Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/602004
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 15 NOVEMBER 2015 28 With each year that passes, the rancid roots of the occult dig themselves deeper and deeper in- to the recesses of our youth. One only has to take cursory glance at the increased amount of events and promotion that appears dur- ing the time of Halloween. I dread this time of year be- cause I know what this celebra- tion signifies – a pagan feast of the occult and all that is dark and regressive. If people stopped to think about it, they would remember that what Halloween truly glorifies is the destruction of civilization as we know it. The harmony of religious together- ness and the necessary balm of a responsible, healthy society are contrary to what Halloween pro- motes: the negative, feverish joy of ghouls and spirits that would have us all reduced to animals, consuming and sacrificing all the time. When will we learn to appreci- ate the true, wholesome values of the Christian faith that we've been lucky enough to inherit through our forebears with rela- tive ease? Our island has truly been 'blessed' by the tenets of the Catholic faith. So why have we opted to revert back to morally bankrupt and primitive forms of living, and worship? Halloween is of course just the tip of the ice- berg – we are regressing in every single sphere of life – but it's also the most offensive illustration of how corrupt our society is. And it's not just the fact that it's celebrating an occult and yes, Satanic festival, it's that we're fully embracing the capitalistic, Americanised version of it, which quite literally sugar-coats its dark core with a kid-friendly proposi- tion of harmless fun. I hope that we will all see rea- son some day. Vivienne Bianco Mosta Letters Send your letters to: The Editor, MaltaToday, MediaToday Ltd. Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016 | Fax: (356) 21 385075 E-mail: newsroom@mediatoday.com.mt. Letters to the Editor should be concise. No pen names are accepted. News • 16 November 2005 Salv Sammut resigns from anti- discrimination campaign THE president of the General Workers Union Salv Sammut has resigned from an anti-discrimination working group of which he was ironically its "Diversity Ambassador". Last October during the GWU national congress, Sammut told around 700 union delegates that immigrants were taking jobs from Maltese workers and that im- migrant prostitutes were earning double the minimum weekly wage of a Maltese worker. Sammut also said that in order to curb illegal immigration, Malta may be forced to take measures which were not necessarily "just and humane". His speech prompted instant con- demnation with Green Party chairper- son Harry Vassallo storming out of the national congress during Sammut's speech. Ironically Sammut was the "Diversity Ambassador" for the European Union's programme against discrimination, along with pop singer Miriam Christine Borg. The working group cooordinates the "For Diversity. Against Discrimination" campaign, and comprises unions, NGOs and the social policy and education min- istries. Together stakeholders draw up a national action plan. Eighteen organisa- tions participate in the working group. Ironically it is this group that reaches out to the public by fuelling the debate about discrimination. Sammut has denied being "forced" to resign. Sammut said Andrew War- rington, representative for Mediaconsult which coordinates the Stop Discrimina- tion campaign for the EU, approached him after somebody questioned his presence on the working group after his controversial speech. Sammut alleged Warrington told him "not to be as open" about his thoughts after read- ing his speech, due to its con- troversiality. "I told him I'll make it simpler for him by resigning," Sammut said, after he refused to clarify the contents of his speech to the working group when asked by Warrington. "Andrew Warrington beck- oned me not to resign. I said I will stop attending but he could always count on my help whenever he needed it. Then he announced my resignation to the work- ing group." Sammut has claimed his speech was used for political ends, and that he was committed in the fight against discrimi- nation. "I organised a seminar, reserved a centre-spread for the campaign in the union newspaper, and presented Mal- tese case-studies in health and safety conditions of migrant workers at EU-US meetings. I even criticised Norman Low- ell openly in the union newspaper." Sammut told MaltaToday he was relay- ing what he was hearing on the street and at workplaces and stood by what he said at the GWU congress. "It is a precarious situation which left unattended could fuel racist reactions as witnessed during the 1930s in Germany. If we don't take care of the problem, the friction could intensify." The Valletta blockage of 2015 Maltese history books may probably need to be revised after November 2015. Historically the French revolutionary forces endured close to two years block- aded in Valletta between 1798 and 1800. Now the residents of Valletta have re-lived the experience of their forefathers since a substan- tial part of Valletta was closed for almost two days during the Migration Summit and will again possibly for another day later in the month during the CHOGM meeting. I do appreciate that for security reasons some parts of Valletta had to be closed to traffic for some hours, but closing these parts for two days was surely go- ing a bit over the top. What were residents supposed to do if someone needed to be taken urgently to hospital or had some long-planned works in hand; pray and hope for the best? And what about shopkeep- ers in Valletta, how were they supposed to cope? More consid- eration should be shown to all concerned by the powers-that-be. Increasingly, living and working in Valletta is becoming a bit of a nightmare. This certainly should not be the case. Surely with long term planning in consultation with all interested parties, life can be that little bit more easy without resorting to such restrictions each time a major event is held in Valletta. Many solutions adopted in the past were short term and had minimal lasting positive results. Clearly a holistic long-term ap- proach is called for. Perhaps the Valletta Local Council in tandem with the government should take the initiative in this regard for the well-being of the people it ultimately represents. Paul Edgar Micallef Valletta The perils of Halloween Clarification and apology Reference is made to the report 'Zaren's €350,000 PN campaign budget' which appeared in MaltaToday on 3 February 2013, following which Dr Paul Borg Olivier sued for libel, as secre- tary general of the PN. Saviour Balzan as managing editor notes that although no direct reference was made to Paul Borg Olivier, nonetheless he accepts the statement that the Vassallo Group of Companies loaned and never donated this amount to the Nationalist Party; but in fact loaned the amount. In the light of these declarations, Saviour Balzan on behalf of MaltaTo- day apologises to Dr Paul Borg Olivier.