Stop Saying ‘U Ejja, Mhux Il-Ħamrun U L-Marsa’, PN MP Urges People After Murder
Nationalist MP Darren Carabott has urged the public not to normalise serious crimes in Ħamrun, Marsa and surrounding areas, describing these towns as “victims”.
“I’m sick of hearing comments like ‘u ejja, mhux Ħamrun and Marsa, x’tistenna?” (Come on, it’s Ħamrun and Marsa, what do you expect?),” said Carabott, who represents constituents of the first district, which includes both towns.
“It’s true that we always see crimes in these same areas. We started the week with a man raping an elderly woman [and man] in Ħamrun, continued it with a shootout and car chase in Marsa and robberies in Valletta and Floriana, and closed the week with a murder in Marsa,” Carabott said as he called for “serious” investment in enforcement resources.
“We must understand that these places are victims, that there is a lot of stigma around these localities and these comments continue normalising it. These localities have been burdened with the responsibility of many of the country’s social problems.”
“Can you imagine what people who live in these neighbourhoods and see all of this taking place in front of their eyes or a corner away from them think? How can we give them peace of mind that they won’t be next?”
Al Mahy Ezzo Saeed, a 28-year-old homeless Sudanese man, has been charged with murdering an Egyptian national by stabbing him four times in the chest during an argument that erupted on Sunday evening in Triq Patri Feliċjan Bilocca, Marsa.
Saeed is pleading not guilty.
The other cases Carabott mentioned include the arrest of Ryan Cremona in Paola after a car chase in Marsa which saw him run over an off-duty officer and the shocking case of Somali national Abdul Yousef Abib who was charged with raping an elderly man and woman on the streets of Ħamrun.
Following the rape case, another first district MP – PN’s Paula Mifsud Bonnici – said Ħamrun and surrounding towns have become “scary” to walk in. However, PL MP Cressida Galea later played down this statement as “sensationalist”.
“Politicians who sensationalise issues bother me,” Galea said during an interview on 103 Malta’s Heart. “There are a number of things one can say and do but I disagree with going to the extreme. Obviously everyone disagrees with the rape case but the institutions do their job too and the aggressor was arrested after a few hours.”
Cover photo: Darren Carabott – Facebook
Should there be a stronger police presence in Ħamrun and Marsa?
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