Pravda reporting for Gaddafi, by John Pisani of L-Orizzont
Today’s edition of L-Orizzont, the General Workers Union’s newspaper, also quoted another man, Martin Galea:
Malti ieħor, Martin Galea, qal li sfortunatament ma sabx l-għajnuna mixtieqa mill-Ambaxxata Maltija u kien l-Uffiċċju tal-Commonwealth Ingliż li għenu biex jagħmel l-arranġamenti biex jiġi lura. Hu qal ukoll li s-sitwazzjoni mhix daqshekk gravi daqskemm tidher fuq it-televiżjoni. Galea qal li vera kien hemm xi sparar imma dan kien fl-ajru u mhux lejn in-nies.
Martin Galea qal li fl-Ajruport ta’ Tripli hemm kaos sħiħ b’kulħadd jimbotta u kienet esperjenza xejn pjaċevoli. Barra mill-ajruport hemm evidenza li kien hemm xi inkwiet u dan rah għal ftit ħin għax hu jaħdem fid-deżert.
Semma li sakemm waslu l-ajruport kien hemm diversi ‘road blocks’ imma sakemm tagħmel dak li jgħidulek allura ma ssib l-ebda problema.
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In translation:
Another Maltese, Martin Galea, said that unfortunately he did not get the help he need from the Maltese embassy (in Tripoli) and it was the British Commonwealth Office which helped him make arrangements to return. He also said that the situation is not as bad as it is made out to be on television. Galea said that it is true there is some shooting, but only in the air and not at people.
Martin Galea said that there is total chaos at Tripoli airport, with people pushing and shoving, and that it was a most unpleasant experience. Beyond the airport there is evidence of some trouble, and he saw such trouble for a little while because he works in the desert.
He said that en route to the airport they encountered several road blocks, but as long as you do what (the guards) tell you you will have no problems.
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The very same Martin Galea posted a comment on this blog explaining what he really told L-Orizzont’s John Pisani, which is nothing at all like the impression given by the newspaper. Here it is.
Although the principle of “what goes up must come down” must apply, in that anybody might have been injured by a stray round, I was only trying to say that the trigger-happy morons were at least not firing directly at people – at least, not at the airport.
Seems that whatever newspaper you’re referring to missed the rest of what I said, especially about the chaos, the beatings, the bribes necessary etc. Pity that they only mentioned the bits which they considered non-offensive to the Libyan government, and detrimental to the Maltese one.
Actually, I am most definitely not in denial, and can honestly state that I think Libya is in a state of civil war.
I was hijacked by the military, had my two vehicles stolen, then was almost shot by the same soldiers, who said that we were illegally gathered. I had to bribe people to get to Misurata, where they are charging 100 dinars a head for taxi rides, then had to shelter in a house overnight to avoid all the pro Ghaddafi, trigger-happy demonstrations, and then after being beaten up three times at the airport, bribe my way through, and spend 12 hours waiting for the flight to arrive, which we had no idea about, because contrary to what was promised, the charge d’affaires never came back so we were left in the dark as to what was going on.
Still saying I’m in denial? Listen to what I said on CNN, and you can see that they showed almost all of what I said, which is a hell of a lot more than what this newspaper chose to report.
In addition, I can only speak of what I saw personally, and can vouch for just that. If I said something which might be taken to mean that I am denying what is happening in Libya, then please put it down to the fact that I had had no more than two hours’ sleep in the previous 72 hours, and my only thought was to get my sorry arse home, have a shower, and get some sleep.
10 Comments Comment
Reply to Mel Hart Click here to cancel reply
As I said in my comment to Mr Galea, he should sue L-Orizzont for making him look like an insensitive moron.
Was this a good objective report? http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20110225/local/chaos-corruption-and-commotion-at-tripoli-evacuees
As I read what the returning Maltese said I began to think that there has been some exaggeration as the two versions were quite different.
On the other hand I could not understand why everyone was bailing out if there was nothing to fear. Mr Galea should definitely ensure he gets his message through on the same newspaper that quoted him as saying things were not so bad – because as often happens the readers remain ignorant of the facts.
L-Orizzont never made any sense. It’s read by people with a low IQ.
Pardon me, but I never saw John Pisani. As far as I know, there were CNN, BBC World, some local female journalist, who was only interested in asking me whether or not I was related to her, a Chinese news reporter, and some 6’5″ tall guy in his early 30s, whose only words to me were to welcome me home.
So where the hell was this John Pisani? If anybody has a picture of him, I can say whether or not he was even there.
As I said before, the question I was asked – by CNN – was regarding the situation at the airport, and whether or not it was difficult getting there.
Here he is
http://johnpisani.wordpress.com/about/
What do you know, it’s filled with that most hateful of Maltese words, “prosit”
Thanks for that. Nope, never saw that man. The only Maltese man I spoke to, as I said, was a 6’5″ bloke in his early 30s.
So I’m guessing he got what I said second hand, took what he wanted to hear, and then twisted it to his own ends. My mates, who were with me, actually told me last night that this was exactly the reason why they said “no comment” and walked off. Wish I’d done the same.
What a shame, do these so-called reporters think they are fooling us? All one has to do is watch BBC, CNN and the rest. What cowards – they should take up the tyrant’s invitation and go to Libya, but please stay there.
The Maltese are not cowards.
You should see what they reported a certain Mario Micallef saying, I’m still trying to wrap my head around it – http://melahart.wordpress.com/2011/02/25/no-idea-what-to-make-of-this/