‘This Is The Thanks We Get,’ Marsa Mayor Says After Erratic Man Forced To Clean Up Thrown Trash
The mayor of Marsa has shared his thoughts after police recieved several reports over an erratic man who was throwing items and rubbish from Marsa Bridge.
The police were able to subdue the man, who seems to be having a crisis, and made him sweep up the trash he had thrown all over the street. In footage from the scene, the man can be heard to be shouting and making sounds as police speak to him.
“Stay calm,” they tell the man as he furiously sweeps the street.
“This is the thanks we get for saving him, for letting him live in our town,” mayor Josef Azzopardi said after the event, before opening up about what he believed to be the futility of the exercise.
“Now, the police will speak to him, and tomorrow we’ll see him back outside. They’ll go up to Mount Carmel, and they’ll release him a few days later. They’ll go to court, give him a small fine and back out he goes… and then he’s running around in our streets again,” Azzopardi said.
“We’re working hard for this town and this man and some others are causing harm. This needs to stop, we’re getting tired of the same story every day,” he continued, before thanking the police for their assistance.
His comments led to several Marsa residents opening up about their experience living in the town, which is at the forefront of Malta’s migrant situation, yet has yet to find much success with integrating people from abroad.
“I just saw him in the streets 30 minutes ago, swearing that he had been posted on Facebook,” said one commentator.
“Josef, I need cameras installed in the street near me, as – mind my language – it’s full of feces and urine,” said another resident who took the opportunity to speak up.
Azzopardi has previously spoken about what he saw as a failure to integrate migrant communities with the Marsa community.
“I think I’ve annoyed the police, honestly, I call them practically every day,” he had said in a live interview on Lovin Daily.
“We have horse patrols, dog patrols, local patrols and the Rapid Intervention Unit’s rounds – but they aren’t doing the rounds because of the residents. The residents are the victims here,” he said. “What’s the real problem? The problem is that you have a number of migrants living in low standard housing, and they end up on the street and taking on every bad behaviour possible.”
Watch the full interview with the mayor below:
What needs to be done in Marsa to lead to a more peaceful community?
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