Qbadna il-kju mill-Ghadira. Il-Hadd imqaddes. Kju karozzi Maltin ta’ Malta li ghogobhom jghaddu l-ahhar Hadd tas-sena f’Ghawdex. Allajbierek. “Ghawdxi tajjeb aharqu” jghidu. Ma’ l-ewwel cans li jkollhom imaqdru ‘l Ghawdex u lill-Ghawdxin. Imma min imaqdar irid jixtri jghidu u f’dan il-kaz ix-xewqa tax-xerrej tigi ikkargata ghira.
Kju jibda mill-Ghadira. Min jipprova jaqbez, min jirnexxilu b’komplicità ta’ pulizija nofs kedda u min jitwaqqaf. Ihirsa tal-passat fis ifeggu meta tinduna li l-karozza li thalliet tghaddi u taqbez kellha it-Torca fuq display god-dashboard. Allajbierek.
Manjieri xejn u tinhass tensjoni generali li titkebbes go qalb il-Malti meta jara kju. “Kif se naghmel biex nasal qabel haddiehor?” Il-kuncett ta’ stennija ordinata thawwad il-boxxla tal-parti l-kbira tal-vjaggaturi. L-istennija tikxef il-verita maghrufa. Il-Malti pampalun li tghidx kemm ihalli ewri Ghawdex f’ikel u xorb (u souvenirs?) jiftah il-boot tal-karozza u wiehed malajr jilmah il-picnic cooler, it-thermos, u l-kaxxa pastini. Ihalli zobb mhux ewro.
Igri jitla’ fuq il-vapur halli imbaghad iserrep lejn ir-Rabat, jipparkja fejn irid u jhossu komdu u wara erhilu jilmenta dwar it-tickets li jaghtu “l-Ghawdxin”. Dan l-ahhar sid ta’ flat go Ghawdex qalli wahda gdida. Kera flat lil xi Malti u x’hin mar jara kid sejrin isib li kienu gabu seba’ heaters tal-elettriku magghom. Genji. Ghax il-kont tad-dawl ma jhallsuhx huma.
Konversazzjoni ghaddejja barra karozzti.
“Kif int?”
“Heqq. Nipprova nirkeb” (N.Dr. – ghax fih talent toqghod fil-kju)
“U jien ma ridtx ninzel ta… Imma t-tfal…”
“Anki jien ta… Darba f’sena ninzel”
“Xtaqt hallejt il-karozza c-Cirkewwa u naqbad tal-linja imma ma riedux”
Ma komplejtx insegwi ghax f’daqqa il-kju mexa. Shuttle service. Filfatt tkun stennejt inqas milli tahseb u hafna mill-infern ikun ikkawzat mit-tensjoni u nervi. Nissuspetta li dan gara ukoll sa certu punt lill-Arriva. Appuntu l-Arriva. Kull min kellimt Ghawdex jahlef bis-sistema taghhom gewwa Ghawdex. Hasra.
Tlaqna. Jien ghal dari u l-familja u c-corma Maltin ghal Bethlehem f’Ghajnsielem.
Awguri lil huti l-Maltin kollha.
U bilhaq… Tiskrux bil-Fanta
Go Betlehem.
Illum wara nofsinhar ġej insellimlek. Martek qaltilna ma nilbsux kulur id-dwejjaq. Qaltilna li ma kontx tkun tixtieq, u minkejja li ma nafekx sew naqbel. Biex nilbsu lewn ħsibijietek u tbissimtek inkunu irridu qata’ sew mill-materjal tal-hippies, dawk tal-psikedeliku.
Kif għidtlek, ma nafekx sew Philip. Bilkemm kont indunajt li għandek (għax tibqa’ għal dejjem) affinita għall-inkwina. Nafek l-iktar mill-eteru u fuq l-eteru fejn triqitna virtwali kienu ta’ sikwit jiltaqgħu u kont nogħxa nomgħod osservazzjoni minn tiegħek. Iva, nafek ukoll bħala kumpann ieħor tal-fratellanza neo-liberali li ħarbet tiġri minn Malta u dik is-soffokazzjoni iżolana mimlija preġudizzji.
Spiss iltqajna ukoll f’ajruporti – fi tranżitu bejn post u ieħor – u skambjajna formalitajiet ta’ malajr. Xejn iktar. Iżda fuq l-eteru kont tħalli l-marka. Kont titfa osservażżjoni dejjem f’waqtha u f’moħħi kont inpinġik ġullar ta’ qorti li qiegħed hemm biex jiddikostruwixxi u jfakkarna li fl-aħħar mill-aħħar kollha dixxendenti ta’ l-istess ċorma xadini. Ġullar bravu, wisq iktar bravu milli jħalik tifhem li hu, u b’imħabba kbira għall-għarfien illi għoġbu jżewweġ mal-imħabba għad-dinja ġdida teknoloġika.
Lili dak li kien jogħġobni fik Philip. Li l-osservazzjonijiet tiegħek, serji kemm kienu serji, f’waqthom kemm kienu f’waqthom, kellhom sens qawwi umoristiku ġo fihom. Dan l-egħruq kien ħoloq fil li għadda f’kull ħsieb li qsamt miegħek (minkejja li kienu ftit) u ħassejt li konna naduraw l-istess Alla li l-ewwel u qabel kollox kellu sens kbir umoristiku. Hekk hu, Philip, l-Alla li forsi lesti li nemmnu fih jaf jidħaq u jidħaq sew. Jiġbor nies ġentili u twajba bħalek li miżgħuda bl-imħabba tal-għerf qabel iż-zmien. Jew forsi dik kienet l-ikbar ċajta tiegħu…
Sens umoristiku kbir għandu dan Alla Philip, avolja kulltant iħallina b’ħalqna miftuħa flok middieħqa. Imma forsi dan kollu jsir bi skop – il-kuluri, l-iskerzi u d-differenzi… il-kapaċita li nifhmu li hemm dinja wisq ikbar minn dawk l-erba’ ħitan magħluqa li bdejna fihom… il-ħarba mill-għar u t-twaħħid kuxjenti ma dinja li mill-eċċentriku toħloq norma…
Iva Philip, forsi ma tliftx ħabib imma tlift xi ħaġa ikbar. Tlift vuċi oħra li kienet tlewwen dinja li wisq saret tistona bin-normalita tedjanti u konformi.
Huwa minnu Philip, li kif kien jgħid persunaġġ kulurit ieħor li ħalliena dan l-aħħar “… l’impresa eccezionale, dammi retta, è essere normale.”
Saħħiet ħabib. Nittama li int fejn int, tagħmel x’inti tagħmel, l-importanti li qiegħed tidħaq.
“God is a comedian, playing to an audience too afraid to laugh.” – Voltaire
Ah the nature of things, that ineffable theme. What you seem to be saying, in the end, is that for the PN to be successful at being the PN it needs to stop being the PN, and become what? A PN that is, by it’s nature, very good at being PN! A True scotsman indeed!https://yourlogicalfallacyis.com/no-true-scotsman
Let’s cut through the chase, what you’re calling for implies the establishment of a new POLITICAL party the likes of which Malta has not seen in our lifetimes. Human resources being scant, such an entity will have to poach the best from the established, and PN being the losers right now, they are most prime for the culling.
You have repeatedly accused the political establishment of being morally inept. What makes you think that now suddenly, they have the aptitude or inclination to seek out what is morally right, not just for them, but for the nation? And if you don’t think they actually have changed, deep inside their soul, who are your appeals directed at?
Lura Malta ghall-btajjel tal-Milied. Sabiħa s-sħana li tilqgħek bi nar u ġġiegħlek taħseb li l-bagalja ħwejjeġ sħan qajla se jintemssu. Inqas sabiħ il-bard ġewwa d-djar li qisu ħadd ma sab tarfha. Dan l-aħħar kull meta niġbor il-karozza tal-kiri u nsuq lejn Paceville inħossni qiegħed fil-film Johnny Stecchino ta’ Benigni u l-frażi dwar kif it-traffiku saret s-saħta kbira tal-pajjiż tibda thewden ġo moħħi.
Kullħadd mgħaġġel. Ftakart fil-program dwar crowd management li smajt dan l-aħħar fuq Radio 4 u dwar kif il-folla ma taħsibx b’moħħ prevedibbli. Li hemm żgur hu li it-traffiku malti għandu numru ta’ regoli innati li jikxfu egoiżmu sfrenat li jiżboq kull sens ta’ kollaborazzjoni sabiex jittaffew il-problemi. Maqbud ġo impromptu traffic jam ġewwa t-trejqiet ta’ madwar Sacred Heart (għax triq reġjonali kellha tiżvojta minħabba l-enneżimu inċident) r-radju weħel fuq il-ONE. L-aħbarijiet.
Tisma ftit dwar l-problemi tal-ittogati li kellhom party ġewwa l-awli sublimi tal-qorti (żibeeeel – kif jgħidu Sempliċiment tat-Triq fl-album “Qum Minn Hemm” li xtrajt mingħand il-Ġugar). Issa apparti li huwa ovvju li l-arrest arbitrarju illi seħħ huwa parti mit-tapizzerija unika u assurda tal-politika istituzzjonali maltija, u apparti li l-indinjazzjoni popolari setgħet tinħass kull fejn tisma jew taqra dwar l-eventi odjerni. Apparti dan kollu. Laqatni l-użu tas-sentiment popolari mis-Segretarju Parlamentari Owen Bonnici – qallu “the people ARE significant”. Xejn ħażin ta’ imma r-retorika tal-poplu li tfakkar f’sommossi u rivoluzzjonijet ma tkunx neċessarja jekk l-istituzzjonijiet jitħaddmu sewwa. Impeachment, Owen, u ħallikom mid-diskorsi dwar x’taħseb il-ġamaħirija.
L-istess Chris Cardona. Mar dar dawra il-ħwienet tal-Belt. Imnalla m’għadekx trid tħallas biex tidħol fil-kapitali wara s-sagħtejn għax issa tal-ħwienet tad-deheb u tat-Tommy Hillfiger jistgħu idawru sold li kien ħarab lejn tas-Sliema sal-Milied ta’ qabel. Cardona qisu ġa għamel survey xjentifiku għax ġa qatagħha li l-kummerċ żdied. Il-Milied it-tajjeb u n-nefqa għaqlija lil kullħadd.
Iżda tal-ONE żammew l-aħjar għall-aħħar. Kellhom servizz dwar it-traġedja li seħħet fit-Tijatru Apollo ta’ Londra. Indarbu 79 ruħ qalulna, 9 minnhom gravi. Issemmew xi anedotti dwar kif xi nies preżenti stħajlu lilhom infushom ġewwa minjiera tant kien hemm trab. Il-qarrejja qalhet li waqa’ “soffett” (sic) u imbagħad ħarġitilna l-coup de grace:“B’xorti tajba ma weġgħux Maltin”. Tiskanta. Kienet tgħaddi din il-frażi, qisha m’hi xejn. Imma filfatt hija riflessjoni ta’ kif jaħsbu bosta nies.
Fejn taf sinjorina qarrejja tal-aħbarijiet tas-Super One? Forsi mhux ix-xorti li żammithom il-bogħod mit-tijatru drammatiku lok ta’ drama. Forsi il-Maltin li qiegħdin għall-btajjel Londra kienu bieżlin ġo Oxford Street u Primark jimlew il-basktijiet tax-xiri u jistgħanaw f’orġja kummerċjali minn dawk li tant tfantas biha l-Onorevoli Cardona. Mhux għalihom il-ħin moħli jaraw ir-reċta dwar “The curious incident of a dog in the night”. L-għażla wisq probabbli tmur fil-kjuijiet quddiem kaxxieri tal-ħwienet tal-High Street Londoniża, jimbuttaw, jixxalaw u fuq kollox jixtru. Is-sentiment popolari hemm qiegħed, taf int. Il-kejl tagħhom, il-kejl tagħna lkoll.
U b’xorti tajba ma jweġġa’ ħadd.
Paceville. It-triq tan-nies.
WARNING: You might find the content of the following video offensive. I’m afraid it might be terminal and it could be too late for a cure. Press play at your own risk.
It’s all happening in the PAC committee. The latest politicians to come under fire from the state’s evidence provider’s revlations are Austin Gatt and Manwel Mallia. It is good that the PAC committee is digging into the evidence in relation to “corruption scandals” but we must be forgiven if we remind all and sundry that the committee is in the end made up of members of our two political parties and that the sort of corruption that is being looked into is one that deals with dealing in influence – power broking of the kind that involves the sort of thinking that goes: “I’ll think of you today and you think of me tomorrow”.
Notwithstanding pre-electoral promises, our laws might at first glance still seem to be ill-equipped to deal with this kind of corruption. A very good reason is that the laws are drafted by our political parties who tend to create glaring exceptions whenever a law has to deal with them.
Take Manwel Mallia’s defence of “professional secrecy” – a quick look at the professional secrecy act will show that the obligation of professional secrecy can be lifted in the case of such crimes as money laundering but no such exception will apply to “corrupt practices”. In other words a lawyer who is confronted with a client who is knowingly laundering dirty money is divested of his obligation of secrecy but not one who comes to know of corrupt practices. Which does not explain whether or not Mallia used such information to his party’s advantage in any case (whether or not he was a minister does not matter).
In the run up to the last election we heard many times the party apparatchiks claim that their commercial arrangements are arranged on a barter system. Obviously columns such as this one that push the “PLPN” line of thinking are often discredited as though this were some conspiracy obsession but the fact of the matter is that this “barter” system admission was a very clear and open admission that parties are used to “trading their influence”. It is institutionalised corruption.
Those of a taghnalkoll persuasion might gleefully point their fingers at Austin Gatt’s reception of the €2,000 party donation but they would not do themselves any good if they ignore that such donations occur naturally across the whole party lines. The party “barter” system cannot vanish without the parties themselves vanishing along with it. That, my friends, is the unpalatable fact about the PLPN style of politics.
We saw how the loss of government influence strongly devalued PN’s “trading” power in the barter system – turning it into a bankrupt party overnight.
We also saw how the PL pie-grabbing exercises mean that the core party structure will survive another round simply by shifting its costs (and incomes) to government resources.
In the meantime the general public will act as indignant citizens and depending on which side your bread is buttered you will snort and denounce the “hnizrijiet” committed by the other side. We said it before and will say it again… you reap what you sow… and there seems to be no light at the end of this tunnel.
Below the gallery is a selection of old posts by J’accuse dealing with this barter and corruption issue.
(Evarist Bartolo) is insinuating that huge companies in Tokyo and Copenhagen had more than a hand in the assignation of the BWSC contract (remember that hot potatoe). The name dropping is not on the scale of ENRON style scandal but by Maltese standards it is big. There is an alleged web of intertwined interests that lead to linking the tenderor and the tenderee on the energy contract. There’s more. Bartolo does not shy back from implying that KPMG auditor to many of the parties involved served as a bridge between all the parties and government. And all this to lead to where? it’s not clear Who, What, When, Why or How but the conclusion is that:
“The PN has a system of fundraising where companies win government contracts and donate money to the PN. They are all part of the PN’s JS list,” Bartolo said, referring to the so called list named after former PN treasurer Joe Stellini.
Which is one hell of a whopper. From DimechGate to JS-Gate. Only, as I have been lamenting all the while, we need more tangible proof. We need cases before the Public Services Commission. It’s not a problem that the allegations surface on a newspaper – the newspaper is only attempting to perform its duty as part of the fourth estate – but there must be a follow up using the full strength of our democratic institutions. In a way there was never a shadow of doubt that contractors in various markets benefited from their contacts with the PN and that they performed services or investments in return. We just needed someone to get talking about them as a first step to something more direct being done about it. We do not have a magistratura in Malta as they do in Italy so do not expect a flurry of avvisi di garanzia very soon.
Thus spake contractor Nazzareno Vassallo while celebrating his having survived 65 years in the dog-eat-dog world of Maltese building contractors. Were we surprised? No. Of course not. Would we wonder why his “well-known Nationalist sympathies have often worked against him when bidding for a contract.” Well yes. What does that mean exactly? Why does he bother funding both parties if his sympathies can work against him? How can he get away with frankly admitting that contracts ARE awarded on the basis of political considerations? Nazzareno is not the first to have claimed the “I oil both parties” approach. Sandro Chetcuti famously claimed it was important to have a pocket for every party (thank Mercury we only have two that count in the tendering business aye) and Vince “Holier than Thou” Farrugia has swung around the world of parties with better tempo than a grandfather clock’s pendulum.
(…)
Related:
Herrera alleges “rampant nepotism in financial sector” : one wonders if he’ll still be singing the same tune once it’s his party’s turn to milk the cow.
Idiots – that’s you the voters – are supposed to be carefully measuring the different proofs of liaisons that each party has with big business and throwing onto their homemade scales the various calculations as to who spent how much and where the money has come. Idiots (that’s still you) will then be expected to vote for the lesser evil. That, I guess (but I’m no idiot myself), will be the one with less ties to business and less I.O.U.’s hanging around in the pockets of various contractors and other men who can practically foot a blank cheque in times of need.
You do have to be an idiot though not to see past the protestations of both parties. On the one hand you have the ridiculous nationalist party “barter” concept. You see, the PN barters with companies like MFCC and in return for the use of their tents it gives them…. erm… See I’m stuck there. What the hell could the PN be offering to barter? It’s not like air time on its debt-ridden stations is free? Allocating a million euros of air time (in exchange for a tent) would mean perforce that that air time is lost from other who might have actually paid for the service. Cardona also presented Beppe with a court case – Europrint vs MediaLink. Now that’s sweet. MediaLink owes Europrint half a million. Where will they get that from?
Labour on the other hand also have a hunch that we are all idiots. Their campaign CANNOT have been funded by the telethons. Igloos don’t grow on trees Chris and you can have many many volunteers with ideas that you think are great but you cannot barter ideas for material in much the same way that Borg Olivier is not bartering ideas for tents. And while we are at it enough with this bullshit about the parties publishing their accounts. First of all Labour walked out of the committee for democratic reform (Select Committee on the Strengthening of Democracy) that not only put an end to the hope of electoral reform but also to any issue on party financing.
Niftakar li l-arloġġ kien idoqq mas-sitta nieqes għaxra. Ma kontx inbagħti biex noħroġ minn soddti daqs kemm inbagħti llum. Missieri kien iħalli ir-radju mixgħul fuq l-istazzjon nazzjonali sa’ minn kmieni. Missieri kien jiddejjaq li nirreferi għalih bħala “missieri”… mhux kwistjoni ta’ paternita’ miċħuda imma kien jippreferi sempliċement li insejjaħlu “il-pa”.
Tar-radju filgħodu ma kenitx drawwa biss tagħna. Niftakar fil-btala inqum għand in-nannu ir-Rabat jew Marsalforn u kien ikun idur mad-dar liebes piġamtu bit-transistor f’idejħ iwassal il-mewġ il-kbar tal-informazzjoni minn fuq il-BBC (AM mhux FM). Id-dinja daħlet id-dar kmieni fost textix isaħħar u jfakkar li kollox kien qed jiġri il-bogħod.
Ir-radju ta’ missieri (aħfirli pa) kien ikun fuq Radju Malta. Kienu jitfgħu serduq jiddi hekk għas-sitta sabiex wieħed jiftakar li din hija għodwa oħra u ta’ min toħroġ mis-sodda. Niftakar ninħasel malajr malajr – doċċa u nixfa f’tebqa t’għajn – u imbagħad dritt għal ġo l-uniformi waqt li jinqraw ir-riżultati tal-ballun bl-ismijiet ta’ bliet fantażjużi jsiru iktar tal-ħolm malli jiżolqu bi tbatija minn ħalq il-qarrej malti. L-uniformi tkun lesta bil-qmis mgħoddija, il-qalziet bit-tinja dritta u żraben ibblakkati. Ftit ħin taqbad dik l-għuda ta’ kuljum fuq darek, titfa’ fih il-lunch imlesti mill-ma u bewsa u tlaqna.
Niftakar Paceville filgħodu dejjem bata biex tnikker mir-raqda. Fost sturdament ġenerali konna niltaqgħu l-erba’ monelli li aħna fuq waqfet ix-xarabank ta’ quddiem il-Wembley. Niftakar nogħxa u nistħi nara in-nisa tas-sixth form u ħalqi jissarram malli jippruvaw ikellmuni dwar xi ħaġa.
Insejt isem ix-xufier (mingħalija Karlu) li kien iħallina indoqqu cassette tal-aħħar siltiet mużikali (x’iktarx biex noqgħodu kwieti) miġjub minn xi tifel avant-garde li missieru ma jixtrix biss mużika ta’ Clayderman u Rondo Veneziano. Niftakar li meta għal xi raġuni ma kienx jiġi konna indumu seklu biex naslu l-iskola b’tal-linja iżda kienet avventura liema bħala.
Niftakar, filgħodu, li siegħa kienet iddum eternita.
BBC’s World Update will be discussing Malta’s planned (?) IIP scheme. A post on Facebook announcing the programme has already attracted quite a long string on comments (see post here – Facebook account required). Aside from the ridiculous Labour party accusations that the whole international press attention is some kind of Opposition un-nationalistic concerted attack, this kind of debate just goes to show how global the topic of “selling citizenship” is. Unfortunately this debate will take place in a context where the final result of the IIP negotiations between government and opposition is not known. Notwithstanding the PN assurances that they will insist that “citizenship is not for sale” we have already seen some clues in the press that point to a system where the initial idea of an outright sale will be propped up with some investment criteria to make the idea “more palatable”.
Have Malta’s citizens been sufficiently consulted on this crucial issue? Should the fact that the two behemoths are “consulting” suffice – given how the issue was completely absent from their respective political manifestos? What mandate do Joseph Muscat and Simon Busuttil have from the citizens of Malta? These too are questions that need to be asked. I’m not comforted simply because Muscat or Busuttil tells me that it is OK.
