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Woman Recalls Frightening Moment She Was Harassed In Qawra For Cleaning Up Waste

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“This has upset me so much, I am still shaking,” a woman on popular environmentalist group Malta Clean Up told the 6,000 member strong forum on Monday. The woman had just been harassed by a man on the street, who went up to her and gave her grief after he spotted her… cleaning up.

“I just nipped out to spend 15 minutes clearing up some plastic bottles from a nearby bit of waste ground,” the foreign woman who has been living in Qawra for the last six years, explained. “I had nearly filled the bag when a man approached me and asked what I was doing, so I explained. He then started shouting at me, that I was not to touch it as it was Maltese rubbish and hopefully all the foreigners would go back to their own countries, then the Maltese could have their own country back and they would clean it.”

The woman went to say that, according to the Maltese man, “they (Maltese) were deliberately throwing rubbish around so that the foreigners would leave.” The man allegedly shouted at her face, which she said was “very upsetting.”

“I tried to walk away but he kept on following me,” the woman continued. “He then grabbed my bag and emptied it on the floor and told me not to touch it, then he walked away.”

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The area where it happened is just round the corner from the Qawra church

Less than 12 hours after it appeared online, the post had already garnered over 100 negative reactions, with dozens of comments condemning the Maltese man. “I am Maltese and I apologise for what this human did to you,” one comment, with others echoing that same sentiment.

Other people took to the comments section to argue about the man’s mental health, claiming that condemning him without really knowing the full picture was just as wrong. The woman herself soon returned to the comments section, thanking people for their messages and saying she did not report anything to the police.

“I have not reported it as I don’t think my description of a middle-aged Maltese man wearing shorts would go far in finding him,” she told the Facebook group. “I have lived in the area for nearly 6 years and have many lovely Maltese friends and have never come across this behaviour before. There are many new apartments around here so he could be a newcomer to this area – but that is not an excuse for his behaviour!”

“However, I don’t think I will be walking across the waste ground for a while as it has knocked my confidence,” the woman sadly remarked.

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“Civilians doing right shouldn’t be feeling unsafe,” Malta Clean Up admin and coordinator Camilla Appelgren told Lovin Malta. “This has now reached a sad and silly level.”

After one particular member mentioned the possibility of a response in the form of what the activists do best, the decision was made.

“As a response from Malta Clean Up, we are arranging a mass call for a clean up in that site in Qawra by our members,” Camilla told Lovin Malta. “We will take a stand for the right to practice civic pride safely. Be it cleaning up or speaking up when people break the law.”

The event, aptly named Qawra Cleanup – One For All, All For One is scheduled to happen this Saturday at 6pm. “As you might know, one of our members was harassed while doing a mini clean up in this area,” Camilla wrote in the event description. “That’s not ok!”

Appelgren does however want to make it a point that this is not some sort of aggressive retaliation. “We are not aiming to find this person guys, we are doing a clean-up in the area,” she assured other members. “No angry emotions, we’re simply meeting up to show support.”

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What do you make of this situation? Let us know in the comments below

READ NEXT: 8 Simple Things Every Maltese Person Can Do To Save The Environment

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Lovin Malta's Head of Content, Dave has been in journalism for the better half of the last decade. Prefers Instagram, but has been known to doomscroll on TikTok. Loves chicken, women's clothes and Kanye West (most of the time).

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