The Nadur festival has been known for its dark satire and even controversial wit, yet this weekend a white van with the words 'Mount Carmel Clinic', 'Beware Mental Driver', 'Dimensja (sic)' and 'Crazy' spray painted on the side led to a huge controversy.

Many have blasted the sketch as a “sick joke” that is highly offensive to people with mental illness, while others have defended the stunt as satire and part of the Nadur Carnival spontaneity. 

The Richmond Foundation, an NGO that aids people with mental health difficulties and promotes mental health and the prevention of mental illness, told this newspaper that people feel safer and more comfortable speaking about incidents such as this one in Nadur than about a teenager escaping Mont Carmel and committing suicide.

Social media has been awash with posts of condemnation ever since the photos went viral online.

The Richmond Foundation had already posted on Facebook, saying it was “disturbed” by the mockery of mental health patients.

Speaking to The Malta Independent yesterday, Chief executive Office Stephania Dimech explained how specifically targeting a service and institution which is meant to offer assistance and support for people who are mentally ill, is only adding to the stigma associated with the hospital.

To depict it in such a derogatory way will make it harder for people who need the help – it will only deter them further, she said.

When asked why so much attention was given to the Nadur incident, when compared to what happened last week, when a teenager escaped from Mount Carmel Hospital and was later found dead, Dimech said the Carnival incident has attracted more lay people because they feel safer commenting about that than delving into real issues associated with mental health.

“The general public will not go anywhere near the depths of mental illness because it is frightening and it is unknown”.

In the case of Mount Carmel and the patient who escaped and committed suicide, the general public does not feel comfortable or safe enough to either blame it on the shortage of staff or blame someone else, for example, Dimech explained.

President Marie Louise Coleiro also condemned the use of jokes against people with mental issues.