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Values

The Libyan Patients

You take an unplanned break from blogging and when you come back you find out that nothing much has changed. Last time we were blogging regularly (seems like ages but it’s only a week ago) we commented on the farce that was the MUMN’s badly managed PR about the stress caused to the Maltese health system by 16 Libyan patients (one has since passed away).

In the interim, Dr Gozi has declared the ITU closed for business in a very pre-Arriva bus-driver style declaration of “Full Up”. The MUMN, eager to stay ahead in the national foot-in-mouth championships couldn’t resist another jibe at the country’s manager’s political priorities. Apparently crassly insinuating that Libyans should not be treated before every last Maltese national gets his taxes worth is not enough. MUMN ups the ante and engages in further stereotypification. And what better “class” of citizens to use than the “Gozitans”?

Apparently, as a badly drafted Times of Malta headline goes: “Gozitan patients lacking same political commitment given to Libyan patients“. Which either means that the patients from Gozo are not as sufficiently politically committed as the Libyan counterparts (Not dying for the patria are we?) or – as the “given” in the title seems to insinuate – there is not sufficient priority being given to the needs of Gozitan persons coming to Malta for treatment.

Forgetting this grammatical cul-de-sac for a minute, it is absolutely ridiculous of the MUMN to actually bring this particular card out of their twisted set of lobbying instruments. The “Gozitan” cause is usually useful to either politicians who want to specialise in a “minority” niche (if it’s not South then it’s Gozo or Sliema or Siggiewi) and turn it into something really really special. It is also useful to particular columnists who tend to thrive on a bit of Gozitan beating every now and then – spuriously linking localised examples of very Maltese ignorance to one particular geographic corner- as though what happens in Gozo never happened in Bisazza Street, Rabat or Cospicua.

I know. I’m biased. But what should that change? Are we stupid enough to erect barriers in the spittle of an isle that we call home? What next? Siggiewi patients deserve more attention in Maternity Ward? And where the fuck are the ethical principles that should be the foundation for a caring profession? For heaven’s sake – doctor, nurse, scrub, whatever – if you are in a caring profession then I’d expect you in the very least to be seeing each and every patient as just that: a patient. It’s not an ID Card that you have to cure, it’s a burn, a bullet wound or a severe case of toxoplasmosis.

Gozitans, Libyans, Siggiewi people, Xewkija people – that’s not the language for nurses or their representative association. It’s the dangerous language of politicians who are prepared to go down the route of “great minds” before them… a geezer named Adolf comes to mind.

Don’t worry though. They’ve found another dog close to death in a skip. All this fuss about dying Libyans and underprivileged Gozitans will soon be sidelined to favour the plight of Malta’s latest animal hero.

I wonder if the Centru San Frangisk has a policy about particular breeds. “What? A boxer? No siree…. we’re politically committed to Chihuahuas, Spaniels and Whippets…. “

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Mediawatch

Blast from the past

I’d like to apologise for the current dearth of blogging but in between a compressed workload, the run up to the day I tie the knot and works in progress chez J’accuse (plus a bachelors to recove from) we’ve found little time to write the many things that have passed through our mind. Meanwhile, to fill the gap… and as an example of our incredible consistency – here’s what we were writing on J’accuse 5 years ago.

“Tra questi documenti, quelli appunto contrassegnati “dai progressivi 112 al 119 con tutte le telefonate della Juventus di Luciano Moggi, la Gea ma anche del guardalinee Enrico Ceniccola, finito nell’inchiesta di Napoli per la partita Lecce-Juve 0-1. “Chiesi a Adamo – dice la donna – dove finivano quest’ultimi elaborati, ottenendo come risposta che di questo non dovevo preoccuparmi“.

Denigrators of the bianconeri have had a great time over the past summer. Reading the news items, following the cases and above all examining the punishments one would think that the only illegal operator in the realm of Italian football is Juve. The supposition was that everyone had been investigated and that the Juve officials were worse off at the end of it. Worse off – even though no proof was found of fixed matches or of actual influence on refereeing – they are playing a dignified season in Serie B and have turned over a new chapter.

The investigations into Telecom Italia’s illegal tapping are now shedding more light on the suspicious “selective victimisation” and it would seem that there is a methodology behind the fact that the only accusations forthcoming were against La Vecchia Signora. It also transpires that the cleanest team in football (false passports aside) are now under investigation for the much feared slealtà sportiva.Apparently Inter were also involved in some illegal spying activity that might have been intended to procure unfair sporting advantage.

As we had said earlier in the year on J’Accuse… there is much that is rotten in the Kingdom of Calcio. The petty measures that were taken until now stank more of jealousy and antipathy than real justice. The current campionato is a sham and the winners will have nothing to be proud of. Just as much as the scudetto sewn onto the Inter shirts this season is the biggest lie in the history of football.

Wait for more. There is no doubt that there will be more.

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Articles

J’accuse : Pride and prejudice revisited

The Statue of Liberty turned 125 last Friday. Back in 1896, the French government donated the statue to the people of America and “Liberty” soon became an iconic symbol and gateway to the land of opportunity for thousands of migrants that reached the shores of the United States in the last century. Events closer to home this week made me wonder whether we should have our own statue in Malta. Actually, make that two statues − you know how it is in this country − you need to have a black and a white side to every opinion… so you probably will need two statues too.

This week we had the Independence Day celebrations. It had not been hard to predict that the build-up of news about Malta’s valiant efforts in assisting our Libyan brothers was aimed at boosting the feel-good factor that is normally associated with the 21st September speeches from the podia at il-Fosos. The event came and went, and the PN leaders duly delivered. We had a new message: “Pride”. We should be proud to form part of this nation that against all adversity has assisted the injured and wounded in Libya. In one evening’s speech, the six-month long hesitation whether or not to back the rebels was washed away. The image of the injured Shwegya became the 21st century equivalent of the proud Maltese helping the shipwrecked Saint Paul.

They tell me that our prized tapestries are being restored in Belgium right now. In the past, tapestries were used to tell the story of some national epic or narrative. They would boost the pride of the tapestry owners – sometimes free cities of the merchant north. Our political writers with a strong PLPN bias weave our modern day histories into special tapestries. Only this time the actors did not quite fit the bill. While the yarn of “proud and charitable” Malta was being spun in some places, the acts of the citizens elsewhere told a very different story. Two stories actually … a black one and a white one that should earn us the two statues I mentioned earlier.

The black − No to injured Libyans

The first sabotage attempt at undermining GonziPN’s efforts to weave a new heroic story into the tapestry of our PLPN history books came from an unexpected source. The (very Christian) spokesperson of Malta’s Union of Nurses (and Midwives) complained that Mater Dei has enough on its hands as it is and does not need to play nurse to any injured Libyans. Paul Pace, head of the MUMN told the government that “bigger countries with more facilities should address such problems”. Boom goes GonziPN’s plans of a proud nation humbly serving the weak and the injured. Bang goes any semblance of pride. Incidentally, don’t hold your breath for a Joseph Muscat position on this mess by the way. It’ll be more like a free vote − otherwise he’ll either have to criticise MUMN (read votes) for their tunnel vision or he’ll have to criticise Gonzi’s plans thus losing cred on his “I love New Libya” mantra.

As for the proud nation sticking its neck out for others, the best source to tap the pulse of the nation remains the online comment boards. Here is a Ms Maria Vella writing in The Times: “Let us stop being all politically correct and call a spade a spade! Mr Pace did not beat around the bush and stated the situation as it is. We have enough Maltese patients (who pay taxes and contribute towards the running of this hospital) waiting for treatment, in corridors or at home, or even worse sent home because of lack of space but we find place and resources to treat foreigners. Whilst my sympathies go to the injured Libyans, charity should begin at home!” Now there’s a thought Mr Prime Minister. A sympathy card to Libya and that’s that. Where’s Tonio Borg when you need him? So the first statue, possibly at the entrance to Grand Harbour should be pointing our unwanted immigrants back home. Let’s call him Charity. I can picture the colossus standing with the two faces of hypocrisy as his outstretched hand ends in a finger pointing out to sea. In his other hand he sports a colander and a flag of the nation he calls home.

The white − yes to rich magnates

The second sabotage attempt comes from an unexpected source. Writing in The Times of Malta, property developer and estate agent Frank Salt describes the new conditions for obtaining a residency in Malta as “a large hammer being used to crack a delicate egg”. Apparently, the new conditions for your average Russian euro-burner to settle down in Malta are “very complicated, extraordinarily expensive, virtually prohibitive” − dixit Frank. It seems that the developers’ apple cart has been upset:

Here’s Mr Salt’s angry question: “Was it sensible for the authorities to continue to allow new building developments specifically targeted at potential new foreign buyers, to sprout up all over our Islands, when they knew that they were about to unload this bombshell, that would and could, and no doubt will, upset the whole apple cart?”

And the property developers are angry. They’re angry at the government that encouraged them to develop land to sell it off to non-EU citizens (not injured Libyans mind you… for that we have Mater Dei) and then came up with these conditions. Here’s Frank being Frank again: “Today, the local property industry first works its backside off promoting Malta as a safe, inexpensive and pleasant place in which foreigners and their families can come and live in peace. Then, when the market gets off its feet, quality developments are built, foreign residents, permanent and temporary come to Malta to see whether they would like to live here… bang… once again it is time to mess things up.” Bang indeed.

Finally, there is the music for the environmentalist’s ear: “Now we have to see how we are going to sell the hundreds of properties that are currently on the market and those hundreds more that have new permits to build.”

I’ve got an idea for Frank if he doesn’t mind me telling him. I’m thinking that our developers could sell some of that space to … lemme see… a Qatari developer who could then invest some of his money into … hmm… a hospital.

There would be some divine justice in that wouldn’t there? An exclusive hospital built to service the wounded and injured from the Arab Spring. The developers would get their money. The nurses would get their break from the influx in Mater Dei and the government would sell this off as some smart move. Lovely no?

While he’s at it, our Qatari developer could also sponsor the second statue. This one stands across the harbour from Charity welcoming visitors with arms wide open. At his foot stand a giant-sized cash register and piggy bank. Preferably, “Opportunity” (for thusly I have named him) will be richly dressed, complete with top hat as a wannabe Mr Moneybags.

The Pride of Lions

Forget my grandiose statue building plans and just think for one moment about the realities of this island. On the one hand we have our political establishment living in an alternative world where Malta “proudly welcomed” sixteen (16) wounded Libyans. (This is, by the way, the same Malta that welcomed hundreds of thousands of injured from the Crimean War and the battlefields of World War I (the Gallipoli and Salonika campaigns) without batting an eyelid.)

On the other hand, the talk on the street and on the web boards is anything but this charitable and proud nation. When we are not busy kicking up a fuss about the foreigners taking up space in our hospitals (don’t bleed on my soil), we are complaining that new laws do not allow money-spending magnates to set up residence on our rock (please let them come bleed euros here).

It’s normally Joseph Muscat’s job to blame Dr Gonzi for everything under the sun (including tsunamis and world economic crisis). I’d just simply say that our political establishment are getting the “proud” citizens they have nurtured and that they deserve. What you reap is what you sow. Maybe the time has come to wake up.

www.akkuza.com is hoping to survive this weekend of bachelor partying. If all goes well we’ll be back online Monday – as proud as peacocks. This article appeared in the J’accuse column of yesterday’s edition of The Malta Independent on Sunday.

* Image – a “welcome” poster for “foreigners” received in my postbox from the “friendly” (thankfully a minority) side of Luxembourg… tolerance is all around us

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Admin

Closed for Bachelors

I’m off to Bologna this weekend. I’m supposed to be looking forward to a weekend of drunken excess since I will be “celebrating” my bachelor’s party. The thing is I’ve never been an enthusiastic participant at this kind of event – I’m more like the wet blanket at such occasions. Most times I end up man marking the more excessive and crazy members of the crowd trying to ensure that no physical harm is done.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m the first in line for practical jokes and love a good laugh when the prank is well thought out. It’s just that the wankellectual snob doesn’t relate to the primitive idea of stripping, strapping and throwing up that seems to be the sum total of a bachelor party activity on the island. Give me a “Zingarata” any day… but hell, how do you explain the Monicelli concept in this day and age?

So yep, I am off, packing my bags for the city of three T’s (that’s apparently Tits, Towers and Tortellini). Given that my level of alcohol resistance is that of a three year old thanks to my having switched to tea or diet coke as beverages of choice you may very well hear of a Maltese national having been arrested in Bologna after being discovered trawling the streets naked covered in whatever inventive substance passes as fun at a bachelors these days.

Still. The good thing is that the intercettati will be passing through Bologna on Saturday night. With a bit of luck (make that a lot in my case) I might witness the face of the disappointed intercettato fan first hand. Forza Bologna! Forza Di Vaio!

Back on Monday! (fingers crossed)

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Values

From Crimea to Benghazi

“Nurse of the Mediterranean”, “Florence Nightingale”. These terms are no coincidence and were not invented by some nationalist spinmeister in an effort to boost our “pride” in our country. As Maltatoday picks up on public sentiment and reports that three Maltese patients were moved out of the ITU to make way for injured Libyan persons (you can sense Saviour puffing behind this bit of news), it would do all of us a favour to calm down a little and have a look at the numbers behind all this fuss.

To me the crucial bit of the Maltatoday article is the part that reports the number of Libyan patients threatening to cause havoc with our health care facilities. Given the fuss that has been kicked up by the insensitive NIMBYISTS on one hand and by the superproud heroes of nationalist persuasion on the other you’d have thought we were talking of Lampedusa Thousands. Hah. The real number is 16. Sixteen. That’s a kindergarten class (I think).

Let’s take the hands of time and turn them back a century and half ago. It’s November 1854 and there’s a war in the Crimea. That’s far, far away in Maltese provincial terms but since we were then under the administration of the British Crown we could not afford to ignore the geopolitical realities beyond San Dimitri point. The Crimean War gave the world the Charge of the Light Brigade, familiarity with the word Balaklava and Florence Nightingale. It was also the reason that Malta became, for the first time under British occupancy “the nurse of the Mediterranean”. Before that Malta had already played host to the Knights Hospitaller which is not simply a decorative adjective but an indication of the vocation of the Knights of St. John as medics. Hence the Sacra Infermeria.

But back to the Crimea and Malta. Here is Mr C Savona Ventura in an article I found quickly (not much time for research here) on the net describing Malta’s hospital role and the grand plans by Florence Nightingale herself to design a hospital in Malta. What is immediately striking is the request from Britain to set up to receive 10,000 (that’s ten thousand) war wounded on the island.

The Crimean War of 1854-56 served as a turning point in military medical administration. During the Crimean War Malta served as an outpost to treat wounded soldiers. The Malta Times wrote “Orders were received here from England to prepare quarters for 10,000 men. Several localities are being fitted-up; among others, the Lazzaretto and adjoining Plague Hospital, where it is said there is room for 1000 men, and the Dockyard lofts where as many men can be housed. Convents will be used if absolutely required, but not otherwise.” The first wounded soldiers arrived from the Crimea in November 1854 [17]. (…)

Florence Nightingale in her book Notes on Hospitals first published in 1859 took up the proposal of a new military hospital in Malta. In the 3rd edition of her book dated 1863, Nightingale suggested that a new General Military Hospital should replace permanently the Valletta Station Hospital. (C. Savona Ventura – Military Hospitals in Malta)

If anyone has the time to find the actual figures of how many wounded were treated in Maltese hospitals in World War I and during the Crimean War it should help give us more of a sense of perspective to the political fuss that is being kicked up here.

 

During the First World War, like the Crimean War period, Malta served as a “Nurse of the Mediterranean”. From the Gallipoli campaigns 2500 officers and 55400 troops were treated in the Maltese hospitals, while from the 1917 Salonika campaigns 2600 officers and 64500 troops were treated. The years of the conflict thus required the significant augmentation of hospital beds for injured and sick troops. The number of beds in the Valletta Military Hospital were augmented from 26 beds to 340 and later to 440 beds. This augmentation was achieved by renovating disused wards and bringing the sanitary and medical facilities up to date. The Valletta Station Hospital served as a sorting base for the wounded arriving in the hospital ships prior to their being transferred to the other 30 hospitals and camps scattered over the Islands.  (also from C Savona Ventura – Military Hospitals in Malta)

* this post relies heavily on information gathered from the article “Military Hospitals in Malta” by C. Savona Ventura available here.

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Jasmine

The Pride of Lions

Do you have Independence day hangover? Are you still reeling from the injection of pride in our country and its achievements – especially in its delayed reincarnation as the potential Florence Nightingale of the Libyan Spring? Or are you still feeling rather indignant at the “divisive” call for AST’s resignation? Better still, are you still clutching your aching sides after laughing all night at Labour’s non sequitur style reponse that “if my ex-Foreign Minister was an arsehole then your ex-Leader /PM / President played host to a flurry of arseholes in the early nineties”?

However you may have woken up this side of Independence Day, you will surely have gone through your morning papers and probably, like J’accuse, you’d have noticed the glaring inconsistencies in this proud nation’s dealing with foreigners. Here they are in black and white.

The Black – No to injured Libyans

On the one hand GonziPN’s efforts to weave a new heroic story into the tapestry of our PLPN history books have come under fire from an unexpected source. The (very christian) spokesperson of some Union of Nurses complained that Mater Dei has enough on its hands as it is and does not need to play nurse to any injured Libyans. Paul Pace, head of the MUMN told the government that “bigger countries with more facilities should address such problems”. Boom goes GonziPN’s plans of proud nation humbly serving the weak and the injured. Don’t hold your breath for a Joseph Muscat position on this mess by the way. He either criticises MUMN (read votes) for their tunnel vision or he criticises Gonzi’s plans thus losing cred on his “I love New Libya” mantra.

As for the proud nation sticking its neck out for others – here is the best source to tap the pulse of the nation … the Times online comment board:

Ms Maria Vella

Today, 09:59

Let us stop being all politically correct and call a spade a spade!

Mr. Pace did not beat around the bush and stated the situation as it is. We have enough Maltese patients (who pay taxes and contribute towards the running of this hospital) waiting for treatment, in corridors or at home, or even worse sent home because of lack of space but we find place and resources to treat foreigners.

Whilst my sympathies go towards the injured Libyans, charity should begin at home!

Now there’s a thought Mr. Prime Minister. A sympathy card to Libya and that’s that. Where’s Tonio Borg when you need him?

The White – Yes to rich magnates

Frank Salt, of Frank Salt properties, describes the new conditions for obtaining a residency in Malta as “a large hammer being used to crack a delicate egg” (TOM – Messing with the economic motor). Apparently the new conditions for your average Russian euro-burner to settle down in Malta are “very complicated, extraordinarily expensive, virtually prohibitive” – dixit Frank. It seems that the developers’ apple cart has been upset:

Was it sensible for the authorities to continue to allow new building developments specifically targeted at potential new foreign buyers, to sprout up all over our Islands, when they knew that they were about to unload this bombshell, that would and could, and no doubt will, upset the whole apple cart?

And the property developers are angry. They’re angry at the government that encouraged them to develop land to sell it off to Non-EU citizens (not injured Libyans mind you… for that we have Mater Dei) and then came up with these conditions. Here’s Frank being Frank again:

Today, the local property industry first works its backside off promoting Malta as a safe, inexpensive and pleasant place in which foreigners and their families can come and live in peace. Then, when the market gets off its feet, quality developments are built, foreign residents, permanent and temporary come to Malta to see whether they would like to live here… bang… once again it is time to mess things up.

And then there is the music for the environmentalist’s ear:

Now we have to see how we are going to sell the hundreds of properties that are currently on the market and those hundreds more that have new permits to build.

Dunno Frank. I’m thinking that you should sell some of that space to … lemme see… a Qatari developer who could then invest some of his money into … hmm… a hospital. There would  be some divine justice in that wouldn’t there? An exclusive hospital built to service the wounded and injured from the Arab Spring. The developers would get their money. The nurses would get their break from the influx in Mater Dei and the government would sell this off as some smart move. Lovely no?

Finale

Of course mine is a tongue in cheek suggestion to Mr Salt. What really jars is the existence of this reality on our tiny rock. On the one hand we have those christians who cannot accept the idea that our valuable hospital space is being taken up by “foreigners” (stop bleeding on my soil) and on the other we have those business minded few who are dying to get the right type of foreigner (those who bleed money) to our shores.

It’s normally Joseph Muscat’s job to blame Gonzi for everything under the sun (including tsunamis and world economic crisis). I’d just say simply that our political establishment are getting the “proud” citizens they have nurtured and that they deserve.

What you reap is what you sow. Maybe it’s time to wake up.

 

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