4 ms·

Part of our travels took us to Malta. My family spent a few months there and got to be embedded in Maltese culture. Hard to do as a tourist because while the Ma

by yardie 9y ago

Part of our travels took us to Malta. My family spent a few months there and got to be embedded in Maltese culture. Hard to do as a tourist because while the Maltese are nice they are not inviting to strangers. Since the Crusades they've been a softball between Eastern and Western empires, coming in and telling them what's what. I was just a fly on the wall but what I learned is Malta is a mix of old world families and familiarity and new world, EU, business rules. Where even billionaire megayachts get duty-free fuel smuggled in from Libya through a series of handlers. It's also something I really enjoyed about that island. The big box stores were on equal footing or disadvantaged to local, small shops. Everyone had a friend or family member who dealt in one speciality or another. The rock bottom price wasn't reserved for friends or family. Little haggling was even necessary. The price you paid was the best price you were going to find. Whether that be sailboat parts, limes, or rabbit. I really miss it and look forward to going back.

atombender 9y ago
There's also a heavy mafia presence, and organized crime in general. When Italy cracked down on organized crime, some maafia elements moved their operations to Malta. The recent killing of a Maltese journalist was almost certainly related to organized crime [1] [2]. It's amazing how much violence they've had for such a small country [3]. That said, Malta is awesome, and this is not really something you see as a tourist. The scuba diving is some of the best in the Mediterranean. [1] https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/11/03/italy-accuses-malta-failing-counter-organised-crime-murdered/ https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/11/03/italy-accuses-ma... [2] http://europeanpost.co/mafia-seeing-malta-as-a-little-paradise-italian-anti-mafia-commission-warns/ http://europeanpost.co/mafia-seeing-malta-as-a-little-paradi... [3] http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2013-11-20/news/50-unsolved-murders-since-1972-3238133761 http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2013-11-20/news/50-un...
- purrcat259 9y ago
  Honestly... the mafia presence / organised crime bit is either totally over my head or very much overblown in international media. Source: Maltese born and bred, 24 years and counting.
  - gerdesj 9y ago
    "There are clearly risks in probing too deep into modern Malta: insanity, I’d say, as well as death. Lies are routine currency. The bus company recently announced that its punctuality rate had reached 94 per cent: I think there may be a decimal point missing. " Fair?
    - purrcat259 9y ago
      I think when dealing with anything that sounds too good to be true or is somewhat related to the government or a governmental tender a healthy amount of scepticism is warranted. We do like to shit all over some government provided things (even the tax-paid healthcare), but most complainers don't realise how good we have it. My biggest complaint with recent times around here is how fast the Panama paper's debate was first politicised then was swept under the rug and the murder of Daphne. Daphne was the cattle prod Maltese politics needed to better itself, instead she got the short end of the stick and whoever decided killing her was the best option also decided to kill any good reputation we had on an international scale. I was super pissed and distraught about it, still slightly am.
  - revvie1 9y ago
    Oh you have no idea how rooted the mafia is in Malta then.. I've experienced it first hand, and i'm not even a Maltese citizen. Everything you see in Malta is more or less under the mafia's influence, its really just like in the movies, and thats partly because, as another user pointed out, the mafia moved from Italy to Malta.
    - beachwood23 9y ago
      What did you experience first hand? I'm curious as to how a non-citizen has a greater knowledge of Mafia presence than a Malta citizen.
      - revvie1 9y ago
        I lived on the island(Sliema) for a few months a few years ago. Let's just say i know someone who knows someone... The maltese are completely unaware of whats really going down on their island.
- A_Person 9y ago
  > Malta is awesome ... the scuba diving is some of the best in the Mediterranean. Not after this: https://www.theguardian.com/law/2016/jan/17/briton-fights-extradition-malta-scuba-dive-deaths-stephen-martin https://www.theguardian.com/law/2016/jan/17/briton-fights-ex... I won't summarize that article, since it's all quite clear as long as you read to the end. The upshot is, that anyone diving in Malta is subject to bizarre legal risk if something goes wrong. It's a bit like stopping to help at an accident, and then being charged with causing it! The whole thing raised a massive stink amongst BSAC divers, since it seemed (at one point) that BSAC insurance wouldn't support him. I think he's still 6 figures out of pocket. TL/DR: do not dive in Malta.
  - lobster_johnson 9y ago
    Fortunately, the charges were dropped [1], and the reaction from Britain probably made the Maltese authorities think twice about pulling such a stunt in the future. It's a deeply unfortunate incident, but I'm not sure it warrants such an extreme reaction. Most people have no issues diving in Malta. [1] http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-sussex-35350295 http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-sussex-35350295
    - A_Person 9y ago
      I'd say they only dropped it because of high-level pressure and adverse publicity. I wouldn't assume the same outcome with, for example, a random ozzie instructor on a diving holiday. The concerning issue, IMHO, is that such serious charges were bought at all, particularly given the absurd allegations contained therein (improper diving profile etc.). Also the fact that they didn't even inform him of their investigation or give him a chance to appear! My view is, who's to say they won't do it again? > Most people have no issues diving in Malta Until they do! :-) PS. Not trying to start an argument, just stating my view from this side of the pond :-)
      - lobster_johnson 9y ago
        Sure. But "until they do" applies to anything. No one has issues until they do. One bad incident doesn't automatically ruin everything.

by yardie 9y ago

atombender 9y ago

There's also a heavy mafia presence, and organized crime in general. When Italy cracked down on organized crime, some maafia elements moved their operations to Malta. The recent killing of a Maltese journalist was almost certainly related to organized crime [1] [2]. It's amazing how much violence they've had for such a small country [3]. That said, Malta is awesome, and this is not really something you see as a tourist. The scuba diving is some of the best in the Mediterranean. [1] https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/11/03/italy-accuses-malta-failing-counter-organised-crime-murdered/ https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/11/03/italy-accuses-ma... [2] http://europeanpost.co/mafia-seeing-malta-as-a-little-paradise-italian-anti-mafia-commission-warns/ http://europeanpost.co/mafia-seeing-malta-as-a-little-paradi... [3] http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2013-11-20/news/50-unsolved-murders-since-1972-3238133761 http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2013-11-20/news/50-un...

purrcat259 9y ago
Honestly... the mafia presence / organised crime bit is either totally over my head or very much overblown in international media. Source: Maltese born and bred, 24 years and counting.
- gerdesj 9y ago
  "There are clearly risks in probing too deep into modern Malta: insanity, I’d say, as well as death. Lies are routine currency. The bus company recently announced that its punctuality rate had reached 94 per cent: I think there may be a decimal point missing. " Fair?
  - purrcat259 9y ago
    I think when dealing with anything that sounds too good to be true or is somewhat related to the government or a governmental tender a healthy amount of scepticism is warranted. We do like to shit all over some government provided things (even the tax-paid healthcare), but most complainers don't realise how good we have it. My biggest complaint with recent times around here is how fast the Panama paper's debate was first politicised then was swept under the rug and the murder of Daphne. Daphne was the cattle prod Maltese politics needed to better itself, instead she got the short end of the stick and whoever decided killing her was the best option also decided to kill any good reputation we had on an international scale. I was super pissed and distraught about it, still slightly am.
- revvie1 9y ago
  Oh you have no idea how rooted the mafia is in Malta then.. I've experienced it first hand, and i'm not even a Maltese citizen. Everything you see in Malta is more or less under the mafia's influence, its really just like in the movies, and thats partly because, as another user pointed out, the mafia moved from Italy to Malta.
  - beachwood23 9y ago
    What did you experience first hand? I'm curious as to how a non-citizen has a greater knowledge of Mafia presence than a Malta citizen.
    - revvie1 9y ago
      I lived on the island(Sliema) for a few months a few years ago. Let's just say i know someone who knows someone... The maltese are completely unaware of whats really going down on their island.
A_Person 9y ago
> Malta is awesome ... the scuba diving is some of the best in the Mediterranean. Not after this: https://www.theguardian.com/law/2016/jan/17/briton-fights-extradition-malta-scuba-dive-deaths-stephen-martin https://www.theguardian.com/law/2016/jan/17/briton-fights-ex... I won't summarize that article, since it's all quite clear as long as you read to the end. The upshot is, that anyone diving in Malta is subject to bizarre legal risk if something goes wrong. It's a bit like stopping to help at an accident, and then being charged with causing it! The whole thing raised a massive stink amongst BSAC divers, since it seemed (at one point) that BSAC insurance wouldn't support him. I think he's still 6 figures out of pocket. TL/DR: do not dive in Malta.
- lobster_johnson 9y ago
  Fortunately, the charges were dropped [1], and the reaction from Britain probably made the Maltese authorities think twice about pulling such a stunt in the future. It's a deeply unfortunate incident, but I'm not sure it warrants such an extreme reaction. Most people have no issues diving in Malta. [1] http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-sussex-35350295 http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-sussex-35350295
  - A_Person 9y ago
    I'd say they only dropped it because of high-level pressure and adverse publicity. I wouldn't assume the same outcome with, for example, a random ozzie instructor on a diving holiday. The concerning issue, IMHO, is that such serious charges were bought at all, particularly given the absurd allegations contained therein (improper diving profile etc.). Also the fact that they didn't even inform him of their investigation or give him a chance to appear! My view is, who's to say they won't do it again? > Most people have no issues diving in Malta Until they do! :-) PS. Not trying to start an argument, just stating my view from this side of the pond :-)
    - lobster_johnson 9y ago
      Sure. But "until they do" applies to anything. No one has issues until they do. One bad incident doesn't automatically ruin everything.