Friday, 18th July 2008 - 10:07CET
De Marco meets students who witnessed attack on coach
The Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism, Mario de Marco, this morning met language students who had witnessed an attack on their coach driver during the transport strike. He apologised for the experience.
Dr de Marco said the Maltese were known as a hospitable people, and he hoped that the students would enjoy that hospitality while in Malta.
The students were in a coach which was attacked by striking public transport drivers outside St Dorothy School in Zebbug on Tuesday morning.
Dr de Marco called on the students at Sir Temi Zammit School in Mtarfa. He was accompanied by the chairman of the Malta Tourism Authority, Sam Mifsud, and the CEO, Josef Formosa Gauci.
They spent some time chatting with the students about Malta and the importance of language studies within the tourism industry. They also handed out small souvenirs, books and publicity literature about Malta.
The students in comments to reporters described how they had seen a man banging on their coach. Despite attempt to hold him back, he boarded their coach and punched the driver.
The students – mostly Italian and some Romanians – said they understood that strikes happened some time, but they were otherwise enjoying their stay. They were grateful for the attention shown to them.
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Comments
If there is a fly in the ointment it should be pointed out to discard the ointment because it is polluted, and use a safer one. Though Malta is small it has its pride, otherwise we will be treated accordingly, like novices in the international sphere.
Sometimes it is useful for the man in the street to point out some misconceptions on the part of well intentioned authorities. Appearing before a judge even a culprit is recommended to plead not guilty.
I resent my government of whatever colour apologizing particularly to individuals, let alone young persons, when it has nothing to blame. The pride of a country is not proportional to its size.
The correct colloquial expression or idiom you intended to use is "to STICK OUT like a sore thumb". Given the number of personal attacks you attract on other blogs, I suppose that your thumb is a sorer one than mine. I believe you once stated on another blog that you cannot stand people using bad grammar for you still remember lessons given by your excellent former teachers of English at the Lyceum. Well, in that case, that makes two of us !!!
We have been seeing an increase after the other in the number of tourists coming to Malta in the last nineteen months, that is, since November 2006 simply because the present government and the one before that, have been working very had to put Malta back on the map of the tourism world.
You simply cannot compare us with Italy. Venice alone saw about 16,000,000 of non-Italian tourists in 2007. The Italians can afford to lose a couple of million but we cannot afford 100,000. When that happened we were in a crisis.
And please do not talk about bad roads any more. We have some really good roads now. Yes, still a lot more to do, always.
The only thing that I might agree a little bit with you is that we are still not giving value for money.
No you will never hear a responsible politician in government apologising for anything done wrong by the citizens. If this habit starts then we shall have pages of newspapers with government notices apologising for this and that done by the citizens who break the law.
An apology was not in order. Anything except apology by a Government Minister
Had it been an action by the Government then an apology would not be out of place.
Perhaps the tutors, who make money from these schools, could have explained the position and compensated the students concerned by some sort of action on their own initiative. But an apology from a Govt. Minister shows a kind of foreign inferiority complex. Some national dignity is not out of place.
According to what is reported the students retorted “that strikes happen everywhere”. It seems they were not impressed by what happened and appear to say: “No need to apologies”
@ PJ Mifsud
You stand our like a sore thumb.
Instead of trying to be funny, you had better learn to express yourself properly in what you think is English. Probably what you intended to write is as follows:
I hope Dr de Marco reminded the students to behave well, to refrain from staying up late at nights and not to litter public places.
No need for a change in government to have a new beginning and a new generation!
We already have it now.
Prosit!
So you want the students to behave more late at night and to litter properly? Why? don't thy litter enough?
suggest you join them for some English language lessons LOL!
However a Big round of boos for Minister Mifsuf Bonnici and the Commissioner of Police, where were you during all this? The Commissioner reportedly even offered to mediate. I thought the Commissioner was there to serve and to PROTECT.
well done Dr Mario Demarco.
keep up the good work.. and the contact with all levels of people within your ministry
Anyway I think that dr De Marco's is a fine gesture, a proof of sensibility and civic sense, hope the Italian students will bring this example at home with them as the best souvenir of their experience, considering also that in 30 years I've never heard
a single Italian politician apologize for much worse things.
trauma ?? r u serious ??
hope Dr Demarco adressed the students to behave more late at nigts ! and to litter properly......
Unfortunately, as we all know, it is much easier to break things than to fix them, so the violence displayed by a very small minority of thugs will likely leave a lasting impression. However, I do think that de Marco's hands-on approach here will go a long way to mitigate this.
Well done Mario for taking the initiative.
How about having an apology to the nation from these strikers??????
I think that the person who attacked the coach driver during the transport strike, if found guilty in court, he should be obliged to go to these students and apologise, just as the above-mentioned gentle did.
Keep it going Dr. De Marco and your NEW team @ MTA.
Dr. Mario de Marco, thank you for apologising in the name
of the Maltese people. Although the trauma will remain
on these students but the hospitality in general of the
Maltese will diminish it.
It was very wise that you in the name of the government go there
and chat with the students and handling them souvenirs.
WELL DONE once again and you are always in our hearts.
MARGARET THATCHER WAS THE IRON LADY, AUSTIN GATT IS THE GOLDEN BOY
Keep it up!!!
Well done to DR GAtt, Dr De Marco and DR Gonzi.