Residents in Swieqi have backed the deployment of soldiers in the locality, telling WhosWho.mt that persistent antisocial behaviour has left authorities with little choice but to step up their presence in the area.
WhosWho.mt visited Swieqi on Thursday (today) and spoke to three men who live in an area where members of the Armed Forces of Malta are now patrolling alongside police officers. All three expressed support for the measure.
“They left us no choice,” one 63-year-old resident said when asked about the decision to use soldiers as an additional deterrent.
The residents described a series of incidents they said have become increasingly common in their neighbourhood, including vomit left on car bonnets, rubbish discarded in the streets, excessive noise and people appearing naked in public.
Recalling one particularly striking incident, one resident said that a few nights ago he had opened his front door to take his dog for a walk when the dog began barking uncontrollably.
Looking out onto the street, he said he saw a naked man and woman having sex on the bonnet of a car, directly beneath a street lamp. He also claimed there were “long lines of cocaine” beside them.
The conversation also turned to residents’ growing frustration with the people responsible for the disturbances.
“I don’t want to be racist,” one of the men said, before another interrupted: “Well, I am.”
The first resident then added: “but I’m afraid that I’m becoming racist.”
Asked why they believed the presence of police officers alone was no longer sufficient, the residents argued that officers no longer command the same level of deterrence they once did.
“No one is scared of them anymore. Some of them look like little kids. The police aren’t as scary as they were anymore,” they said.
Their concerns extended beyond Swieqi to neighbouring Paceville, which they said had changed significantly over the years. The residents argued that the entertainment district had become more intimidating due to the fights and drug-related activity they said they had witnessed.
Their support for the deployment contrasts with the position expressed by Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association president Tony Zahra, who told WhosWho.mt on Wednesday that he opposed the presence of soldiers in Swieqi.
When Mr Zahra’s comments were put to the residents, they said they disagreed with his position, arguing that businesses benefiting from tourist activity would naturally have a different perspective from people living with the disruption, as they "don't want to portray the country in a negative way."
The Armed Forces deployment follows concerns among Swieqi residents and the Local Council over antisocial behaviour in the area, particularly during the last few busy summer weeks.
