We’ve seen it before: cities hosting major events embark on a major clampdown to remove homeless individuals from public view to project an image of societal order or prosperity. From the 1992 Barcelona Olympics to the 2012 World Cup in Rio to the Russia World Cup in 2018, we have seen a pattern of vulnerable populations being forcibly relocated. In nearly all cases, these efforts failed as long-term solutions. Its echoes can now be seen closer to home. Recently, 12 homeless individuals were charged in Malta’s courts following reports from the public about “loitering and aggressive begging”. Let us be clear from the outset: the issue is not whether the police should have acted if these individuals were harassing others. Anti-social behaviour, regardless of who commits it, must be addressed. But what has rightly outraged many is the manner in which the clampdown was carried out, from the performative rounding-up of destitute people and the public parading of their lives in the media like some grotesque warning sign. This wasn’t about justice but optics. We’ve seen it before when desperate asylum seekers were marched to court like animals. The Church’s Justice and Peace Commission said what unfolded was not justice but public humiliation for individuals who have nowhere to turn. Attendance at YMCA’s drop-in centre in Ħamrun halved overnight. Anthony Camilleri, YMCA Malta’s CEO, said: “Now they are scared and scattered… they’re trying to be as out of sight as possible.” This approach has put Malta’s efforts to address homelessness back by two decades, he said. Outreach workers will now find it harder to locate individuals who need help and some may never return to the services that could be their only safety net. Whatever problems existed before this police action, we’ve probably driven the problem deeper into the shadows. What does it say about us as a society when we prioritise a clean façade over the lives of vulnerable beings? This punitive stance is happening in a country that is thriving economically. Every budget speech, every official statement, every ribbon-cutting ceremony tries to convince us that prosperity is everywhere. And yes, a lot of people are prosperous. But walk down any street in Malta and the signs of inequality are unmistakable. The cost of living is soaring, rents are unaffordable and precarious jobs abound. These uncomfortable realities cannot be swept aside in favour of a polished narrative. It’s no surprise that many people online – often parroting this narrative – reacted to the arrests with cruel disdain for the vulnerable people. This wilful denial is dangerous and emboldens a politics of performance over policy, and allows those in power to deflect responsibility. It’s easier to target the poor than tackle the systems that produce poverty. In other words, it’s easier to punish the symptoms than cure the disease. Meanwhile, as affordable housing remains a pipe dream, hundreds of millions of euros continue to flow into mega-projects designed to benefit the already wealthy, jobs being rewarded to the party faithful rather than those who have slipped through the net. Our country should be better than this. No one chooses to sleep behind a skip or enjoys begging for help. Last September, we reported that in the heart of Paceville, between one skyscraper and another, swarming with tourists, there are around 40 to 50 people sleeping rough. The real problem is the growing chasm between the haves and the have-nots, as well as the shameful willingness to look the other way. Criminalising desperation is not justice, which is why the government, police and all those with power to shape policy must stop treating visibility as the problem.