Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1195815
6 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 22 DECEMBER 2019 NEWS No 15. Keith Schembri's Missing Mobile Phone What are we skinning? Keith Schembri's missing mobile phone. Why are we skinning it? Because it is officially the 'dog ate my homework' entry in the ongoing saga of the investigation into the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder case. What does it refer to, exactly? While testifying in court on Thursday, Chief Inspector Keith Arnaud revealed that the Prime Minister's only-recently former chief-of-staff Keith Schembri claimed to have "lost" his mobile phone on the day of his arrest. While they confiscated all of the remaining electronic devices they found at Schembri's residence, his personal mobile phone – inevitably a crucial piece of evidence that could potentially confirm or disconfirm Schembri's involvement in the case – remains 'at large'. Wait... is this the same Keith Schembri who previously said he was often left no option but to charge his phone four times a day because of the messages and calls he receives, and who said under oath that sometimes, a day would go by where he'd realised he hadn't spoken to his wife and kids because he was glued to the phone? Yes. Now you realise why this is a subject worthy of skinning? Well yes, okay, sure. But really and truly, where does this leave us? What is there to say? If anything, this just stands as another paltry excuse by a high-ranking official when cornered, a depressing reminder of how those supposedly charged with leading us so often let us down... Yes, but that's precisely it. Beyond all the anguish, stress, instability and nastiness that this whole political crisis has wrought, the smallest of silver linings has emerged. What silver lining? Nothing is definitive. The evidence is still emerging, and some of it may not even be all that final or conclusive. You're right, and the silver lining is a thin sliver, a small consolation. But just think of how untouchable Schembri seemed just a few weeks ago. How the mighty have fallen... Yes, and when the mighty fall, they are brought down to 'our level'. And it is only at this level that we can hope for any form of justice to take place. For impunity to be stripped away. Sad but true. Do say: "While allowing for the possibility that the case of lost phone may have some kernel of truth to it, I hope that such a flimsy excuse contributes to a national turnaround in the way we look at and consider the integrity of such powerful figures, and perform the necessary mental detox needed to consider them, their actions and their legacy, in the most honest and unvarnished way possible." Don't say: "I lose stuff all the time so all of this is making me feel better about my scatterbrained and disorganised self. More news of high-profile suspects losing stuff please!" The Skinny Malta, shrunk down JAMES DEBONO MANY candidates sitting for the Social Studies O' level exam have referred to same- sex families when asked how social changes are impacting the family, an examiners' re- port shows. The report said this showed "the increased exposure giv- en in our society to groups advocating rights for minori- ties and reflecting the legis- lative changes that have re- cently been implemented in this regard." When asked to list different forms of the family, candi- dates also showed awareness of nuclear, extended, mod- ified-extended, lone parent and gay and lesbian families as the most mentioned fam- ily types. But a few students also gave simplistic and unaccepta- ble answers such as "fami- lies with children or families without children". While some candidates ar- gued that increased participa- tion of females in the labour market had led to a change in parental roles. leading to more sharing of responsibili- ties at home, there were still some candidates "who per- ceived this as a veiled threat to the bond of the family and as leading to single-parent families". When asked to define 'soli- darity', candidates often used L-Istrina, the annual charity spectacular on TVM, as an example. This was not sur- prising considering that the Istrina jingle includes the re- frain "flimkien b'solidarjetà" (together in solidarity). A few candidates gave the clichéd example of "helping an old lady with her heavy shop- ping bags". However, there was a substantial number of candidates who interpreted solidarity, wrongly, as being "a state of solitude". Candidates found it easier to name high-income countries than low income countries. Germany, UK and USA were the most common examples for high-income countries. However, some tended to identify cities such as "Dubai, Los Angeles and Melbourne" rather than countries. With regard to low-income countries, many candidates gave wrong examples and indicated a lack of aware- ness of such countries. Some candidates simply wrote Af- rica or South America. Quite a few candidates mentioned China as a low-income country, which, according to the World Bank, belongs to the up- per middle-in- come group. There were can- didates who pro- duced generalised statements such as "Africa is a poor country" or "low- income countries are poor while high-income coun- tries are rich and have better lifestyles". Candidates were also asked to highlight the main four events in Maltese history dur- ing the period of 1964-2004. Some chose to discuss these events in general, at times without referring directly to the significance of each event in our history. In a few cases, candidates did not mention all four events or lacked knowledge about these events in Maltese political history. Candidates showed a high degree of awareness about Independ- ence Day and Malta's Acces- sion to EU membership while the other two events, like Re- public Day and Freedom Day, were not always mentioned. The dates of the events were not always correct. The riots of Sette Giugno were also in- correctly mentioned by some candidates as being one of the events occurring between 1964 and 2004. When asked about the op- portunities that post- secondary education offers, a number of candidates point- ed out free edu- cation and the stipend system as a great op- portunity for those who oth- erwise could not afford to further their education. Only a very small number of candidates were able to discuss the role of so- cial partners in the labour market, referring instead to completely unrelated groups like political parties, joint companies and sectors of the economy amongst others. "These poor responses clearly showed a lack of knowledge on the role of the social part- ners in the labour market." Candidates made relevant remarks about racism and xenophobia as the underlying causes of cultural conflicts. However, some candidates only offered a simplistic ex- planation of possible causes leading to conflict. In general the examiners found that students were not well-versed in sociological terms. "The answers are very simplistic in manner showing limited understanding and knowledge of sociological concepts," they said. Many answers were based on common sense knowl- edge and shared stereotypes. Some answers are also given in "sermon-style language rather than sticking to the facts and to their analysis" and were often based on in- formation acquired from un- reliable sources, mostly from the media. "This is reflected in the use of clichés which are used in the media. Answers contain limited reflection or analysis." A total of 756 students sat for the social studies exam of which only 2% got a Grade 1 mark while 54% got a mark above Grade 5. A significant amount (15%) were absent in the exam. Social studies exam shows greater awareness of gay families But students associate solidarity with l-Istrina and many still think China is a poor country When asked to list different forms of the family, candidates also showed awareness of nuclear, extended, modified-extended, lone parent and gay and lesbian families as the most mentioned family types Quite a few candidates mentioned China as a low-income country, which, according to the World Bank, belongs to the upper middle-income group "The answers are very simplistic in manner showing limited understanding and knowledge of sociological concepts"