Yob gangs exist in every society but the indiscriminate violence which tore through the UK is unlikely to spread to a place like Malta. Rephrasing the seemingly prophetic song by British rock band Kaiser Chiefs, experts tell Christian Peregin, they don’t predict a riot here.
With the spirit of revolution still lingering in the air, it was easy to see the riots in Britain as Europe’s summer answer to the Arab spring revolution. But much as Iran and Libya were quick to cheekily point at the similarities, it soon became evident this was very different.
A few rioters were overshadowed by arsonists and looters, with copycat violence erupting around London and beyond. The public outrage was unanimous and unequivocal. Condemnation came even from Mark Duggan’s family, the ones with the most legitimate bone to pick, having had to learn from the news that their son was killed by the police in Tottenham on Saturday.
Instead of targeting government buildings and calling for democracy, British youths pillaged corner stores, stole branded sneakers or plasma TV sets and had very little by way of explanation, except: “Everyone else is doing it.”
The hooded villains – largely believed to be undisciplined and unemployed youths trying to impress – were a far cry from the revolutionaries in Tunisia and beyond.
But in an age of contagion, can’t their actions spread like the fires they started? What is preventing the unemployed youth in France, Spain and Greece from doing the same? And why not Malta?
Marilyn Clark, who lectures social psychology at the Department of Youth and Community Studies at the University of Malta, says these thugs damaged their own neighbourhoods, showing clear lack of attachment to their communities.
“When one is disengaged from society this allows one to deviate from the norms of that same society,” she explains, pointing out that such behaviour could be spurred by poverty, social exclusion, lack of opportunities and discrimination.
In London, beneath the glitz and glamour, there has been a growing gulf between the privileged and the deprived, according to lawyer and social commentator David Friggieri. He points out that Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Zizek called this a new form of apartheid, which has taken root in the no-go zones of major city slums.
In a place where consumerism has been taken to “a whole new level”, the Londoners who feel like losers for not owning anything have become “consumerist anarchists”.
“The dynamics of the Paris (2005) and London riots are largely symptomatic of the tension that lies at the heart of these huge cities. For a number of reasons - geographical, social and cultural – there is nothing like that kind of tension in a place like Malta.”
Social anthropologist John Micallef gives the reasons.
When the UK police publicly asked parents to make sure their children were home, the efficacy was debatable, he says. “(But) the strong influence carried by parents and next of kin within the local context would serve as a very significant deterrent to similar mass violent rioting.”
“Even if one were to resort to covering his or her identifiable features, it would be extremely difficult to engage in such public rioting without getting recognised by someone and subsequently stopped,” he adds, showing how the tiny size of Malta acts against any form of anonymity.
Even the political context is different, with people engaged within the political structure on so many different levels.
“We have local politicians who regularly go round their electoral districts and interact with their present and potential electors,” he adds. So with such a small gap between politicians and regular people, there will never be the necessary passion for riot frenzy.
His argument can be expanded. Besides being politically engaged, many Maltese youths identify strongly with their towns and villages, participating in local festi and other religious events where they are in constant contact with the rest of the community. In the Maltese context, looting from a nearby shop would mean looting from someone you know – or maybe even a family member.
But Mark Camilleri, a history graduate who has done his fair share of protesting (mostly against censorship), thinks the devil is in the money. A self-proclaimed Marxist, Mr Camilleri says looting and vandalism tainted the riots in London but this does not mean the rioters are not politically-motivated. Even the Sette Guigno riots saw looting and destruction of private property in Valletta back in 1919, he notes.
He sees the London riots as the work of the “lumpenproletariat people who do not work and are therefore not considered to have any value.
“In Malta such disturbances don’t occur because youths are in a better position to find jobs and penetrate the labour market but things will eventually become more problematic if poverty and the cost of living keep increasing.”
Only one thing is certain as Londoners lick their wounds and sweep their streets looking for answers: these scary events cannot go ignored.