J'accuse : The Meaning of Life

This is the J’accuse column that appeared on the Malta Independent on Sunday on the 24th of July.

Speaking to the press after the bombing and shooting that rocked the world, Oslo Mayor Fabian Stang could hardly control his emotions. In a phone interview with the BBC, Stang spoke of how he wished he could have been on Utoya island to put himself between the heartless gunman and his victims: “I would have told him to take me and spare the young campers.” Stang’s words were echoed by both the Foreign Minister and Prime Minister Stoltenberg. The nation had been stung and the biggest tragedy among all the unfolding tragedies was that the agent of the grim reaper had chosen to target the promising youth of a peaceful nation.

Although early signals (mostly US based) pointed towards another al Qaeda linked tragedy, it seems to be increasingly probable that the perpetrator was nothing less than a crazed Christian right-winger who could have been acting on the basis of some grudge against the liberal government. Be that as it may, Friday’s focus was on the loss of life. The grief and mourning was based on a common value: that of appreciation of life and of the wasted potential among the 80 or so young men and women who were indiscriminately shot while on their political camp retreat.

Life as we know it

It is normal for a nation to mourn its dead. When the dead are the result of an extremist rampage and include large numbers of people in their youthful prime there is no end to the sense of loss. Society values life. Even the most savage of communities understands the importance and value of life − life is not and cannot be treated lightly. There is a reason why murder ranks above theft or larceny in a criminal code. It is the most obvious demonstration of the importance of life to a society. From Hammurabi to the modern day, life has been treated as the most precious gift and the taking of a life was conversely the most severe of punishments. Life, as we know it, can never be treated lightly.

If we zoom out of the zone of operations of a Christian Fundamentalist in Norway and zoom into Somalia’s regions run by Muslim extremists, we find another example of the abuse of life for the sake of some twisted political agenda. The Al-Shabab Islamists have denied western aid agencies access to the famine stricken parts of Somalia because they believe that reports of famine are all part of “Western propaganda”. The Al-Shabab control regions − Bakool and Lower Shamble − that are among the worst struck by droughts and are still refusing access to the much-needed aid agencies.

Real life choices are being made daily in the regions immediately outside Somalia’s capital Mogadishu. The image of mothers wrapping material tightly around their stomachs in order not to feel hunger pains and save whatever food found for their offspring was an image of ultimate sacrifice. It’s a recurrent story in our “civilisation” − whenever the tyrant or the crazed mass murder has left his mark, you will also find symbols of human self-sacrifice: forgoing their own right to a life in order to save others. We build our greatest narratives around this idea − from the sacrifice of sons of gods to the last Harry Potter installation when even the young wizard has to die for a while (apologies for the mini-spoiler) in order to save the world of Muggles and magic.

Sacrifice

The latest news from Norway describes the attacker as a Christian extremist. We’re dealing with labels here. As a friend commented on Facebook, you cannot describe the work of this man as madness because there is no folly in the manner of execution. This is the work of someone with twisted principles and whose value of life is severely handicapped by a tunnel vision that can only be damaging. There was a kind of sense of relief to note that the hand of al Qaeda and all things claiming to be “Muslim inspired” was not remotely present this time round. The stereotypical assessments (big bomb, big attack therefore Muslim extremists must be behind it Q.E.D) fell on their face rather quickly and there is a lesson to be learnt there too about making rash value judgements on the face of appearances.

This week we had the opportunity to learn an equally important set of lessons in Malta too. The tragic death of young Eritrean Ashih while trying to save the life of a French person at sea gave us a first, important example. Ashih had faced the perils and terrors of open sea in his gamble to start a new life away from the troubles he left behind. He had survived the first part of his Iliad and begun to build a new life in Malta. This was the Malta whose louder members tend to remind men like him that it has no use for them… that they better return to their homeland. I am sure that when he jumped into the sea he did not think for one instant that this would be his last jump. There would have been no time to think that anyway for his thoughts were selfless and his mind was focused on saving the life of another person. Which is why we should be all the more thankful and respectful to the memory of Ashih.

A life in jeopardy

Another life that is in the news this week is that of Emmanuel Cini. The man whose latest label in life is that of “disabled man” has chosen to go on a hunger strike until Austin Gatt resigns his position as minister and Arriva mends its ways. Cini’s plight hit national headlines on his second day of starving and soon became the darling and hero of those who had been making a living out of complaining about the transport system. The nation’s gossip circles got so carried away by the apparent “guts”, “balls” and more demonstrated by the poor moribund that it seemed that nobody asked themselves the simple question: “Is a faulty transport system worth dying for?”

Sure, Cini did colour his protest with the idea that he is a “prisoner in his own home” but somehow the whole shebang did have a ring of “false prima donna” about it. It definitely does not matter to the cause of protesting faulty public transport whether Cini is a bona fide sick person or an ex-gay porn star or an ex-drama teacher or an ex-claimant for other state benefits or an ex-classical radio host, but slowly there is a jigsaw puzzle of clues that point to the conclusion that the kind of help someone like Cini needs goes beyond a direct bus to St Thomas Bay from his doorstep.

His “cause” is in no way aided by those who glorify his actions and equate him to some modern day Mahatma Gandhi without pointing out the absurd disproportionality in his “ends and means” calculations. I’d hate to think that there are idiots out there who would secretly hope for to him pass away simply to be able to lump his death on Austin Gatt’s conscience.

By day five of his hunger strike Emmanuel Cini mysteriously disappeared from the mainstream press reporting. Although some people had begun to unearth his very colourful (and interesting) past, the general reaction in the press was one of silence. It may be all the better for him − his cause can never be successful because it is one that is based on a faulty premise: that the teething problems of Arriva are worth dying for. It is a premise that makes a mockery of the value of life and needs to be changed before it is too late. Cini may be in too fragile a state to notice that at most he can be a temporary tool for yet another bandwagon of opportunist jerks. It is hopefully not too late for him to change his ill-advised choice.

Life is beautiful

It is stories like these that can help us appreciate the beauty of life notwithstanding all moments of adversity. “La vita é bella” said the poet who could see it in the smallest and most insignificant of moments. At times all it takes is learning to appreciate the world around you − minus the prejudice, minus the intolerance and minus the grudges we build over time. And smile. Enjoy life… you (probably) only get one chance to do it and it would be such a shame to live to regret it.

www.akkuza.com still thinks life is beautiful notwithstanding the greyest and coldest summer in our seven years of Luxembourg life. Log on to the site for further fun tips on how to carpe diem.

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Arriva vs The People

You can change all the bus systems that you like. One fact remains. No matter what the new system there is always one factor that is a constant. The Maltese. Apologies for the blogging lull. Summer. Wedding. Work. That’s what’s keeping us away. Now go explain this to Joseph Muscat and Manwel Delia.

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I.M. Jack – the one about Cyrusgate

Our commenting on recent events have catapulted J’accuse into the fence of “nationalist apologist” in the eyes of many a partisan reader. There is a very simple reason for that – whenever w analyse the ills of our political society we always seem to conclude that this is a result of PLPN politics. Readers who have the tendency to (even subconsciously) want Labour in power and PN out at all costs tend to not like this conclusion because they would love to believe the alternation of government to be the solution to this kind of ills. Our most poignant observation – that alternation will only bring in same, same but different – is anathema to anyone who is itching to have their best linked power circles in power. Plus ca change… (Note: This is a long post – read it in snippets for better enjoyment).

Cyrusgate – They thought it was all over

It isn’t now. The police swoops on pater et filius Engerer shortly after the famous/infamous “switch” to Labour by Engerer Jr reminded a few of us of the haranguing of Dr Harry Vassallo (then AD Chairperson) right before the election in 2008 (see the end result here). It was not, in other words, the first time that the long arm of the law moved with curious timing and with apparent synch with the needs of the party in government. The public reaction this time round was louder because it was not insignificant AD who is “never in the news” (never did so much bullshit uttered by so many make so little sense) but newly baptised Labourite Cyrus. The young upstart who had been enjoying his meteoric rise to the political limelight was suddenly the subject of investigations relating to that conservative anathema that has the bad habit of popping up recently: porn and the dealing thereof.

We sat back and watched events unfold: from the morning indignation at the news of the police investigations to the afternoon defences by the police commissioner and  the head of the Pm’s private secretariat, to the calls for people’s heads by Joseph Muscat (ever the flamboyant populist, blissfully unaware of the wider picture). Having heard the story from the press and press conferences we can draw a few conclusions from this latest track in the Cyrus LP.

“The Tangled Web”

I will start from the end. 1984 has often been cited on the social networks but 1984 and similar Kafkesque novels imply a hidden Big Brother that is centrally organised and operates intelligently. I would like to offer a different hypothesis. What if what we are talking about is a multiplicity of power structures that have been nurtured over time and thrive in the stale, unproductive environment of PLPN generated politics? Forget the metaphor of a gene-pool of PL or PN DNA and think in terms of stagnating mentalities in a cesspit of power-sharing. It is a world that most people know about but that we have become numbed by: failing to react with indignation when we see things happen.

The cesspit has generated Malta’s version of backhanders, nepotism, favours and a rota of privileged elite. It is the machine behind the skipping of the queue (thanks to recommendations and connections) and behind our race to the bottom (because of the absence of a meritocracy). The reason most people cannot bring themselves to criticise it is because at least in one point in their lives they have made use of it with a wink, wink, nudge, nudge attitude: and comfortable in the idea that “cosi fan tutti“.

What has this got to do with people like Edgar Galea Curmi and Police Commissioner Rizzo?

“The Private Lives of Public Personae”

Here’s a telling quote from Edgar Galea Curmi’s reaction:

On a personal level, I am Cyrus’s Confirmation Godfather and care a lot for Cyrus and his family. I am deeply upset by the way certain elements in the media are manipulating two unfortunate incidents of people I deeply care for with the sole aim of defaming the Prime Minister and the people around him. As a result of these malicious stories, I have instructed my lawyer to institute libel proceedings against MaltaToday.

Let’s leave the “manipulation” bit for a little later. Let’s get into Edgar Galea Curmi’s head for a second. A Nationalist Secretary to the PM has just told the press that he picked up a phone – upon instigation of New Labour Cyrus – to call the Commissioner of Police. Somehow Edgar seems to be comforted by the idea that Cyrus (by then a representative of the opposition party) was present when he chose to phone Commissioner Rizzo.

That in itself is a big fail. When Edgar Galea Curmi calls Commissioner Rizzo there can be only two ways to interpret it. Either he is calling him in a private capacity and speaking to Mr Rizzo in a private capacity OR it is the Prime Minister’s Head of Secretariat calling the Commissioner of Police. Now given that EGC did not call Commissioner Rizzo for a convivial chat but was actually asking about events falling under the official capacity of Mr Rizzo we can safely rule the first option out. This is worse than a Minister taking a private jet plane for a private trip for example. We have an “admission” as to the content of the phone call – and it was not a private matter.

The point though is that EGC seems to be somehow comforted by his “private” link with Cyrus thanks to having been his Confirmation Godfather. The unfortunate connotations of the word “Godfather” will not help EGC’s cause much. It is also interesting to note how a relationship deeply steeped in Catholic tradition can still create such bonds in a Malta that is still shedding it’s conservative bonds. EGC’s manner of thinking is not unique. Our PLPN society is built on webs and connections and networks. You publicly move up the ladder and before you know it you are wheel in the power machine: sometimes using that wheel’s power in complicated rituals involving the exchanging of favours. Within that power system lies an unwritten rule that family and close friends might be given an added consideration: it’s private you know. Think of the last time you saw someone getting his friend through on the VIP list in some nightclub and then think wider, bigger.

“The Indignation”

 The phone call between Galea Curmi and Rizzo is dangerous not because a PM Secretary has enquired about the operations of a part of the executive branch. This might, in other circumstances be entirely justified. If we were to accept that the PM’s office is worried about police action being shackled by political considerations a phone call might be the start of a wider enquiry: a public, official enquiry. The nature of the phone call and the justification makes the whole thing collapse on its face though. That kind of phone call can never be justified with private links. It is a public phone call with public repercussions (which is also why EGC should be less worried about “malicious interpretations” at this point).

Joseph Muscat would have been entirely justified for his indignation at the phone call and calls for resignation. But – and here comes the but – what Joseph failed to factor (unless he has already cynically factored this) was Cyrus Engerer’s role behind the infamous phone call. If, as Edgar Galea Curmi says, the phone call was made upon instigation and in the presence of Cyrus then we have the ultimate example of PLPN twisted thinking. Some people would say “the Lord is my witness” but in our convoluted way of thinking in the cesspit of our politics what better and stronger an argument than “a man from the opposition is my witness”? 

What many people will not see is that behind that kind of justification lies the very existence and spinal column of PLPN networking. They can and will work together if necessary. In most other instances EGC’s phone call would have been ok by their standards. It could, after all, very well be Joseph’s head of secretariat in a few years time who is returning the favour. The only problem here is that Cyrus is a hot potato at the moment and Joseph can rarely resist a foray into quick vote grabbing fields. By pointing his finger at EGC though, Muscat has also inadvertently (or full-knowingly) pointed his finger at Cyrus. Muscat probably knows that right now (as we said earlier) he can get away with murder… and is probably banking on the fact that voters will be too preoccupied with the hubbub to be able to see the side of the equation that implicates his own party’s latest prodigal son.

“The Police”

A few words on the police. I have discussed this case with card-carrying Labourites and card-carrying Nationalists and moderates. Three  hypotheses stood out. “The Nationalist Revenge” – a policeman in the Sliema District out on a payback mission for Cyrus’ defection. “The Big Brother Revenge” – this elaborates further with various power circles from the PN fold implicated as instigators for the police action (imagine the pressure from a district heavyweight who has been royally pissed off at Cyrus for example). Thirdly “the Sacrificial Lamb” – with a labourite push (either labour-leaning police alone or with the connivance of some Labourite politician) to use Cyrus in order to damage the government’s credibility even further. Nobody seemed to subscribe to “the Harry Vassallo Option” – in August 2008 the police report into Harry’s case showed that the timing was simply due to incompetence and slow working of the police force.

Even without proof to confirm any of the three theories what impresses me most is the fact that strongly convincing theories can be advanced that involve power-circles topped in each case by members, sympathisers and well-wishers of the two political parties. To me it matters little at that point whether one or the other turns out to be the hero/villain in this particular case.

What matters to me is that I would like to see both wiped out of their concentric circles of influence. What turns me into the cynical armchair critic that I am is the realisation after so many years that the system is so inbuilt into our thinking that it is near impossible to get it to budge one inch.

Se vogliamo che tutto cambi, bisogna che tutto rimanga lo stesso – what a motto for the PLPN mentality.

Quis custodiet ipsos custodies? asked the wittier on social networks. Who will guard us from our guardians? Maybe we should stop worrying about our guardians and ask a more important question:

“Who will protect us from ourselves?“

 

Some folks are born silver spoon in hand,
Lord, don’t they help themselves, oh.
But when the taxman comes to the door,
Lord, the house looks like a rummage sale, yes,

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PM meets Emmanuel Cini

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If last night’s reports turn out to be true it seems that the PM got over any qualms that he might have had of meeting hunger striker Emmanuel Cini. The reports also mention a fruity break to the hunger strike when Cini ate a kiwi. It was Emmanuel’s 10th day of striking and the hype around the man had all but subsided. While the positive side might still be that Cini did not meet a useless death for the sake of a transport reform, the whole story has given us loads to reflect about the way our press reacts in the face of such stories – not to mentiothe lack of ethics demonstrated by political opportunists.

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Apologia for the PN

Since I know that no matter what I write in this post I will be labelled “PN apologist” I thought of giving it a direct title and spare the superficial readers the typing. The final divorce vote has been taken and by now we all know which way the vote went. The conscience of the MPs who reflected the will of the referendum majority trumped that of those who still believed majority had nothing to do with what they decide. A majority of MPs, acting on their conscience, voted in a private members bill and Malta has been dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century thanks to the will of the people.

It’s funny how even the most “liberal” of commentators seem to have written this off as a Labour victory of some kind. True, they have not gone to the extreme of constitutional expert Luciano Busuttil who first posted this on facebook:

TODAY WE SHOULD PUT AN END TO THE DIVORCE SAGA WITH THE ‘LABOUR GOVERNMENT’ PASSING THE LAW TO REFLECT THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE!

Then, in a bout of euphoria he went on to impress us with his constitutional savoir-faire by adding:

IL-PRIM MINISTRU HU DAK LI L-PRESIDENT TAR-REPUBBLIKA JARA SKOND IL-KOSTITUZZJONI LI KAPACI JMEXXI MAGGIORANZA FIL-PARLAMENT. ILLUM IL-PRIM MINISTRU KIEN PARTI MILL-MINORANZA.

The “liberals” are busy pounding Lawrence though and let’s face it Lawrence could have only done worse had he donned a cassock and kick started an impromptu rosary in parliament. Fact is though that those busy pummeling Gonzi should be doing so with equal (or variable) measure to Joseph too. They still don’t get it do they? It’s one thing pooh-poohing Gonzi for sticking to his guns and voting Nyet all the way to the final vote and it’s another transporting this to the land of wishful thinking and collapsing governments. Here are a few inconfutable facts as to the why and because:

  • we had a free vote (and yes, Joseph is back to calling it frijvowt – see Times interview and his reply about Adrian Vassallo). Our parties did not oblige their members to vote in favour or against. As JOSEPH said – everyone was free to vote as he thinks. So NO – neither Labour nor PN or any faction thereof can claim to have in any way been part of the vote. We’ve dealt with this before and it remains a true constant.
  • the biggest consequence of the free vote is the shattering of Luciano Busuttil’s inexpert dreams. This was not a financial vote. It was not tied to the doing or undoing of government. It was a Private Member’s Bill in which EACH AND EVERY MP VOTED ACCORDING TO HIS CONSCIENCE. The vote was simple – do you accept the divorce bill or not? What does that say about the “KAPACITA LI JMEXXI MAGGIORANZA FIL-PARLAMENT”? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Because this vote does not tell the President who has the confidence of the majority of parliamentary members. It tells the President WHAT the majority of MPs voting on a specific motion decided. Punto (and unfortunately for constitutional beginners) e basta.
  • What lessons do we learn? We learn that Gonzi stuck to his principle till the end. We learn that he was comfortable with voting no after ensuring that the will of the people is respected. That made many of us think less highly about Dr Gonzi. We also learnt that Joseph’s labour refused to take a position. More importantly we learn that Joseph’s labour is willing to take advantage of giving the false impression that it has a position on something – when it had nothing of the sort.

If anyone has been proven right by the turn of events then that must surely be this page, this blog and this blogger. Our two parties have confirmed their abdication from representative politics.

Voting PN next election translates into voting in chaos. A party without identity and values is not a party that can come up with proper programmes.

Voting PL next election translates into voting in absolute opportunism. Their weathervane approach to policy is extremely dangerous and is no guarantee for proper policies and programmes either.

Last Saturday I posted what I called a “Cyrus WTF moment” on facebook (it was later picked up by bloggers elsewhere). To me it illustrates the manner in which many have fallen for Labour’s non-policy hook, line and sinker. Others might put my statements down to “high handed opinions from abroad“. We’ve been there before – incidentally when we were told by PN stalwarts to shut up because they did not like what we were saying… it seems now that the weathervane has shifted for the Labourites and Joseph lovers to tell us not to interfere because we live abroad. Moviment Tindahalx indeed….

The Cyrus WTF moment :

 “Engerer says that whilst he and Opposition leader Jospeh Muscat do not agree on issues such as same-sex marriage, Muscat is open to be convinced on the contrary.” – and thank f**k for that….

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The Press & Manu's Mission

The tragicomic news items from the island never cease to surprise but the story of the rise and fall of Emmanuel Cini in the sympathy ratings in the Maltese press is as intriguing as ever. For those who have been too busy complaining about omnibuses or owling, Emmanuel Cini is the man who is attempting to become Malta’s Marco Pannella by going on a hunger strike until Minister Gatt resigns.

The story – accompanied by a daily vlog (video blog) – of the weakening Cini did hit the headlines by his second day of starving. It was pushed by the pinker of the press (MaltaToday & Maltastar) and then picked up by the village gossip angle of the Times. Being the christians that we are (especially when the subject is white and not coming in a boat from North Africa) the papers were quick to emphasise the disabilities and illnesses of this particular individual – gunning for even more empathy from Joe Public.

By Day 4 there was something weird in the air. No direct contact from the ministry, the usual labourite barks hanging onto anything remotely anti-government and the pink press milking whatever was milkable. Then came Cini’s daily vid and his clumsy attempt to distance himself from what he called Labour’s “squeaky clean” image. Apparently this martyr did not want to “tarnish” Labour with his deed (How could such a commendable act tarnish Labour we wondered? Then we wondered why all this fuss about the “squeaky clean”).

There was an uncomfortable silence about this man’s travails. Sure, the TGITTCB crowd and the usual hobby-horse anti-government bitching elevated Cini to hero status but the reluctance of the press to dig deeper stood out.This morning Joe Camilleri from the National Commission for Persons with Disability politely refrained from joining Mr. Cini’s cause. Surely there was something everybody knew but was reluctant to mention.

Then came Daphne to the rescue. Her pachydermic memory (and a few tips from the blog commentators) unearthed another side of Emmanuel Cini (if you excuse the weak pun). Suddenly the hunger-striker became the gay porn star with a track record of more than half a screw missing. Apparently it did not take much to unearth his earlier life in porno stardom.

So what kept the press from delving deeper? If this man had been in the news earlier why were not newshounds’ instincts alerted? Is this a sign of incompetence or is there more to it? I have a feeling there is more to it in the sense that once you eliminate the average PL-friendly press who can get more mileage out of the striker if he is a victim and not a pornstar you are left with journalists who might not feel it is right to question the motives of someone who is “putting his life on the line”. In other words Emmanuel Cini, the dying man, is untouchable because he is sick and dying.

Nobody would dare question his recklessness. Nobody would question whether Arriva and Minister Gatt are worth dying for (are they?). The weakness of the press is not always politically motivated. It could have a lot to do with our modus operandi and values. It could also have to do with being lazy: the dying man story was as good as it got for some: why look further?

 

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