Three incidents involving three bus drivers in just two days have laid bare an ugly truth constantly simmering beneath the surface of Maltese society: racism and deep-rooted prejudice.
The first incident saw a bus driver berated and insulted by hundreds online for “blocking” the path of an ambulance as he was videoed speaking to the control room. The anger would have been justified were it not for the fact the bus was stuck behind a concrete truck and couldn’t move.
Within hours, a frustrated passenger on a different vehicle shattered its door because the bus driver would not let him on. The bus was full up.
In the third incident, a passenger was videoed instructing a bus driver to stop the vehicle because he had spotted a €50 note in the street. When the driver refused to follow orders, he was assaulted even though the vehicle was in motion. It was astounding how not a single passenger tried to stop him.
“If you call the police, I will kill you,” the foul-mouthed man is heard threatening the driver, before making derogatory comments about the driver being Indian. In all three cases, the drivers were Asian. While the act was condemned by many, it was astounding to see the number of people turning their guns on the wrong targets: the drivers.
They lashed out at their ‘culture’, their race and skin colour and, of course, the usual cliche that they should go back to their country.
Comments were laced with offensive and childish remarks, with many throwing the word “curry” in just to stir the toxic narrative.
Would the online abuse have been just as virulent if the drivers happened to be Maltese? Probably not!
A decade ago, it was Africans who bore the brunt of the abuse. Now, the tirades are directed towards Asian workers
Social media has long been a breeding ground for xenophobic comments. A decade ago, it was Africans who bore the brunt of the abuse. Now, the tirades are directed towards Asian workers.
This isn’t mere speculation; it’s the stench of racial prejudice, fuelled by misguided beliefs that foreigners are threatening our culture and identity.
Who staffs nursing homes and hospitals? Who collects our waste? Who drives our buses and taxis? Who delivers take-aways to our doorstep while getting paid a pittance? Who is risking life and limb to work in the construction sector? The answer stares us back in the face. It’s these very same “outsiders” that are demonised at every turn.
The sooner we realise that a big chunk of our economy and the very pillars of our health and care industries rely on non-Maltese (especially third-country nationals), the sooner we can stop spouting nonsense. The sooner we acknowledge we built an economic model reliant on cheap labour, (jobs that frankly, most Maltese are not interested in taking up) the sooner we can stop our misguided attacks.
Of course, many Maltese do not condone such scapegoating. But too many of us who disapprove of it choose to remain silent and let the online bullies do the talking instead.
We said it in previous editorials, and we will keep repeating it – it is not enough to just turn a blind eye to racism. We need to call it out, confront it and report it if it verges on hate speech. We need to hear the voices of educators, employers and especially politicians, whose silence on racism is deafening.
We are writing this as we mark the fifth anniversary of one of Malta’s darkest chapters. Evidence so far shows Lassana Cisse was killed simply because of the colour of his skin.
At the time, then Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said: “We have a historical opportunity to plant a tree of hope from a story of fear.”
Clearly, we missed that opportunity. Cisse was a black construction worker. We can only hope that a delivery man or bus driver is not the next victim of prejudice.