Ħabib tiegħi reġa’ nqabad fil-ġlieda ma’ kanċer li mingħalih kien għeleb. Biss did-darba sab offerta ta’ kura f’pajjiż Ewropew li setgħet tilqa’ għall-problema li reġgħet inqalgħet.
Daħal għaliha. Deherlu li qed tagħmillu ġid. It-testijiet mediċi wkoll hekk urew. Tatu kuraġġ. Mhijiex xi forma to omeopatija; imma f’Malta ma jidhirx li hi rikonoxxuta.
Għall-ewwel, għat-tieni u anke t-tielet fażi tat-trattament, ħallas kollox minn butu; għal li baqa’ ma jistax ikompli jħallas hu u familtu.
Applika fejn kellu japplika biex jirċievi xi għajnuna. Il-bordijiet mediċi ma qablux li t-trattament li daħal għalih għandu jingħata għarfien. Minkejja l-wegħdiet ta’ appoġġ li rċieva, spiċċa lampa u stampa.
Mhux sew. Qed insemmi każ ta’ ħajja u mewt.
DWAR IL-BARRANIN
Kont qed nitkellem ma’ politiku Ewropew minn pajjiż nordiku u fissirli kif f’pajjiżu jħossu stramb meta ta’ spiss jidħol f’ristorant u jsib li l-qaddejja fih ma jkunux jafu ilsien pajjiżu. Irid ikellimhom bl-Ingliż jew b’xi taħlita oħra ta’ diskors. Qgħadt nisma’…
Baqa’ jgħidli kif ħafna f’pajjiżu jħossuhom imwarrba u mdejqa meta fi triqithom jew fejn jaħdmu jsibu “wisq” nies ta’ nazzjonalità oħra.
Ma’ min tkellimt ma kienx mil-lemin estrem. Anzi, soċjalista li ħabbat il-bibien fl-aħħar kampanja Ewropea. Ma biddel xejn mill-ideat pro-Ewropej u “progressivi” tiegħu imma deherli inkwetat.
Kif ma setax jonqos. Il-mudell Ewropew ta’ tmexxija u żvilupp sar wisq jiddependi fuq ideat li jpoġġu fuq l-istess livell il-flus kontanti, il-ħidma tal-bniedem, l-assi miġmugħa fl-imgħoddi u l-aħħar żvilupp tekniku. Tara kif tagħmel l-aħjar profitt billi tlaqqa’ flimkien dawn l-ingredjenti b’mod li jrendi.
Il-problema hi li n-nies ma tistax tqishom biss qishom kienu fattur tal-produzzjoni. Huma ħafna aktar minn hekk, u b’mod ikkomplikat.
IL-PN U L-PL INGLIŻ
Il-qagħda tal-Partit Nazzjonalista bħalissa tfakkrek f’dak li ġara… għadu qed jiġri…fil-Partit Laburista Brittaniku. Hemm, il-membri tal-partit għażlu lil Jeremy Corbyn biex imexxihom u d-deputati parlamentari, fil-maġġoranza tagħhom, ma qablux. Qiesu li bih ma jistgħux iżommu s-siġġijiet parlamentari tagħhom u jirbħu. Skont id-deputati, Corbyn ma għandux il-ħila li jisfa elett bħala Prim Ministru. L-oġġezzjonijiet tagħhom naxruhom fil-beraħ, għalkemm bħal fil-kaz tal-PN, fil-maġġoranza ta’ każi, b’mod “anonimu”.
Issa, m’hemmx mod aqwa kif timmina ċ-ċansijiet elettorali ta’ partit: ħlief billi fazzjoni interna publikament tippromwovi stqarrijiet bħal dawn. Hi profezija li malli tixxandar, tkun qed twettaq lilha nnifisha.
Hi ħaġa kurjuża kif f’partiti politiċi ta’ żminijietna qed tqum din id-diverġenza: bejn x’jaħsbu d-deputati eletti u x’jaħsbu l-membri tal-partit.
English Version – Cancer cures
A friend of mine is once again in the grip of a cancer he had believed he was cured of. This time though he found in a European country a treatment designed to counter the problem that had reappeared.
He went for it and thought he was making progress. Medical tests confirmed this which gave him new hope. The treatment is not some form of homeopathy and is not carried out in Malta.
He paid for the first, second and third phases of the treatment; but neither he nor his family can afford to continue paying for the rest.
He applied for help to agencies that exist for this purpose. Their medical boards disagreed that the treatment he is following should be given recognition. Despite the promises made to help him, he was left dangling.
This is not right. It’s a matter of life and death.
***
Foreigners
In conversation with a politician from a northern European country, he confessed how strange it seems to him, when at some restaurant back home, that he now frequently finds waiting staff who cannot communicate in the country’s language. He has to speak to them in English or in a garbled hotch potch of vocabularies. I listened to what he had to say…
Many people in his country are feeling marginalised and insecure when in the street where they live or at their place of work there are “too many” foreign people around.
The person I was with does not belong to the extreme right. To the contrary, he is a socialist who did house visits in the last European campaign. He has not changed a comma of his pro-European and “progressive” ideas but he did seem worried.
Which is to be expected. The European model for public management and social development has become too dependent on ideas that place at the same level cash flows, human labour, accumulated capital and the latest technological advances. One seeks to maximize results by bringing together all these ingredients together “profitably”.
The problem is that one cannot consider people as if they are just factors of production. They are much more than that and in a very complicated manner.
***
Malta’s PN and British Labour
The situation that the PN finds itself in today reminds one of what happened… is still happening… in the British Labour Party. There, party members chose Jeremy Corbyn as leader but the majority of MPs demurred. They considered that with Corbyn at the helm, they would not be able to retain their parliamentary seats or win elections. In their view, Corbyn is unelectable and cannot make it as PM. They made their objections public, although as in the case of the PN, many did so “anonymously”.
Now, there’s no better way of undermining a party’s electoral chances than by having an internal faction that publicly promotes such statements. It is a prophecy that by virtue of getting broadcast becomes self-fulfilling.
It is curious how divergences have been emerging in contemporary political parties – between the views of elected MPs and those of party members.
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