The social environment in the country is rapidly deteriorating and nobody seems to care.

With regular frequency we are reading and hearing about unruly brawls and violent incidents taking place not just in Paceville but also in Bugibba & Qawra and probably many others which do not get reported but only uploaded onto facebook or down at the police station.

The two incidents reported this week with the one in Bugibba involving two Syrians, right there in the square where ordinary people and tourists come to relax and enjoy the summer nights and the other in Paceville with the bouncers who lay into the two men last May are threatening not just our tourist industry but our social environment whilst concerns for safety are becoming more and more serious with each passing week.

It is a complex situation which includes not just the big fights that erupt between two or more persons who have an argument.  It also includes the noisy occupiers in the flat or house next door to ours who are occupying a perhaps 12 or more bedded house being used as a dormitory - not even a guesthouse - without any supervision whatsoever.  The occupants have a completely different time-table than ordinary citizens, as they party at night and sleep during the day, to return at any hour of the early morning, and continue with their amped up energy until they finally crash to sleep.  For them, it is a holiday.  But they are located in the midst of an urban street which previously housed one or two persons per unit and who respect each other as neighbours.

The aggravation is all around us and is spilling out onto the streets.  The stress caused not just by the noise of excavations and construction taking place but also the continuous changing terrain around us, further threatening our way of life and assaulting our senses.  Strangers in our own country where we cannot even sit at a kiosk or snack bar anymore and just have a beer or a coke and a hobza.  It has to be a plated meal at a formal table served by a foreigner.  People stare at you from across the counter if you ask for an qassatat or a spinach and tuna pie.  Instead they invite you to have a mojito. 

Definitely the access to alcohol has sky-rocketed with fewer and fewer places left for a quiet family or couples' summer evening spot by the sea, as we used to know Sliema and St. Julians to be.

Social cohesion is a thing of the past as fear creeps in and we see people as just consumers or foreigners and trouble-makers or worse-still, as enemies from a different political party (also amongst the imported variety).

All of which is fuelling this extreme behaviour leading to a one brawl after another, some, sadly with serious injuries and fatalities.

Additionally, it is not just the social environment which is unstable but also the perception of unlawfulness as an acceptable condition.  There is a language which people comprehend, maybe subconsciously and maybe from observation, about where the wind is blowing and what will be punishable and what not.  Certainly, the example being seen from those in office has contributed in changing the dynamics around us.  The shift is there and if things continue unaddressed as they are now, the situation could very well get right out of control with a total breakdown in normal norms of law and order.

Turning issues of law and order into personal attacks on those who dare to speak out or who are simply defending their rights, is like looking for a fight.  Maybe it's time to let it all out and stop pretending that there is some code of ethics or standard in public life.   There is none.  It is a bitter quarrel on a petty level that is taking place on a daily basis, a punch-up wearing a suit and tie.

The other day I was in a convenience store and overheard one of the owners saying that as a Nationalist some person or another deserved such and such a treatment and he would do it even more on him.  This is the mentality going round.

Earlier this week when the MTA took action on the sun-bed operators about placing the beds, the relief lasted under 24 hours as the campers took advantage of the space and set up their tents on the water's edge ready to enjoy a long summer of BBQ's and sea-side life as an entitlement.  We are in a state of perpetual lawlessness and until some evident steps are taken by those whose conduct is observed and who are normally expected to give an example and lead with a sense of cooperation and responsibility, we can have little hope of the situation calming and any respect being shown between ordinary citizens.  Double standards are not going to lead to any improvement.

The local councils are caught in the most ridiculous place in the middle of this chaos.  Everything boils down to Police taking action and we all know the shortcomings of that. The system is totally inadequate and does nothing to serve the people and to offer them protection and safety.  Endless committees can be formed with every good intention but just like the Councils can confirm, the buck stops with the Police.  It is though we have a parallel society in Malta, with the Police domain on one level and reality on the other.

Over in Poland, recently, when faced with protests and the threat to their constitution, the President of the country stepped in and vetoed the proposed changes to the law.  Here, we behave as if nothing personal is happening and that we are outside it.  Slowly, we are realising that contrary to that, the brawl is coming to our doorstep and nothing and no-one can protect us anymore.

This uncomfortable truth is going to isolate people, cause tension and lead to the numerous incidents happening around us on a regular basis.  The way of driving is now also leaving tragic victims.  No amount of press statements are going to change the mentality that is prevailing all around us.  Only a radical overhaul of the administration and the police force will contribute to a positive effect.

Whoever leads this country is responsible not just for the economy or for making laws, but also for the social well-being and security of the people.  We talk about sustainable tourism and sustainable construction.  A leader's job is to bring about progress in a sustainable way ensuring the safety and health of all citizens and that the order provided by institutions and organisations is respected. 

We cannot have one law for the privileged and another for the unpopular citizen.  Problems are erupting not just outside bars and the happiness level of people is going to be drastically reduced if we continue in this never-ending argument of wills.