There is nothing that will bring me shame
Kevin Cassar, in his article ‘Why I write’ (August 27), in typical fashion – I would say – sought to reply to my article ‘The moral superiority of some PN-leaning writers’ (August 14) by seeking to shoot the messenger rather than engage with the argument. That’s his choice, and his right, and it’s up to this newspaper’s esteemed readership to draw its conclusions.
What’s not within Cassar’s right is to lie, especially when the facts could easily be ascertained had he been willing to conduct some proper research. He claims that I was ‘appointed head of communications at Malta Enterprise without a proper call’, and that is a blatant lie. There was a regular public call to fill the vacancy for head of Communications at Malta Enterprise, to which there was a number of applicants, including people who certainly were much closer to the Muscat administration than I ever was (if I ever was at all).
I was chosen for what was back then a middle-management job (not some super lucrative appointment) because of my qualifications and experience. During the time I worked at Malta Enterprise, I had people from different political backgrounds on my team and I am sure that, if Cassar cares to ask any of them, they will attest that I was a friend and fair colleague to all of them.
Cassar can rest assured that no matter how much he tries, there is nothing in my whole career that will bring me shame. If he really cares about facts, he can ask my colleagues even in this newspaper about the kind of editor I was – left-leaning, certainly, but never afraid to speak the truth to power, even when it meant opening a frontal attack on Muscat on issues such as migrant ‘push-backs’.
He can ask Lawrence Gonzi, for example, about the number of times I interviewed him, and if I was fair to him even when we disagreed.
If Cassar is really interested in my past and present career, I invite him to start digging as from today, but then make sure that he gives a truthful rendition of his findings. If he wants, I can also tell him about that time when I applied for a teaching post at Junior College and a much less-qualified candidate than me was chosen, because someone sitting on the interviewing panel felt that ‘the fact that you worked at ONE doesn’t look good on your CV’! Or when, applying for a part-time teaching post at university, the very fact that I was reading for a PhD was shamelessly used against me by a panel that was certainly much better disposed towards another less-qualified candidate.
If Cassar wishes so, I am more than willing to start a conversation along these lines. I have nothing to hide, never did, and whatever I achieved in my life, I did with hard work, study, and perseverance.
Aleks Farrugia – Rabat
Politicians and birds
Like a lot of intelligent people, Birdlife is convinced that most politicians are more concerned about ballots than birds. Mind you, having a shotgun pointed to one’s temple is a most persuasive argument.
Carmel Sciberras – Naxxar
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