The undiplomatic diplomat

Sabine Agius Cabourdin was appalled that Labour trolls were encouraging Nationalist MP Darren Carabott to commit suicide. “The moment we tell another human being to end their life, we have lost something far bigger than a political argument,” she commented in a Facebook post. “There are only 10 days left – let us not lose our humanity now,” she added.

Agius Cabourdin must be pretty insulated from the vitriol, hate, threats and violent abuse that is fired at government critics, opinionists and everybody else who publicly disagrees with Labour’s message on a daily basis if she thinks we still haven’t lost our humanity. Labour has mastered the art of inciting its loyal followers into doing their worst.

Labour’s ONE news creates headlines specifically targeting opinionists, critics and journalists. Even Ranier Fsadni, the mildest mannered of balanced academics, was viciously targeted by ONE and accused of being an “extremist” and “the expert of the establishment” and of mounting “attacks against the Labour Party”.

ONE’s Facebook page is littered with offensive, abusive and even threatening comments against Labour’s targets – including Fsadni. And ONE doesn’t bother moderating even the vilest of those comments. On the contrary, ONE foments the crudest and coarsest.

But ONE is not the only weapon Labour wields against its critics. It has an army of trolls whose sole purpose appears to be to harass and intimidate anybody who expresses even the mildest of criticism of Labour and its government. They include Neville Gafà, Karl Stagno Navarra and Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando, Malta’s ambassador to Rwanda and executive chairman of the National Skills Council of Malta.

On March 16, Pullicino Orlando picked on a young Colombian lady. He held her up for ridicule and abuse by his 15,000 followers on Facebook. She was regaled with a torrent of abuse and offence by his Facebook friends after Pullicino Orlando accused her of criticising Malta. The young lady’s only crime was that she had complained online that garbage was being collected late.

His Excellency the Ambassador chose to harass a young private individual simply for highlighting that rubbish is collected late. The diplomat, meant to show utmost respect to the citizens of other countries, launched into a histrionic attack on the Colombian young lady and her country of origin. He accused her of “regularly complaining because the garbage is occasionally collected late in Malta”. “According to her,” the chief chairman of the National Skills Council mocked, “she is used to living in the cleanliness of her country (!!!)” – his triple exclamation marks.

He then descended into the bigoted lies beloved of bullies. “The truth is that in Colombia garbage is never collected. It’s thrown out in every corner of the country or together with drainage, straight into rivers or the sea,” he added. That’s the sort of ignorant nonsense you would expect from somebody whose entire life experience spans Żebbuġ, Mile End and Mistra. That’s certainly not what you’d expect from an ambassador who should be steeped in the art of diplomacy. I’m surprised the non-resident ambassador of Colombia hasn’t lodged a complaint.

Pullicino Orlando should be called in by the foreign minister and be stripped of his ambassadorship. Pullicino Orlando disgraces his country and the people he represents. No ambassador should be spreading disinformation about other countries and certainly should not be bullying and harassing a young woman on his Facebook page.

Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando should be stripped of his ambassadorship

Had Pullicino Orlando bothered to check he would have discovered that, like most middle-income countries, the majority of urban residents in Colombia have regular garbage collection.

The big cities such as Bogotà, Medellin, Cali and Cartagena have municipal waste collection systems, landfills, recycling programmes and sanitation workers. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development review showed that urban sanitation coverage in Colombia reaches around 98% of urban households. Yes, rural collection is weaker but pushing the narrative that Colombians throw their rubbish and drainage into the sea or rivers is simply xenophobic stereotyping.

But Pullicino Orlando didn’t stop there. He unleashed his basest salvo, haranguing the poor young Colombian: “Here you can live without fear that you will be kidnapped and killed – as is the case in your country.”

This is the level to which Pullicino Orlando will descend to defend his Labour Party. Pullicino Orlando has had it so good since he actively undermined Lawrence Gonzi and the PN. He’s been raking in taxpayers’ money at an amazingly generous rate, first as the executive chairman at the Malta Council for Science and Technology and, now, as the executive chairman of the National Skills Council – while also maintaining his full-time dental practice. His advert on his same Facebook page announces that “Dentists Dr Jeffrey, Dr Bernard and Dr Nathan are available from 8am until 6pm Monday to Friday”, at his Smile Centre in Żebbuġ.

Pullicino Orlando’s incitement to hatred of that poor Colombian worked. “Take a Bolt to the airport – caw and by,” one commented. “Get out of here, in your country you are treated like a rubbish dump”, “nobody sent for her”, “one solution, go back to your country and think before you speak”, “go back dear to your country, you will make us a big favour”, “just go back.. one way ticket this time”, “tell us about your country moron”, “get lost, go to your country and see all the trash in the streets along with suage (sic) in the rivers and sea”, “good riddance”, “moron”, “go to your country rubbish”, “go where you belong kolumbiana”.

Some comments were so vile that even his Excellency the Ambassador finally decided to intervene. “I am removing the insolent comments, maybe some will learn that to make a point you don’t need to debase yourself,” he added, without the slightest hint of irony.

Pullicino Orlando has no place in the diplomatic corps. He certainly does not represent the values this country should aspire to. At the very least, he should be forced to apologise to the young lady and remove the offensive and intimidating comments on his Facebook page. Any foreign minister worth his salt would sack him on the spot.

Pullicino Orlando has every right to be as obnoxious and insolent as he wishes. He’s certainly prolific at that. But he should not be representing Malta. New Labour has the opportunity to send a clear message that it chooses decency over vileness, respect over offence  and politeness over rabid hostility – by sacking Pullicino Orlando.