There has been enough tragedy over the last few weeks to last us a lifetime. The summer of 2008 will be remembered for events that have shocked and stunned us, both locally and abroad.

After the Simshar catastrophe and the subsequent deaths of everyone except Simon Bugeja, we have passed through a few weeks when something horrible and bizarre seemed to happen almost every day.

A man burnt a former colleague using lighter fluid, another man fell into an empty swimming pool, a young woman died while swimming, an elderly woman fell off a bus, and a man died after he collapsed in the street and hit his head. We heard of a number of very serious car crashes, leaving people in a critical condition and the worst resulting in the death of a toddler.

Then of course there was the terrible news that Karl Chircop had suffered a brain haemorrhage.

From abroad came the gruesome news that a Canadian man had severed a fellow passenger’s head while riding in a Greyhound bus. Barely two days later, a similar incident happened in Greece, when a man cut off his girlfriend’s head. We were also astounded by the senseless murder of the young Maltese-Australian who was bashed to death by a bouncer.

I feel uneasy when a series of bad things start happening in quick succession, and I find myself wondering what’s going to come next. I turn on the news, open a newspaper or check the Internet with trepidation. It’s like a bad vibe has taken over and I cannot shake off a feeling of disquiet. It reminds me of the summer of 1997 when Gianni Versace was murdered and a month later Princess Diana was killed. It was an eerie time that left us all reeling in disbelief.

Of course, tragic things happen all the time but we tend to skim over the headlines that feature places like Iraq and Israel where the death toll keeps climbing with grim regularity. Human nature being what it is, what happens in countries which don’t touch us personally only vaguely register on our consciousness. However, if one person dies who has a Maltese connection then we commiserate and empathise for weeks.

It’s like when the news reports a disaster in another country where thousands have been killed, ending the report with “...but no Maltese were killed”.

Oh, well, I guess, that’s all right then.

Tragedy, especially when it strikes someone young or someone we know, always stops us in our tracks. Every other petty little thing we’ve been obsessing about suddenly crumbles into nothing, like fine sand. We rebuke ourselves for not being more grateful to be alive, and we vow not to take our loved ones for granted any more. The shock of how fleeting and absurdly short life really is makes us aware of our own morality and it is easy to become morbid and wonder how much time we all have left.

But then the mundane details of life force us back into our routine, and we stop mulling over these existential questions. Until the next time.

Tactless

Reading people’s online comments regarding Karl Chircop I came across a couple which were downright unbelievable....

“Even though I’m a Nationalist, I still wish him a speedy recovery...”

Why even mention politics at a time like this? Are we really so bigoted that we cannot even see what’s wrong with such a statement? It’s like saying “even though he’s black I still hope he lives” about an immigrant.

Despite all our childish giddiness at “becoming Europeans”, I find we’re becoming more blinkered and pathetically intolerant as time goes by.

Any money left?

While dockyard workers are contemplating whether to take up the government’s golden handshake, they should count themselves lucky that they have an offer to consider.

They must realise that for people whose jobs have never been “guaranteed”, the thought that one day they might wake up to find their company has gone belly up is always lurking at the back of their minds.

I know people who worked for 30 years with a company only to be left in the lurch when it folded... no severance pay, no compensation, nothing... let alone a gold watch.

Of course, it is hard when you have been assured you had a job for life, to find that things have changed. But the warning sirens have been sounding for the dockyards for many years now, so they really cannot say they didn’t see this coming.

My advice is that they should grab the money they are being offered and run... before it all runs out.

Winky wink

Eh, Jason, Jason. Don’t you know that Net TV’s cameras will always be focused on you at some point?

You have to hand it to the cameraman who managed to capture footage of Jason Micallef winking like a shady used car salesman at someone in the audience just as his re-election was announced.

That self-assured wink said it all. Jason the survivor is back, and he doesn’t seem the least bit perturbed that over half the delegates didn’t want him. The guy is certainly brazen, you have to give him that much.

The general feeling is that with Jason Micallef firmly entrenched as secretary general, Joseph Muscat and his attempt to lead the MLP to victory are doomed to failure.

Certainly, it would have made things easier for Muscat had there been a complete overhaul of the party’s administration – because his proposed earthquake is starting to sound more like a whimper than a bang. Perhaps it’s time the Labour Party sheds the practice in which clueless delegates vote for these important posts. Maybe the leader should be able to appoint his own deputy and his management team from a pool of people in whom he has complete trust and who have proven themselves in their respective fields.

You know, people who have solid experience and knowledge of marketing, PR and administration, for example.

The way things are done at the moment, it’s like having the employees of a company voting for their favourite pals to take up key positions in the corporation and all the managing director can do is grin and bear it. “Oh, oh, can I pick Shirley from Accounts ’coz she’s my best friend?!”

But, what’s done is done and so Jason it is.

The PN media are happy because they know the colourful Micallef will

provide them with enough fodder to last for the next five years. On the other side of the fence, Paul Borg Olivier is so bland, so lacking in personality, that no one seems to be able to work up enough enthusiasm to have a go at him. He’s just there – a bit like mashed potatoes.

If I may just take this from another perspective however, I think a little bit too much fuss has been made about the real role of the secretary general. Am I mistaken, or isn’t the person in this post there simply to follow orders from above?

Jason Micallef and Joe Saliba were such high profile figures because they pushed themselves forward, and were seen perpetually hanging on to the coat-tails of their respective leaders, ending up with considerable clout in the process. Saliba, it is rumoured, got his instructions straight from the Man in Brussels while Jason in particular took on an even bigger persona in the last election simply because of circumstances. Alfred Sant’s unfortunate illness paved the way for Jason to bite a bigger chunk of power than he was formerly used to. As it turned out, he was unable to handle it and it went straight to his head and (considerably inflated) ego.

But who says this is how it has to be?

After all, it is Joseph Muscat who “allowed” Jason to contest again, so I wouldn’t be surprised if this deal came with some strings attached. Like, OK, you’ve been re-elected, so zip your mouth, and stay in the background – I’m the boss now.

And if Muscat did not say this to Micallef, maybe it’s high time he should.

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