The sorrowful story of Star

I was so angry and even so confused as to whether I was a true Christian when I read about the cruel, inhuman story of Star. I was not prepared to forgive. I sought vengeance. I wanted the utmost suffering for the person who did it and my blood boiled uncontrollably when I saw the pictures. It would not be enough for the culprit, if apprehended and found guilty and condemned, to be given the maximum sentence allowed by law but also to be buried in the prison grounds for a day or so in the same way Star was buried. I would not have gone to the extent of using a firearm as the culprit had done. These were the feelings that went through my emotional and, possibly, irrational system at the time.

But as I saw Star recover under the care and love of dedicated vets and as I learnt of the substantial potential adopters, I began to reason things out.

Just at the time that I was starting to write this piece, while grappling with the figures on the referendum turnout being churned out by the various TV stations, I followed a truly beautiful feature on Star’s recovery on One TV. I saw that this creature of God had a life ahead after all and I would like to think that she would now forgive her master, whoever it was. So we should forgive too; that is outside due sanctions imposed by law. Such a person must have been out of his/her right mind, totally sick in the mind, when committing the atrocious act. This country’s traditional culture in which we treated animals has been atrocious. I say “has been” because things have improved.

I remember writing about dogs being kept on roofs, in the sun, in the cold and rain; horses and donkeys being tied to the wall, hardly being able to move their heads; dogs being pulled behind cars on major roads; those despicable dog fights (everyone knew where they took place but nobody stopped them. These scenes are no longer evident.

We finally have a minister in George Pullicino who has really taken animal welfare in hand. We have the Animal Welfare Department, led by Mario Spiteri, which has done so much. We have the animal hospital at Ta’ Qali – undreamt of a few years ago. We have a more effective Animal Welfare Act, though not strong and effective enough. We also have, of recent, electronic tagging to trace owners of pets and so establish legal responsibility.

On the international level in general and the EU in particular, there has been some improvement also. We have seen the banning of fox hunting in the UK (a cruel sport for the elite). The Birds Directive in Europe has reined in blood-thirsty hunting communities – and how exhilarating it was to see those large flocks of storks flying over Malta, largely undisturbed and most spared from death.

But there remain other bloody arenas, like bullfighting in Spain, which seems to be a very tough nut to crack. I regret to say I even get pleasure seeing those matadors being gored after they have relentlessly dug stakes into the poor creatures. And what a pleasure to see, for a change, so many being chased by bulls along the streets of Pamplona. There is more to be done but much has been done already.

We had another case of cruelty (there is no other way of describing it) more recently, albeit of a nature that is tremendously different. This case, however, also shows the inane cruelty in certain individuals. I am referring to the case of Joe Mizzi, former head of PBS.

I have known Joe for as long as I can remember; ever since he joined his father Pawlu in his business or, rather, his mission, to promote Maltese publications – a mission that has grown and spread. If ever there was a humble, timid, righteous, dignified and dedicated man then that is Joe.

Irrespective of the cause of his unfortunate mishap in Dusseldorf – may he be successful in discovering the truth and clearing his name – he did not deserve to be treated the way he was, to be deliberately made the subject of a vicious charade. Somehow, those who filmed the sorry scenes seemed to take great pleasure in their premeditated exercise. What could have caused fellow countrymen, possibly colleagues, to expose this man – a public figure but not a political protagonist – to such humiliation? How can people do this?

I just hope the perpetrators are uncovered and shamed, if not brought to justice, and Joe is restored to the post he was holding high. And, believe me, the burden of that post is a heavy one.