Racist graffiti, including Nazi symbols and racial slurs, has been found on playground equipment at a Victoria playground, with the town's mayor saying he believes it is the work of children. 

The graffiti, which was discovered on Monday morning, features multiple swastikas, racial slurs, and phrases such as “I hate [N-words]” and “Middle school is racist to Maltese.”

A mixed-race mother of children of African origin, who asked to remain anonymous, alerted Times of Malta about the incident.

“What is so bad is that I wasn’t even shocked when I saw it,” she said, adding that she has encountered several instances of racism in Gozo over the past months. 

Censored racial slur at the playing field

The mother, a regular visitor to the playing fields, said her children are too young to read the graffiti. However, while at the playground, she noticed an Indian family present.

“Their children, on the other hand, were unfortunately old enough to read and understand the graffiti,” she said.

Victoria mayor Brian Azzopardi speculated that the graffiti was likely done by children, but stopped short of labelling the incident as explicitly racist.

“I see it more as an act of vandalism rather than racist vandalism,” he said.

“If children did it, which 99.9 per cent they did, they probably didn’t even know what the Nazis stood for. It’s likely just coming from frustration and rebellion.”

Subtle swastikas on the playingfield

“In Gozo, we have a problem of young people not having anywhere to go or anything to do,” he added.

The mother who flagged the vandalism also told Times of Malta she believes children were behind it. 

“It is sad, because it made me feel that we aren’t even welcome by young people,” she said. 

The mayor said the playground was regularly targeted by vandals, despite its gates being locked at 8pm. 

He said the graffiti would be removed by the end of the week, adding that the playing fields are due for an upgrade, including enhanced lighting and security cameras to deter such incidents.