Brussell

Ġimagħtejn wara l-attakki terroristi, fi Brussell għad hemm ċertu skantament. Jew hekk deherli. F’daqqa waħda qisu biża’ li kien ilu jinħeba u jitgħatta, ħareġ fil-beraħ bl-akbar brutalità. Għax kien ilu magħruf imma injorat, aktar ixxokkja.

Forsi qed ngħaġġibha, biss it-toroq dehruli li għadhom anqas iffullati mis-soltu. Ħwienet li s-soltu jkunu miftuħa, baqgħu magħluqa f’nofs ta’ ġimgħa.

Tal-anqas mill-ajruport ta’ Zaventem il-kwistjoni dwar sigurtà li qamet il-ġimgħa li għaddiet inħallet. It-titjiriet bdew jitilqu, fosthom tal-Air Malta. Titjira diretta bejn Malta u Brussell hi ħafna aħjar minn traġitt twil bil-coach sa Dusseldorf u minn hemm lejn Malta; inkella titjira lejn Pariġi jew Amsterdam u wara bit-trenn għall-kapitali Belġjana.

Brussell u kull min jgħix fiha iridu jagħrblu sew xinhu jwassal għall-atti ta’ terroriżmu u kif l-aħjar jiġu ffaċċjati. Il-problema għadha magħna; ma jaqbilx li tkompli tiġi injorata.

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Parties

F’dal-pajjiż, għandna ħabta kif nippretendu li taparsi qed inħarsu n-naħa l-oħra u ma narawx u nifhmu xi jkun għaddej.

Hawn xi ħadd li seta’ kellu dubju x’jiġri matul il-parties ta’ jumejn jew tlieta bla waqfien li nżammu l-Qawra u li kellhom “marketing” qawwi barra?

Smajna u qrajna dwar id-dvernji li saru fuq ajruplani jew ajruplan li ġabu lil dawk li ġew għalihom — każi ta’ traffikar u użu lampanti ta’ droga — il-ħmieġ u ħerba li l-parties ħallew warajhom u li kellhom jiffaċċjaw ir-residenti tal-Qawra — kemm marru tajjeb ċerti negozji.

Tibqa’ l-mistoqsija: dawn it-tip ta’ attivitajiet għandna xi rriduhom bħala pajjiż? Jien naħseb li le.

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Il-karti ta’ Panama

Lil hinn mill-kontroversja politika lokali, il-furur dwar l-iskandlu tal-karti tal-Panama hu inkwetanti għal Malta. Qed ipoġġi mill-ġdid skrutinju qawwi fuq is-servizzi finanzjarji, li jinsabu taħt dell kbir. L-iskandlu tal-Luxleaks sena u nofs ilu, kellu bħala mira t-transazzjonijiet finanzjarji tal-kumpaniji multinazzjonali l-kbar.

Mill-bidu deher ċar x’se tkun il-mira li jmiss: it-transazzjonijiet finanzjarji ta’ individwi u entijiet ċkejkna li għandhom aċċess għal ħafna flus. Il-karti tal-Panama jipprovdu informazzjoni tassew mifruxa dwar dan. Se tixpruna żgur aktar sforzi biex lis-servizzi finanzjarji titpoġġielhom sarima.

Politikament se jkun diffiċli ħafna li dil-ħaġa titwaqqaf. Moralment, ftit li xejn hemm ġustifikazzjoni biex jiġri hekk.

Pajjiżna fl-aħħar tletin sena gawda bil-kbir mis-servizzi finanzjarji. Saru kważi l-aqwa mutur tal-ekonomija. Imma f’fora Ewropej, qed isir dejjem aktar diffiċli li wieħed jiddefendihom.

U l-mira li jkun imiss warajhom imbagħad, hu s-settur tal-imħatri bl-internet, hu wkoll mutur ekonomiku qawwi hawnhekk.

English Version – Brussels

Two weeks after the terrorist attacks, in Brussels there still prevails a certain sense of shock. Or so it seemed to me. All at once, it’s like a fear that had been kept under wraps for along time, but which has now come into the open with the greatest brutality. The shock was greater because though the threat was acknowledged, it had continued to be ignored.

I may be exaggerating, still streets appeared less crowded than usual. Shops which used to be open, stayed closed in mid-week.

At least the dispute about how to guarantee security there, which erupted last week at Zaventem airport, has been resolved. Flights have started to leave, among them Air Malta’s. A direct flight between Malta and Brussels is much better than a long coach journey to Dusseldorf, from which to Malta; or a flight to Paris or Amsterdam, following which a train journey to the Belgian capital.

Brussels and its inhabitants need to examine deeply what is making terror acts possible and how these had best be met. The terror threat remains with us; it should not be ignored any further.

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Parties

In this country, we do know how to make believe we are looking elsewhere, so that we fail to notice and understand what is really happening.

Was there anybody who could have had any doubt regarding what is supposed to happen during two or three days of non-stop partying at Qawra, which were strongly marketed abroad?

We heard and read about the trouble on the plane or planes which brought over partygoers – the cases of drug trafficking and lampant drug use – the filth and destruction left behind for Qawra residents to live with, at the sites where the parties were held – the financial windfall that the occasion provided for some businesses.

The question is: do we as a country need to promote this type of activity? I think not.

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Panama Papers

Beyond the local political controversy, the furore caused by the Panama papers scandal is a cause for concern in Malta. It is again placing financial services under strict scrutiny, at a time when they are already under a cloud. Following the Luxleaks scandal, a year and a half ago, the target was the financial transactions carried out by the big multinational companies.

Right from the start it was obvious what the next target would be: the financial transactions of individuals and small enterprises endowed one way or the other with substantial funds. The Panama papers have provided widespread information about this. They will certainly trigger new efforts to put limits on financial services.

Politically it will be very difficult to stop this. Morally, there is little to no justification for doing so.

This country has over the last thirty years benefitted a lot from financial services. They have become now possibly the most important engine of the Maltese economy. However in European fora, it is becoming increasingly difficult to defend their acceptability.

In their wake then, the next target will be the internet gaming sector, which has also become here quite a powerful economic engine.