The law is an ass – at least in Gharb!
A policeman starts his duty in Gharb early in the morning and probably thinks he’s struck gold, finding cars parked on yellow lines. Even more so because there’s a hire car among them… what’s new, hux? So hubby, who parked that jeep – and pleads guilty as charged, but parking, too, is an ass in this village – finds that he received a parking fine at 06:15 a.m.
But – and this is why law really is an ass in this place – others got scot-free, like this vehicle which doesn’t just infringe on the yellow lines but also presents a serious obstacle to those using the alley exactly opposite it…
And I might add that this sort of discrimination is a regular, despicable practice in Gharb. (You might recall earlier blog posts of mine about this sad subject.) The icing on the cake: when hubby confronted the policeman with the allegation that he’d fined him because it was a hire-car, this supposed guard of law and order threatened him not to interfere with this work, “tindahhalx f’xogholi”. Lovely, isn’t it? On two occasions I asked policemen for help when I was not able to access our garage because of vehicles blocking the way, and both times I was made to feel as though it was me who’d broken the law. Law?! Hallini…
How much I agree with you here? 100% this is not just you in gharb however, this happens pretty much every where else on this island. For instance in Birzebbuga,Malta during school hours the streets leading to school gates are a no entry sign. Well for some they are but for some they do not even exist and when some of us parents decided to take action guess what happened………. well the police did come indeed (only on good days, when it was raining they were no where to be seen!!) however they ended up chatting and being friendly to the ones who were actually breaking the law, only to realise after that these few law infringers are getting a scott free and then the really one time by accident person is bound to get the fine !!!!! WHY??? I wonder!!
Nadine, I’m glad you’re seeing it my way… I’m starting to think I’m just paranoid – certain people around me certainly seem to think so LOL! It’s really starting to get at me… maybe I’ve been living on a small island for too long, and the worst is that I grew up with a different kind of education. Gosh, I have a whole thousand-word blog post in my head that I could write about that!!