If I remember correctly, it was the beginning of the summer of 1980.

There were two Maltese priests in Tripoli, Libya, and one of them wished to return to Malta for a short holiday. I was due to go to Tripoli for a few days to help the other priest. I accepted.

Then the unexpected happened. Our blood brother Muammar Gaddafi sent a gunboat to the spot where Malta was drilling for oil. Dom Mintoff called this “għemil ta’ l-akbar għadu” (the action of one’s worst enemy). I went to Libya in those tense circumstances, which I am glad to say did not have any negative consequences for me.

However, I had my share of unplanned excitement. While I was at Benghazi airport, a bomb exploded a few metres away from me. It was a frightening experience.

Back in Tripoli, some Libyans attempted to take over the house where we lived and which also doubled as a chapel where we celebrated Mass for the Maltese community. Fortunately, the attempt fizzled out.

We started the day early, celebrating Mass in one of the orphanages run by various congregations of nuns. I also celebrated Mass at Marsa Brega. I had to fly for over three hours to get to this desert post; and coming back meant a five-hour drive and a 90-minute jet ride.

The priest I had relieved for a few days returned to Tripoli;Fr Daniel Farrugia is today vicar-general. Together with BishopGiovanni Innocenzo Martinelli, apostolic vicar of Tripoli, he has decided to stay in Tripoli to take care of the Catholic community there. The Maltese bishop in Benghazi, Mgr Silvester Magro, OFM, took a similar decision.

They followed in the steps of Bishop Adeodato Micallef, OCD, who remained in Kuwait during its occupation by the Iraqis. TheMaltese nuns, undoubtedly for their very good reasons, decided to return to Malta while showing their determination to go back as soon as the situation is more conducive to the fulfilling of their mission.

The ties between the Church in Libya and the Church in Malta are quite strong. This, in my opinion, should have been included in the statement released by the Maltese bishops on the situation in Libya, without forgetting the humanitarian dimension, which is of prime interest.

The statement should have included an appeal to help Mgr Martinelli and his Maltese vicar-general in their hour of need. The Church in Benghazi and the brave witness of Mgr Magro could have provided more material for the bishops’ statement.

A number of lay organisations – Malta Chamber of SMEs (GRTU), in the lead, quickly launched an appeal for help. It was only last Thursday that the Bishop of Gozo released to the media a circular announcing a collection in Gozitan churches and prayers for the bishops and religious still in Libya.

The appeal would have been more effective had it been a collective one. A joint Episcopal appeal about asylum seekers would not have been amiss. The Jesuit Refugee Service did their share in this regard.

There is now a lot of talk about solidarity with the Libyans. There is also the usual undercurrent fed partly by fear and misinformation and partly by the stark reality of a potentially difficult situation if there is a mass exodus.

Will the spirit of solidarity reign supreme if Libyan refugees start asking for asylum? Would it not have been a good idea had our bishops, in their statement, prepared people for this eventuality?

Perhaps I am expecting too much.

joseph.borg@um.edu.mt