That discrimination is alive and well in Malta is a fact, and any argument to the contrary would be simply delusional. Of course, just about every society in the world holds its own inherent discriminations but the fact that it exists elsewhere is absolutely no reason for us to turn a blind eye to the rearing of its ugly head in Malta.

Two very different groups of people yesterday held two separate events aimed at highlighting different forms of discrimination – homosexuals took to the streets of Valletta yesterday morning demanding to be treated on an equal basis with their fellow citizens, and a group of other NGOs working with migrants demanded action on racism and racist violence.

Although the two sections of society, homosexuals and Malta’s resident African migrants, may seem to be miles apart, they have one common denominator central to both their causes – discrimination, which needs to be stamped out in all its forms.

While discrimination against homosexuals is still very much prevalent in the form of the lack of cohabitation rights – an area that has been addressed by the government through relatively recent legislation, while more is believed to be on the way – as well as in schools and the workplace, it has not, at least as far as reports go, taken the more sinister, violent form that it has with regard to migrants.

The case highlighted yesterday by NGOs working with migrants, in which a migrant was assaulted in an apparently racially-motivated and violent attack in the environs of the Hal Far, follows another recent case in which a migrant was beaten to death in Paceville.

The Hal Far incident, in which the man was beaten with metal pipes, could have easily had the same result as the Paceville incident. Other heinous incidents such as the use of pepper spray and, shall we say, other liquids were also brought to light yesterday.

Such attacks appear to be becoming more systematic in nature. That the majority of such incidents, both violent and non-violent, go unreported is fact, as is the fact that the victims of such atrocities do not file reports for fear of repercussions, or because they feel the authorities would be reluctant to act.

If information provided yesterday is correct, that the police have not even questioned the victim of the Hal Far attack – although standard practice dictates that it is to be done as soon as a victim regains consciousness while the memories of the incident are still fresh – does not really encourage other victims to come forward.

When it comes to discrimination, especially in its more violent forms, the country’s powers of law and order need to clamp down and bring those responsible to justice quickly, and the Law Courts also need to ensure they use such cases before them to set examples and to make it clear that such behaviour will not be tolerated in a civil society.