The weekend papers have told the story of a 16-year-old girl described as lesbian who was with her friends in a Ħamrun square when they were first insulted by two brothers from a nearby balcony then attacked and injured.

There are not many squares in Ħamrun and even less with benches in them, so one assumes, maybe right, maybe wrongly, this attack happened in St Paul Square, otherwise known as Fra Diego Square because of the statue, and thus in full sight of the police station.

It was only yesterday that we learnt the two brothers will be charged.

But may we be permitted to raise some other points?

Regardless of this incident, the Ħamrun square area has become notorious for all kinds of shady dealings. People with knowledge of the area speak of illegal betting, especially during the World Cup and at election time, prostitution, drug running etc.

It would also be instructive to monitor the square given its vicinity to the nearby Social Assistance office and see who are those who are claiming social assistance when they do not deserve it and whose numbers reportedly run into many.

The police in the area and their superiors must understand that their duty should lead them to get out and enforce the law, rather than sit in the office and do their paperwork.

The local council and the local civic organizations must rise from their slumber and press for far better policing of the area – and that’s not just the double-parked cars and cars blocking the vision of cars coming out of the side-streets, even though there is this as well.

The area is sometimes left in the dark, reinforcing the overall impression that it is an area where anything goes.

In the absence of anything better from the organisations who should care about the wellbeing of the citizens, such as youth clubs etc, this incident also shows the wanton cruelty and beating up of innocent or weak persons by young people out, as in this case, to get a laugh.

One has one’s suspicions about the identity of these two young ‘braves’, but speaking generally of course, one tends to see people in many localities who somehow are either ‘protected’ or else seem to get away with, well almost, murder. Unfortunately, this is the story of many towns and villages. The police would know about these miscreants but are powerless to proceed. Unfortunately, this pre-election time tends to see politicians of all hues surrounded by many unsavoury characters who no doubt enjoy or act as if they enjoy some immunity with the authorities.

There are many other issues in this small story, but one thing intrigues us – how did the brothers notice from their balcony that the girl (or girls) was/were lesbians? Was it because of something in the girls’ actions? It can hardly be the girl/s wore a T-shirt saying ‘I am lesbian’.

Then too, though we are on thin ice here, to tell one and all at 16 that you are gay is rather an early age, especially in this wider social context of easy sex, unchecked violence, and underage sexual relations. Children of that age, from whatever social context, should not have been allowed out and about in such risky areas. One asks oneself, not just in this regard but also in this regard, where are the girls’ mothers? Where is the boys’ mother?

Our final point is to join the NGOs who have already spoken out and to condemn this upsurge in homophobic violence.