The beauty of Maltese media, pt. 2

10/14/2007 | Malta | 1 Comment

The beauty of Maltese media, pt 1

10/14/2007 | Malta | No Comments

Maltese policeman in international relations shocker!

It’s been a long time, old friends …

Since the last update I got engaged in a pub, went to an Irish wedding and imported a British car from Greece to Belgium.

In Malta, police sergeant Sant has been thrown into prison for beating up an old French lady. The French are boycotting Maltese products, which is requiring no great changes in purchasing behaviour.

Malta – nul points.

07/11/2007 | Malta | 1 Comment

Maltese morality confusion

It’s a few days and counting until I’m back in Malta. Normally, any trip to the rock wouldn’t be complete without a trip to watch some near-naked ladies gyrate on stage, whilst I imbibe overpriced beers and make small talk with Lenka or Svetlana from somewhere in Eastern Europe.

The lap-dancing bars in Malta are amongst the most conservative in any country I’ve visiited. Italy has them attached to petrol stations and Thailand, well enough said. But on the Rock, the girls don’t take their clothes off, don’t touch you, and are peopled almost exclusively by young drunk students and the occasional member of the Rafia and their entouraage.

But it looks like this year will be different, following police raids on my favourite establishments.

This article from the Independent gives you the rundown. If you’ve got a couple of minutes I recommend you read it entirely.

Here’s the summary:

  • 35 women have been arrested, charged with performing immoral acts in public and participating in a brothel.
  • Plain clothes police were ordered to arrest “anyone wearing a thong.”
  • One woman was arrested, who “was not dressed inappropriately but who featured on several photographs that [the policeman] found on a computer.” In the photographs the woman was wearing “tight shorts and a short top.”
  • “The shorts were tighter than those of a gymnast.”
  • “The fact that they were dancing means they were participating in immoral acts because of the way they were dressed.”
  • “Wearing a thong on the beach is one thing but wearing a thong in a public place is illegal.”

Now, I don’t want to sound like a loony lefty, and while I applaud the strength of family values in a country I love, this makes me shudder, smacking of a Taliban-esque régime of discriminate, cloudy interpretations of public morality.

So this winter, in Malta, I’ll mainly be wearing a thong.

12/14/2006 | Malta | No Comments

Tourist’s holiday ruined by newspaper

Maltese immigration issues

A Somali holidaymaker is complaining of having his trip to Malta “ruined” after a photo of him relieving himself was published in a national newspaper.

Mohamed Abdi Ibraham arrived only yesterday on the island, courtesy of the Armed Forces of Malta, and already is receiving “funny looks” from the locals, he said this morning.

“It’s an invasion of my privacy. I had no idea that within minutes of arriving I would have my photo plastered on the front page of the Times,” he said. “Now I’m afraid to take my family outside.”

Mr. Ibrahim had originally intended to spend his summer vacation in Lampedusa, Italy, but after a suggestion from one of Brigadier Carmel Vassallo’s representatives, he changed his plans at the last minute.

“I wasn’t sure about coming to Malta in the first place,” Mr. Ibrahim, who is staying with 22 members of his family at the Hal-Far detention centre, said. “Now this has happened I probably won’t be coming back.”

The local backlash has been fierce. Many residents are “stunned” that Mr. Ibrahim chose to act in such a manner. “It’s a disgusting abuse of hospitality,” said one Birkirkara resident. A spokesman for the Malta Maritime Authority said that Mr. Ibrahim’s behaviour was “thoughtless”. “Normally, you would hang off the edge of the boat, submerge yourself to the waist and pee whilst pretending not to,” he explained.

Despite the shock of the unwanted attention, Mr. Ibrahim has no plans to return immediately to Somalia, saying it was “pretty shit over there.”

(With thanks to the Times of Malta)

07/28/2006 | Malta | No Comments

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