Racism at its best

On Monday, at about 8.45 a.m. I was going to Mosta on bus no. 41 or 42.

A black lady with two children got on the bus with a pushchair. She tried to manoeuvre it into the gap where pushchairs should go. A Maltese man stood there with his foot in the way, obviously not going to move.

The lady asked him not to kick her pushchair and to move his foot, whereupon he started swearing at her and calling her a “.... black monkey” and other horrid things.

The people on the bus asked for calm and I thought they were siding with the lady. When the man got off the bus, the lady rightly said something to him and then all hell broke loose. Almost half the people on the bus joined in the abuse and told the lady to get back where she came from and called her “nigger” etc.

It was quite scary and I felt sorry for the lady and also for the two children. Experiencing this kind of behaviour cannot be good for them.

I thought most of the Maltese were Catholics and are known for their friendliness! I am not religious but even I know the bible says “Love thy neighbour”.

I have visited many places and never have I experienced racism like this. It made me ashamed to say I live in Malta.

I hope the people responsible read this but I doubt they will. I just wish I had had the courage to speak out on the bus. I did touch the lady’s arm when I got off and told her I didn’t agree with the Maltese people.