There is no mistake in this heading. It is a proof-reading job done well. This title does not refer to Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s three-volume book about the Soviet forced labour camp system titled The Gulag Archipelago. That system of forced labour camps does not have any direct echoes for us in Malta.
But there is something that many countries, even ours, can learn from Solzhenitsyn. His country appeared as strong and mighty but in reality it was not. The reason is very simple: the Soviet economic strength was built on the injustices of the labour camps. It was thus a system based on feet of clay which eventually, but predictably, gave way under the grotesquely obese structure that they were expected to carry. The system was built on a lie. Solzhenitsyn clearly recognised this and consequently used to say: “In our country the lie has become not just a moral category but a pillar of the State.”
That quote from Solzhenitsyn has very clear reverberations to the current situation in Malta.
The lesson is quite clear. Anything built on what is not right (is-sewwa) carries the seed of its own destruction. The title of this commentary refers to gula (gluttony), one of the seven deadly sins; thus something which is definitely not sewwa.
Probably progressive secularist liberals do not care about the seven deadly sins. But those who do cannot but be worried that our country is being built on gluttony and sleaze (ħniżrijiet) not work, principles and honesty. Josianne Camilleri, editor of Newsbook, ably described all this in her editorial titled ‘L-Arċipelagu tal-Gula’ (September 9, 2016) which inspired this piece.
Truth be told, gluttony and sleaze always existed in Malta and, for that matter, everywhere homo sapiens ruled the roost; a clear sign that homo is not necessarily always sapiens. Actual and perceived corruption were always part of the political scene, here and everywhere. The lust for money that no gula could satiate is said to be more powerful than God; more evil than the devil.
This prone-to-be corrupted-environment was not created by this government. But it rode on it, magnified it and exploited it for its political benefit. The process started during the myriad pre-electoral deals which were struck along a continuum ranging from the granting of minor permits or jobs to single individuals to multi-million mega-projects for the big-moneyed bullies.
The trend was consolidated after the last election when the key commandment resounding in all corridors of power and posted on all walls is: if it makes money it must be good. There is also a prime beatitude equal in importance to the first commandment: Happy are those who correctly gauge the price for which people would be bought, as they shall rule the earth.
If lawyers, auditors, mega-millionaires, developers and persons of trust were waist deep in the gravy train, why should Malta’s largest trade union be left out yawning hungrily?
All sorts of people read signs, draw logical – even if immoral – conclusions and try to dip their fingers in the gravy train. One of the first signs that money was to be the measure of all things was the decision to turn the country’s citizenship into a commodity for the service of the super-rich. Respectable lawyers and auditors of all political hues were blinded by this opportunity to make a quick buck and refused to see the scheme for what it truly is: a vulgar form of prostituting our nation.
And since citizenship can be legally sold why should there be a problem with making a profit on residence permits or medical visas? What is good for lawyers and auditors should definitively be good for persons of trust and their patrons.
Gula and more gula galore ensued. A never-ending parade of scandals then graced the front pages of newspapers and media portals: Gaffarena, Café Premier, Australia Hall, Paceville master plan for the benefit of big business in Paceville, towers in Mrieħel and Sliema as well as a power station for the mega-millionaires but guaranteed with the lowly taxpayers’ money, etc., etc. The list is far too long to even try and put down the top 10.
Then the smoking gun was found. It transpired that two of the most politically powerful people in the land rushed to shady accountants to open accounts in shadier jurisdictions. All this was done within hours of taking power. Quite naturally they now shield Egrant their protector, or should I write their prisoner?
This gula knows no boundaries. If lawyers, auditors, mega-millionaires, developers and persons of trust were waist deep in the gravy train, why should Malta’s largest trade union be left out yawning hungrily? A good deal was struck with government entities for the GWU to make loads of money from its property in Marsa and Valletta.
The Auditor General’s decision that government should take legal action on the Valletta deal fell on deaf ears. We now know that the GWU is also making good money off the backs of the most vulnerable workers. Unions are there to protect workers from employers. When unions start ‘employing’ hundreds and making a profit off them, how on earth can anyone imagine that the union will protect these workers?
The Archbishop made an appeal on behalf of these workers. He pleaded for the respect of the dignity of these vulnerable workers and made a case in favour of a union’s role as the defender of workers not as their employer for a profit.
Why on earth were his appeals treated with the worst kind of abuse by the GWU and its media? Why is Malta’s largest union unleashing its war dogs against him for daring to protect workers? This is a topsy-turvy country.
Perhaps the answers are very simple though extremely shocking.
In the Gula Archipelago nothing should be done to endanger the pappa of the strong and the powerful.
Malta is definitely not Solzhenitsyn’s Gulag Archipelago. But its horrific descent into the Gula Archipelago is also something to be despised and resisted.
The Gula Archipelago is our country’s feet of clay which will break under the obesity resulting from this same insatiable gula indulged in by the big-moneyed bullies and their political patrons.
joseph.borg@um.edu.mt