I write with reference to social worker Vince Tonna’s concerns on clubs remaining open 24 hours a day in Paceville. I am 32 years old, and have been frequenting Paceville bars, clubs and streets for the past 12 years and have been working as a barman in a club in Paceville for the past five years.
I can understand the points brought forward by Mr Tonna but honestly can’t agree with him. One cannot change a law like that for every bar and club, but first start by differentiating between a club and a bar. A bar which is at street level and hasn’t got an adequate sound-proofing system, cannot be included with a club which has invested in a good sound-proofing system and where no music can be heard unless one goes inside.
That said, Mr Tonna mentioned the problem of people consuming more alcohol. I do not agree point blank here, because the problem of alcoholism is not solved by inhibiting it 24 hours a day, but by a proper education. If we think this problem is solved by just not selling it at certain times of the day, bars and band clubs in all locations of our country should be closed down too.
I might agree that people tend to consume more alcohol when the music is loud but alcohol or no alcohol, all types of music are nice to listen to when loud, and I believe that everyone puts the volume up when we hear a song on the radio that we like.
It seems that Vince is not really in the scene: when clubs close at 4am, people are going to flats for house parties and alcohol is now cheaper and by the bottle; not to mention that no flat has been incorporated with a sound-proofing system.
I believe that a lot of young tourists are being attracted year after year to our country because of the good nightlife we have, although there is still more to be done, such as allowing clubs to remain open 24 hours a day. The fact that Malta has got a bad image with the people who visit us because of no control on alcohol abuse is far-fetched and maybe things are being mixed up here with people under the age of 16 drinking alcohol.
I agree that there is no education about drinking and driving in Malta and all the people I know are still driving every weekend under the effect of alcohol but that issue should be tackled by a proper educational campaign, not to mention that getting a taxi from Paceville to anywhere in Malta is a real rip-off.
I do not see the link between alcoholism and clubs remaining open 24 hours a day because a person who wants to buy alcohol can still do it 24 hours a day. I don’t believe that prohibiting clubs from remaining open 24 hours a day is the solution to solve the problem of excess consumption of alcohol, because after all it seems that this is the only problem Vince is worried about; but it should be solved by educating people and leave anyone who is over a certain age recreate himself at any time in any way he wants without harming himself or others.

Adrian Caruana
Fgura

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