There has never been any problem between Muslim and Catholic students at the St Paul’s Bay primary school as they are oblivious to religious or ethnic conflicts, a group of concerned parents told the Times of Malta today.
Speaking outside the bustling school, a group of around a dozen parents shot down rumours of religious and cultural dischord between students.
“My son has always come to this school and I can tell you he is best friends with a Muslim boy. These children don't think in terms of conflict between religions. That is something we adults poison their minds with. They are all friends and couldn't be happier,” one parent who regularly volunteers at the school said.
The parents gathered to voice concerns over claims that Maltese students were being bullied by Muslim children for eating ham sandwiches as part of their school lunches.
The issue was mentioned in passing by a local priest during a homily but gained momentum on a number of right-wing social media groups calling Maltese to “stand up against the cultural invasion”.
The issue coincided with a separate controversy surrounding a group of Muslims’ search for a new outdoor prayer space – a search which sparked a protest by members of the Għaqda Patrijoti Maltin last Saturday.
Times Talk will be discussing the topic at 10.05pm this evening.
Catherine Micallef, whose son also attends the St Paul’s Bay school, said she had never heard her son mention any problems with Muslim students.
“On the contrary, they mix together, they have parties together and are friends. Whoever is saying this is an issue clearly doesn’t know the school at all,” she said.
The St Paul’s Bay school has one of the island’s largest catchment areas and accommodates more than 1,100 students, more than half of which are described as “foreign or of different ethnic background”.
Despite this, the school still has all the trademarks of a Maltese educational institution. Crucifixes hang in class rooms and prayers are said every morning.
Assistant head Mark Azzopardi described the school as a pioneer.
“This school used to be labelled as one full of children from broken homes because it was in an area known to host many people starting out on a new life. Now this is a phenomenon which has spread all over the island.
"Many school districts are now starting to experience the issue of migrants and students of different ethnicities. We, however, have been dealing with this for years now,” he said.
Mr Azzopardi, who has been at the school for 13 years, said the administration had created an ethics class to cater for students who opted not to study religion. Students who came to the school without a basic grasp of English or Maltese were sent to the induction centre – a dedicated section of the school geared towards helping students with communication barriers.
“To us there aren’t ethnic student problems, just the ordinary problems presented by any group of students, to us they are all the same, we treat them as such and that is how they feel,” he said.