Saturday, 9th May 2009
Interesting people I have met
During the course of my life, I have had the privilege of meeting many interesting people, several of whom are well-known public personalities. Here are my views on some of them :
Daphne Caruana Galizia
I met Daphne some years ago on a trip to Brussels for people involved in the media. I remember that I was one of the last passengers to board the plane and the only seat left was the one next to Daphne. When I had sat down, she was busy using her biro to note key points of certain articles in foreign newspapers. She immediately told me to feel free to read any of the newspapers and I was struck by her kindness as the image I had of her as a writer was rather negative, given her penchant for continuously attacking and ridiculing the Labour Party in her writings.
In the following days in Brussels, I had the opportunity to note the difference between the person and the writer. In fact, Daphne Caruana Galizia is a very nice person on a personal level. On the other hand, on a professional level, the style she uses in her writings very often offends the sentiments of many people, the reason probably being that here in Malta we have still not learned to take such things with a pinch of salt. Especially where politics is concerned, I believe that we take things too seriously, myself included.
Peppi Azzopardi
I have met Peppi Azzopardi on many occasions, on Xarabank, other TV programmes and also the above-mentioned trip to Brussels. I have always been struck by his honesty and sincerity. He is the type who will state his opinion even if he is in a room where everybody is of a contrary opinion to his. His casual style of clothes is perhaps his trademark and, of course, he is a workaholic. He is also a very sensitive and caring person. I remember when I was once feeling ill on a trip back to Malta, he remained by my side, helping me as he could, not only at the airport on departure but throughout the flight back and on arrival despite the fact that he usually never wastes a minute of his time on such occasions but goes on with his work even when he is airborne.
Like Daphne, I have my reservations about the professional side of Peppi Azzopardi. I have always told him that I find Xarabank biased and that the way the programme is structured and produced serves the latent agenda of certain political interests although, obviously, he would not agree with me on this. Still, one has to admit that Peppi Azzopardi has made a great contribution to raising media standards in Malta and he and his team have attained a level of professionalism unique in the Maltese Islands. Whether you agree with his methods or not is another matter.
Fr Mark Montebello
I have known Fr Mark Montebello since the establishment of the Education Unit of the Corradino Correctional Facility almost twelve years ago. I have always been struck by his selfless work for prisoners and their families. His dedication to his philanthropic work is beyond one hundred per cent. Obviously, he is a radical, radical in the sense that many of his ideas are those of a man ahead of his time given the social context of the Maltese Islands. His concept of the rehabilitation of criminals has always been innovative and positive but it is only today that people are starting to realize that restorative justice pays much more for Maltese society than retributive justice which many people are still in favour of.
You cannot speak of Mark Montebello without mentioning the love of his life, i.e. philosophy. I have always been impressed with the way he captivates his audience when delivering lessons on philosophy. This very week, a group of a dozen prisoners from various different countries and of different academic levels were motivated into engaging in a very fruitful discussion on philosophical topics. Fr Mark motivates his students to such an extent that it is sometimes difficult to get them to exit the class when the time of the lesson has already been exceeded!
Jason Micallef
Yes, I know that the man has his critics but I have always thought that much of the criticism levelled at Jason Micallef is unjustified. Having worked with him for several years, I can vouch for the fact that Jason is an organizational genius. The way he transformed the Labour Party apparatus into a professional structure is impressive. For example, General Conferences are today much more interesting and captivating due to his introduction of various innovative audio-visual media. Furthermore, although being the Secretary-General of a major political party means that he has many duties and his time is rather limited, he always finds time to listen to the concerns and problems of all those involved in the PL.
If Labour is successful at the next General Election, part of the credit should go to Jason Micallef because he modernized the Labour Party in a way that made it possible for Joseph Muscat to initiate his wide-ranging reforms. Jason has also always kept in contact with the grassroots of the PL through his frequent visits to PL Centres and his meetings with activists and PL members and delegates. He is a practical person, always ready to listen to suggestions and always ready to help. In short, he is one of the PL’s greatest assets.
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Comments
However, like many other people who profess tolerance, open mindedness, etc, I find the above mentioned 4 people particulary intolerant to those who may not share their ideas. But of course, this is just the impression one gets from a certain distance (no intention to get up close!)
It could be we take things a tad too seriosuly (me too!) and that our way of expressing ourselves lacks finesse (this does not necessarily apply to the ppl mentioned above), but I'd appreciate if we could learn more from the Brits and their way of being frank without offending and with the constant tongue-in-cheek.
Try teling the above any of the following, I won't tell you to whom these apply....some are obvious
- that you an an extreme-right sympathiser and want to speak
- that you appreciate Dr. Sant's reasoning
- that PL's latest electoral campaigns were a flop
- that we should have tougher sentences for criminals
- that you want an answer to the question: Since when are we tolerant to law breaking? So why should we tolerate illegal immigrants, leaner punishments, etc
- that his ideas didn't work...