It is no wonder that tourists complain about finding foreign students in their hotels. When parents send their children to a country like Malta, their idea is not only learning English but also broadening their holistic education, learning about our culture, history, traditional way of life and moral values.
With regard to moral values, the impression they are getting must surely be very different from the values in their own country.
In their countries, students would end up living in hostels or with families.
In other countries, nightspots like Paceville or Bugibba would not be considered ideal places to situate schools and accommodation for these students.
Undoubtedly, these areas makes it easier for them to buy alcohol and cigarettes since there are hundreds of bars and hotel nightclubs. In spite of recent legislation, there is a need for more enforcement so that foreign students and our teenagers are protected from these abuses and others.
As a pressure group campaigning for children's rights, we hope that the authorities take note that foreign students deserve to be protected from all kind of abuses, just like our children. When our legislator decides to pass a law prohibiting children (0-17) to attend nightclub areas, then we can say that we are protecting our children from the most common abuses.
Until that day, we parents will continue to suffer as we see our children throwing away all the moral values we have taught them. Very few people seem to be interested in our children's best interest.
We understand the importance foreign students have on our tourist industry, but our setup is all wrong. And we hope that it will not come to having proper laws protecting children imposed on us by the EU, before we arrange our situation.
When we protect all children, we are protecting our Maltese society.