will join in for the profit factor but these are nothing more, nothing less than race riots.There are no inner city areas where the population is English anywhere in England. They are all multicult hell holes. The only English People left are those poor souls who cannot afford to go anywhere else.
The Deeley's of this world are deluded to the extent that their opinions are fantasy, but the multicult is a fantasy of dreamers, a nightmare in reality.
Mr Tony Camilleri
Aug 10th 2011, 13:48
Reg Fitzpatrick you are perfectly correct.
l vella, Robert Louis Fenech, Carlo Laurenti, Jonathan Deeley, Go watch the videos on the BBC and the other media and you will see that mostly they are descendants of foreign immigrats. Not saying that British yobs did not participate but go see the videos and photos. This PC should STOP because yes, that is exactly what we will be the future for Malta and our children if we do not expel all illegal immigrats.
Reg Fitzpatrick
Aug 10th 2011, 17:56
@ Jonathan Deeley
Jonathan, please read my comments before commenting on them.
I never said those UK immigrants were illegal. I said (above) “The majority of these rioters are 1st and 2nd generation descendants of the immigrants that flooded Britain in the 60s, 70s and 80s”. All I am saying is that these youths are the descendants of those immigrants and there has been little integration of their close-knit neighbourhoods into general society.
So I am not “playing a race card” I am just being factual.
@Mr Charles Vella
“Immigrants in Malta just want a better life, and who are we to keep that away from them? They do the best to integrate”
I don’t think so! Just read the article in today’s Times of Malta entitled “Studies confirm how integration between the Maltese and migrants is not happening”. And more importantly read the comments after it!
St Paul’s Bay is already becoming a ghetto! That is probably where our own future riots will start.
Jonathan Deeley
Aug 10th 2011, 18:26
Reg. we can debate the ethnic mix of the rioters for the next month and still not reach a definitive conclusion. However, isn't it ironic that the only shop in Clapham which wasn't looted was a branch of 'Waterstones Bookshop' ? These mindless thugs are the dispossessed who, regardless of skin colour, have become disenfranchised from what we call 'civilised society'. The most urgent priority is that we address the causes of this wanton destruction as soon as possible. I, for one, do not believe it to be a simple 'race' issue. However, you are entitled to your opinions and, like myself, I am sure that your heart is bleeding for the Britain which we both know and still love.
Reg Fitzpatrick
Aug 10th 2011, 19:41
@ Jonathan Deeley
Jonathan, even if I don't agree with your reasoning about the cause, I totally agree with, and applaud, the rest of your comment.
Carlo Laurenti
Aug 10th 2011, 09:11
Unfortunately these people, who are primarily young kids aged between 9 and 15, believe it or not, are nothing more than brain dead, deprived kids coming from obviously problematic family backgrounds!
There is no excuse, they have been attacking ambulance staff, and innocent people and their properties. The Police are now publishing photos of numerous idiots who have been causing this mess but unfortunately the Police have their hands tied they have already charged over 700 idiots but most of which have been returned on the street, thanks to the "great" English justice system!
Carlo Laurenti - Derbyshire UK
Matthew Micallef
Aug 10th 2011, 09:37
Idiots?? There's no excuse to the damage that these 'kids' are causing, but if justice should be done, along with these people politicians should be arrested. Do you really think that these riots are as the british police are saying, senseless?? This is what you get when people are pushed beyond the limit of rationalization. The looting and violence is just a side effect of rioting. What the government should be doing is fighting fire with fire to quell the scenario and to tackle the true problems at hand, which is borderline poverty which is living just meters away from people spending hundreds of thousands of pounds on cars and properties. "Lessons not learnt in blood are soon forgotten", it's a horrible truth, and the only people who should feel guilty over all this damage are the ones responsible, politicians.
Matthew Micallef
Aug 10th 2011, 11:28
And to clear misconceptions, parents need to take responsibility and start beating some sense into their own kids instead of expecting government to teach their kids for them. People expect schools to bring up perfect little children with very little intervention from parents, and then when they see that all that schooling isn't working, you have the audacity to blame teachers for their children's poor upbringing. Stop being a nanny state and grow a pair. You had all the signs, spoiled brats for kids, little girls dressing provocatively, children swearing like sailors. Don't act so surprised that authority represents so little to them.
Charles Micallef
Aug 10th 2011, 09:10
The British Home Secretary, Theresa May in her statement to the press last Monday has got the wrong approach to the blatant theft and barefaced distraction which is now spread to most of UK's leading cities by a particular sector of the community!
The days when ‘we do things the British Way’ are well and truly over, which means that we take the villains to Court, “they get a no not do it again stamp” and are out on the streets the following day repeating the same vandalism that they performed the day before. They have now to wake up to the reality that was predicted by Enoch Powell some 40 years since. What ever the economic situation is in the UK, people have roofs over their heads, they are given free education, fed and clothed, their health is looked after, and even their houses are furnished compliments of the taxpayers in general.
They also do not have to live in tents and struggle to earn enough money to earn their daily crust as some people have to endure in third world countries, so why all this destruction? Many law abiding citizens in the UK are asking for a total new approach to curtail these riots, yes bring in the water canons and rubber bullets before it is far too late!
Mr Tony Gatt
Aug 10th 2011, 08:57
Already I have heard an Asian shopkeeper saying one of his friends had been arrested for trying to defend his shop.
Incredible as it may seem, the yobs get more protection than law-abiding citizens in the U.K. If Police injure someone they are immediately suspended pending an inquiry.
The "bleeding hearts" have been peddling the myth for years that if we are soft on crime it will go away. I hope things change and very soon.
I'm off to Liverpool today- if it's still there! (only joking).
Mr Joseph Thwaites
Aug 10th 2011, 16:11
Have a good time Tony, we're still here!
YNWA
Mr Peter Murray
Aug 10th 2011, 08:44
Same could be said of the British in Malta -but in the face of financial violence.
Andrew Azzopardi
Aug 10th 2011, 09:25
@ P Murray - I feel so embarrassed for you for comparing what you call ;financial violence' to thuggery, looting and blatant violence here in London and elsewhere in the UK. You certainly lack tact and probably a certain amount of grey matter.
Things are pretty worrying here and I wonder how Fiona decided that no Maltese live in the areas that were hit. I live between Clapham Junction and Wimbledon and we certainly do not feel safe. Thank God things calmed down last night. Let's hope that things settle down for good.
Jonathan Deeley
Aug 10th 2011, 11:17
Personally I have spent the last few days thanking my lucky stars that I live in a peaceful, stable, family-orientated country such as Malta !