According to a distraught motorist who recently sought help from the police after three migrants damaged his car in Hal Far, a police sergeant advised him to “try to avoid Birzebbuga and Marsa, as after sunset both places do not belong to us anymore”.

The motorist wrote to this newspaper, saying he was on his way to Birzebbuga as he was driving from Hal Far Road to Tal-Gebel Road on Saturday 4 August at about 9pm.

He said that three migrants suddenly appeared in the middle of the road ahead and he had no alternative but to stop and ask them to move.

As he locked the windows of the car and flashed the lights, two of them moved, while the third held on to the vehicle’s bull bar, stood there for a while, then moved to the side of the car and started punching the bonnet.

The motorist said he was shocked when one of the policemen he spoke to in Birzebbuga sarcastically asked: “Do you think I’m in a position to go to Hal Far barracks at this time of night and identify the coloured people who committed the offence?”

After drafting a report, the police simply advised the motorist to go back to the police station the following Wednesday evening, so that they could inspect the damage to the car.

The man was not convinced and sought the help of a sergeant at the Zejtun police station, who, he said, was very helpful, had a look at the car and suggested that the fingerprints left on it could help identify the perpetrator.

However, when he spoke to his superiors, according to the motorist, the police sergeant was told that this would not be necessary and he was simply told to collect the report the following Monday.

The motorist said the next thing he did was to contact the police headquarters and after listening to military marches on the telephone operator service for over an hour, he was put through to the forensic division.

The sergeant on duty listened patiently, according to the motorist, but simply informed him that he could not help him out unless he was authorised to do so by the inspector on duty in the southern region.

It was at this point that the sergeant acknowledged that the motorist was right, but the Birzebbuga and Marsa area should be avoided, because both places do not belong to “us” anymore after sunset.

In his letter, the motorist added that when he recounted his ordeal to people living in Birzebbuga, he got to know that such incidents are on the increase.

This incident and particularly the behaviour of the police in this regard, certainly makes you think and wonder who, if not the police is supposed to protect citizens in any situation. One must ask, why the police do not feel they can control Marsa and Birzebbuga. Is it fear, discrimination or have they simply given up.