Chaos on a European island: soldiers sent to the streets to deal with crowds of tourists
Army and police forces have taken to the streets in Malta in an unprecedented enforcement operation against tourists, including passport confiscation and deportation. Residents of the popular Sliema neighborhood clarify that even a military presence will not stop the anarchy as long as party boats, illegal alcohol, and pirate vacation apartments continue to take over the neighborhoods.
The popular resort town of Sliema in Malta has become in recent years a focal point of intense friction between partying tourists and desperate residents. This week, Minister for Home Affairs Glen Bedingfield announced a large-scale enforcement operation including increased patrols by police forces, inspectors, and even soldiers from all branches of the local armed forces.
The operation will focus on major tourist hubs, including Sliema, Paceville, and St. Julian's, alongside new regulations allowing for the confiscation of passports, arrests, and the deportation of tourists who disturb the public order.
However, despite the warm welcome for the move, the Sliema Residents Association (SRA) clarifies that the military presence on the streets is only a band-aid. According to them, the need to deploy security forces to residential streets is evidence that the authorities have allowed disregard and anarchy to take over the area for years.
Every night, the quiet residential streets of Sliema turn into an open-air party scene. The main focal point is the pier area (The Ferries), where party boats dock every evening and unload hundreds of drunk revelers. The young people, who continue to drink and shout in public, cause street fights, vomit, and leave destruction in their wake.
This past weekend, an exceptional incident occurred that required the dispatch of five emergency vehicles to the pier during the docking of the boats, alongside documentation of drunk young people blocking vehicle traffic on the promenade while trying to carry a friend who had lost consciousness, endangering their lives and the lives of the drivers.
Alongside the alcohol and violence, residents describe severe damage to the quality of life in the neighborhoods. Tourists walk around in swimwear and shirtless in the heart of residential areas, throwing trash, smashing glass bottles on sidewalks, and even relieving themselves at the entrances to homes and in alleys. The nuisance continues along the coastline, where pirate beach parties are held and businesses operate that play loud music in the open air in violation of the law until the small hours of the night.
Beyond the streets, the nuisance penetrates directly into residential buildings through the short-term vacation apartment industry. Many apartments, some of which operate without a legal license, are rented to large groups of young people beyond the permitted capacity and turn into improvised nightclubs. Numerous complaints from residents are also directed against other residents who operate convenience stores in the area and continue to sell alcohol to drunk people illegally after 21:00.
In addition to reinforcing forces on the ground, residents are calling on planning authorities to stop approving three-star hotels and hostels aimed at cheap youth tourism, arguing that this policy contradicts government statements about a transition to quality tourism. Residents warn that without deep reform in the areas of planning, licensing, and noise, the increased police presence on the streets will not be enough to restore peace to the area.
