Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/664438
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 10 APRIL 2016 16 News MALTA has been associated with the perils of boat migration from Africa since the early noughties – matched, at least in the Medi- terranean arena, only perhaps by Lampedusa. It's a predicament that has given rise to both conflicting emotional reactions and equally fractured political viewpoints and reactions. Europe still remains in something of a quandary with regard to how to strike the balance between moral duty on the one hand, and ever- increasing concerns on 'security', employment and integration on the other. But how do we process the day-to-day facts of this ongoing source of tension and concern? But beyond the political numbers game and the ever-knotted problem of racism, migrant deaths at sea re- main the most disturbing by-prod- uct of this ongoing phenomenon. How we react – and perhaps more importantly, how we don't react – to the crisis can be a good litmus test for where we are as a society. And perhaps significantly, a sym- bolic mood in this regard is in the offing for Malta. Today week – 17 April – a commemorative walk from City Gate, Valletta to Addol- orata Cemetery in Paola will be held in remembrance of the 850 lost at sea when a boat leaving Libya cap- sized back on 18 April, 2015. The ultimate aim of the walk – whose organisers are keen to not fly the flag of any particular NGO/s – would be to install a commemora- tive plaque honouring the dead, at the Addolorata destination which will mark the end of the walk. This apparently simple gesture ar- guably contains multitudes, and it's these multitudes that the formida- ble American theorist Judith Butler touched upon during a public lec- ture held last Wednesday at the Mediterranean Conference Centre in Valletta. Organised under the auspices of the prestigious European Graduate School (EGS) – which has recently set up shop at Fort St Elmo – Butler turned to psychoanalysis to discuss "whose lives count as the living" and whether certain bodies are more 'grievable' than others. During the talk, entitled To Pre- serve the Right of the Other: Psy- choanalysis and the Ethical Claim, Butler, who rose to fame thanks to her groundbreaking work on gen- der performativity and who holds the Hannah Arendt chair at EGS, used proponents of psychoanalytic theory to dissect how we relate to the 'Other', and the way we chan- nel deep-seated sources of guilt and violence when confronted with the pain and misfortune of those deemed to be separate from us. Butler of course did make an ex- plicit reference to the migration crisis in her talk, but this was only one aspect of what she treated as a wider consideration. Which is what, in turn, made her analysis all the more urgent: through her discussion of both psy- chological heavyweight Sigmund Freud, as counter-argued by his later, Austrian-British counterpart Melanie Klein (1882-1960), Butler showed that the ambivalent feel- ings we may have towards migrants MALTA'S PRESIDENCY OF THE COUNCIL OF THE EU 2017 CALL FOR TENDERS TRANSPORTATION SERVICES The Parliamentary Secretariat for EU Presidency 2017 and EU Funds, within the Ministry for European Affairs and Implementation of the Electoral Manifesto, notifies that a call for tenders for Transportation Services – Provision of Chauffeur Driven Cars, Executive Minivans & Coaches, and Self-Drive Cars held in relation to Malta's Presidency of the Council of the EU 2017 has been issued. The tender documents are available to download online from www.etenders.gov.mt MALTA'S PRESIDENCY OF THE COUNCIL OF THE EU 2017 CALL FOR TENDERS TRANSPORTATION SERVICES The Parliamentary Secretariat for EU Presidency 2017 and EU Funds, within the Ministry for European Affairs and Implementation of the Electoral Manifesto, notifies that a call for tenders for Transportation Services – Provision of Chauffeur Driven Cars, Executive Minivans & Coaches, and Self-Drive Cars held in relation to Malta's Presidency of the Council of the EU 2017 has been issued. The tender documents are available to download online from www.etenders.gov.mt The Ministry for Gozo in conjuncon with the Department of Contracts will be organising two workshops in Gozo on the electronic Public Procurement System for economic operators. The workshops will give an opportunity to those a•ending to familiarise themselves with compiling and submi•ng their bids online. The workshops will be free of charge and will be held on Friday 22nd April 2016 and Friday 29th April 2016 between 9:00am and 1:00pm. Interested economic operators are kindly requested to apply by email on procurement.mgoz@gov.mt or by telephone on 2210 0266 between 8am and 2pm by not later than Friday, April 15, 2016. WORKSHOPS ON ONLINE SUBMISSION OF TENDERS FOR THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY IN GOZO Are some lives This week, Valletta played host to groundbreaking American theorist Judith Butler, who gave a talk on how some bodies are, apparently, more 'grievable' than others – an observation TEODOR RELJIC found more urgent than ever as the migration crisis continues to test Europe's conscience Silent protest planned to raise awareness on animal abuse A silent protest about the need to enforce animal welfare laws will be held next Saturday at the 'LOVE' monument in St Julian's. One of the organizers, TV celebrity Moira Delia, a former spokesperson for the anti-hunting lobby, told Mal- taToday that she was saddened by the incredible increase and exam- ples of abuse to animals. "As a result of my weekly pro- gramme on TV, Animal Diaries, I constantly receive reports of animal abuse which I in turn pass on to the animal welfare department for their attention. I am sent many photos of abandoned animals running in the streets and countryside, chained dogs who bark throughout the day and night, caged animals who are rarely taken out of their cages, dogs on roofs and balconies living in filth and squalor, very often with barely any shade and frequently even left without water for long periods of time, and animals, especially dogs, left alone in abandoned properties." Delia said that another extremely worrying development was the increase in the number of puppy farms. She said the farms are run by very irresponsible breeders, result- ing in many dogs being bred and interbred, with very undesirable side effects in the long term on the ani- mals. Delia also commented about hors- es being left in the sun while shelters remain empty or used up by parked cars and obviously on protected birds being shot at. She argued that the animal welfare department seem to take a very relaxed approach to these abuses and very often came back reporting that the reported cases were incorrect and that the animals concerned are well kept and in good condition. She said that the protest would be silent: "I think we are representing animals who do not have a voice and are effectively silent about the abuse that they suffer." Asked if she acknowledged that Maltese people in general were more sensitive to animal welfare, she said the Maltese people were sensi- tive to animals in general – and that the problem lay mainly with a few bad eggs, and a lack of enforcement. Delia was also critical of the so- called Maltese "zoos" claiming that they are, in fact not zoos at all. "There is absolutely nothing edu- cational about the current set ups which there are locally! At school children are taught that wild animals belong to the wild so in practice why expose these children to caged 'wild' animals! This is only confusing our children and not giving them any- thing educational at all. "Some time ago I had asked the Parliamentary Secretary for Animal Welfare, Roderick Galdes, whether, having banned animal circuses from Malta, the country would be con- trolling wild animals coming into the country and whether we would put an end to having these wild ani- mals caged. "He had reassured me at the time that this would happen and that he would ensure that the right en- forcement is in place to stop this from happening. I would say that not only has nothing been done but the situation has been allowed to go unchecked and become worse. Now that two children have been injured in such places things might begin to happen, but this is not the right way to get action taken." Delia encouraged all those who have animals at heart to be present for the silent protest. "This is not a political issue. It should be a national issue on which political parties easily agree. "I am sure that no political party would say that they are not against animal abuse. I know animals have no voice and neither do they have a vote but this is not about politics, it's not about votes, it's about looking after our animals. And very often a country can be judged by the way it treats its animals. Let us ensure we are judged correctly and not found wanting." Moira Delia is calling on animal lovers to be at St Julian's next Saturday