Racist graffiti, swastikas sprayed on Bombi underpass, cleaned by TCNs
Racist slurs such as 'F**k Indians, Nepal, Paki" sprayed onto the walls
Commuters using the popular Portes-des-Bombes underpass in recent days walked past racist and hateful graffiti as well as Nazi symbols sprayed on the walls, which third-country national activists later cleaned.
Sprayed in black on the tiles of the Floriana underpass, the graffiti read "Go back to your country", "F**k Muslims/Arabs", and "F**k Indians, Nepal, Paki". Two swatiskias were also sprayed on the walls.
A MaltaToday article reported on Monday how some TCNs took it upon themselves to clean the walls and remove the hateful graffiti. Manav Sanger, an active member of the TCN community and appointed as the General Workers' Union's TCN liaison officer, was one of the men who cleaned up the graffiti.
Sanger said that while he may understand a certain level of frustration from people who might have had a bad experience with TCNs, he urged unity and compassion.
The abuse and unfairness some TCNs experience at the workplace are not new. Many live in fear of deportation, and that keeps them silent from reporting abuses they face in employment and also in their housing situation.
While TCNs are known to fill an important gap in the market, they still face daily challenges which are ignored.
In April, a human rights lawyer told parliament how abusive employers were firing third-country national employees without informing them, so they would end up deported.
The racist slurs on the Bombi underpass. Photo: MaltaToday