Thank God (and Maltese consul Marisa Farrugia) for that
So it turns out that Martin Galea’s employers were actually asked for a ransom but none was paid.
Times of Malta reports:
He thanked all those who worked for his release, particularly the Maltese consul to Tripoli who, he said, had saved his life.
Mr Galea was held captive for 11 days and was released to the Maltese consulate in Tripoli at 5:50pm following a tortuous day in which the captors kept changing the drop off location; from Tunisia to the outskirts of Tripoli and finally the consular office in down-town Tripoli.
He was flown back to Malta with Consul Maria* Farrugia aboard a Medavia jet with six Armed Forces officials on board. The aircraft was sent specifically to recover Mr Galea. It landed in Malta at 8.46 pm.
*The consul’s name is actually Marisa and not Maria.
This is such unbelievably happy news. But I really think it was in incredibly poor taste for the prime mnister, the foreign minister and the minister of the interior to go up to the plane like that and line up hogging the limelight.
A man goes missing for 11 days in terribly, frightening circumstances, is found and rescued against the odds, and instead of media footage showing him welcomed by his wife, we have footage of him welcomed by a a line-up of ministers, the head of the security service and the commanding officer of the Armed Forces of Malta, all of them blatantly using it as a personal ego-trip and publicity exercise.
At least the head of the security service had the sense of propriety to look embarrassed at being wheeled out for the cameras at such a personal moment. I’m sure they were the ones Martin Galea was dying to see, hug and spend time with because he thought he would never see them again.
Good manners dictate that we know when we take precedence and when we should stand right back, and completely or partially disappear. The prime minister and his nobody-wants-to-be-left-out line-up of ministers could have given their press conference tomorrow and given the man and his family some space when he got off the plane.
The press and their readers and viewers would have preferred that too. We would have much rather seen the human happiness of a kidnapped man, now safe and sound, being welcomed back by his wife and family, than see the same man, desperate to go home, being welcomed by a self-important prime minister and Manuel Mallia. No doubt it’s thanks to Manuel Mallia’s efforts that Martin Galea was found.
He himself said that he owes his life to Marisa Farrugia, the consul in Tripoli – but the cabinet bosses squeezed her out of the picture, literally.
Welcome back to Bidnija, Martin. It’s a lot quieter here.
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Marisa is a great lady!
Who exactly are those Libyans brought over here for medical treatment? I am assuming they are from some militia brigades since they are fighting against each other. Why are they so special and privileged to be get in air ambulance and be brought over here? There are hospitals in Libya.
Thank God, Mr. Galea is back in Malta.
I hope he will be able to join his family, but I am very worried if he will be able to do so. I was watching PBS this evening, and I noticed that after Mr. Galea landed in Malta, he was abducted by the prime minister, who after making a show in front of the TV cameras in the presence of Mr. Cookies, ordered Mr. Galea to walk away with him.
Yes thank also the Maltese government, Maltese officials and maybe Libyans and others and hope all other Maltese in Libya are safe and sound.
[Daphne – Try to keep up, David: http://daphnecaruanagalizia.com/2014/07/the-shocking-story-of-the-governments-brazen-incompetence-and-worse/ ]
I stand to be corrected because all this charade is being kept under wraps.
It seems to me that when this fracas in Libya began a couple of weeks ago the Taghna Lkoll stooges were recalled from the embassy in Tripoli and Marisa Farrugia sent back in to deal with the mess they left behind.
She had been harassed in Malta by the police and her superiors for months.
At least George Vella had the sense to act when faced with a panic stations situation.
No wonder he hugged her for a couple of minutes, or so it seemed, at Luqa.
If I were her I would have kneed him in the balls, if he still has any left that is.
Well done, Dr Farrugia.
You have shown up the government for what it is.
Incompetent.
Mr Galea summed it all up when he said that if it were not for you he would be dead
As a former army officer he was very diplomatic in his choice of words but anyone with brains understood exactly what he meant.
Hope they did not make him pay for the trip like they did the others
And then Nicola Wotsit Garret called Austin Gatt “fuck’n wanker”. Goes to show how little she knew what a wank is.
Prosit Marisa!
Congratulations to all those who were really behind this successful outcome for Martin Galea.
The line-up of the Prime Minister and two of his ministers to strike the headline during the direct transmission of Martin’s homecoming was completely unbefitting. But, then, they don’t know any better.
I hope that all of us give Martin and his beloved ones some well-deserved rest.
Good luck, Martin.
So why was he released? Good faith over Eid?
No. Simple triage of hostages. You kidnap a whole group, then keep the valuable ones and let the rest go free.
I expected to see his family given precedence over the politicians with the Tunis consul literally delivering Mr. Galea to his family.
But we had to see those three stooges making a show of themselves with the Maltese ambassador to Libya conspicuous by his absence.
Has he resigned or he is in Tripoli selling passports?
Maybe they were afraid of having his blood on their hands if God forbid he didn’t come home.
How different things are being managed from 2011 crisis. It shows the difference between a statesman and an egocentric amateur.
And what was Mannie Galea’s role in this saga? Apparently, not so significant, if at all.
The wisdom of having a political appointee as ambassador in an important and sensitive post as Tripoli has not been questioned much. George Vella should thank his lucky stars and Marisa Farrugia that this episode ended happily in spite of his blunder in appointing a novice at such a delicate post in such momentous times.
A jet with propellers?
If they can’t even get the basic facts right can I believe any of the rest?
Turboprop it’s called. Too much of a hassle trying to get it right.
Why can’t I shake the feeling that the Burmarrad puppeteer and his forty thieves knew beforehand about the eventual outcome of this whole episode?
Why do I strongly suspect that all that secrecy was a sly ploy to keep things out of the Opposition’s knowledge?
With the present lot running the show and getting to know their labyrinthine way of passing the blame for anything under the sun onto convenient shoulders, I cannot see the prime hog sharing the glory with Dr Busuttil.
With the same logic, if there was any chance of the whole scenario blowing up in his face, he would certainly have roped in the Opposition and their mothers to get the brunt of the blame.
Maybe I’m getting paranoid about this lot too.
I am paranoid too Carlos. Joseph Muscat would love to be Lawrence Gonzi at least for some minutes.
My thoughts exactly.
Welcome back Martin. Prosit Marisa.
I get the feeling that there is more to this story.
Why would the captors negotiate a drop-off point when there is nothing for them in return? They could have just dumped him somewhere and then made a phone call with his location.
The chasing of a drop-off point and logic tell me that we are not being told the whole truth in this affair.
[Daphne – Well, I would say that the negotiation of a drop-off point means that something (or someone) was given in return, even if not money.]
Could have been medical care. Away from the fighting in Libya. Possibly for three of their number.