I’ve been trying to steer away from nights out in Valletta for some time. It’s not because I don’t love our beautiful capital city, far from it, but, between the clashing, loud music every few metres, the hordes of people and the fact that there’s never anywhere to park, I’ve given up.

It was a bit harder to enforce my usual veto during the Christmas season and I ended up going a few times. On one particular occasion, I remained more than a bit pensive about the city’s state of affairs, which was why I was so unsurprised when I read reports that four minors were attacked in Merchants Street.

My story occurred when I walked into a popular eatery for a takeaway burger. It was packed to the rafters with teenagers and I had to struggle and force my way through to get to the counter. No amount of polite platitudes would budge anyone. I felt instantly unsafe with the way they seemed to be organised into packs and the way they spoke to each other.

As I got to the counter, I saw a boy draped over it indolently, ignoring the cashier and seemingly intent on causing trouble. No one knew if he was there to order but the minute I stepped forward, I was met with a rude protest and that kind of bristling which you know could quickly turn into a fight.

I didn’t know what to do, so I motioned for him to go first and eventually retrieved my burger and hotfooted it out of there. Had a fight broken out, I wouldn’t have stood a chance against him or his buddies.

The seeds we sowed of the culture of impunity are already bearing their bitter fruits- Anna Marie Galea

Having experienced that, it’s very easy to imagine how quickly things must have escalated a few nights ago. Seemingly aimless, directionless and full of misplaced anger and aggression, gangs terrorising the capital city are not a new concept; however, it does feel more dangerous than when I was a teenager.

Back then, you might have gotten spat at for looking at someone the wrong way but, now, it would seem that merely existing is more than enough to enrage and incite a brawl.

The worst part is that our institutions know all about this and, yet, no real steps are ever taken, with people even claiming the police discourage you from making reports.

Whether you deem things dangerous or not, you can’t have packs of teenagers roaming the streets at all times of the day and night and not be willing to at least increase police presence.

I mean, a few projects and initiatives to help harness and manage all the energy, trauma and fury these teenagers carry would also be welcome  but the least we can do now is try to stop situations like this from becoming the norm.

I know that lawlessness seems to have become the order of the day in this country, as well as never ending court cases that, ultimately, find no one guilty, however, it would be lovely if we, at least, pretended to do something to protect our children from being stalked and randomly attacked for walking down the street.

It would seem the seeds we sowed of the culture of impunity are already bearing their bitter fruits.