Maltapost should instil some common sense in their employees. On March 20, I went to Rabat post office to send €50 to a Ghana address, via Western Union.

The well-groomed, bearded, clerk handed me the usual form to fill in, which I did. He asked me if I was familiar with the person I was sending the money to. I said yes, but not personally, only on the internet. Just on the internet? he wondered. He seemed never to have heard of such a thing.

I am sorry, I cannot accept to send the money, he said politely. Why, I asked.

The recipient may be laundering money, he said. Who on earth, I asked, using stronger language, would launder €50?

He stood his ground and I had to fume away.

At another Maltapost office, the clerk accepted my money, no questions asked.

Looking at that beard talking to me, I wondered if the migrants we have here meet such obstacles sending some money to their families, after all their efforts at saving the meagre earnings they sweat for.