MaltaToday previous editions

MT 8 January 2017

Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/770367

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 24 of 51

25 maltatoday, SUNDAY, 8 JANUARY 2017 Opinion statement. They wanted to f ly Gaddafi's green f lag somewhere where it would be filmed, and the footage broadcast in all countries of the world. This was the hijackers' stated intention, and I for one fail to see how it can be described as 'unreached'. They certainly got what they wanted, and plenty of it. What more, then, could they possibly have asked for? But like I said: the existence or otherwise of 'demands' is in itself meaningless. Let's take a look at a few of the more famous examples. You might remember a certain incident that took place back in September 2001, when four American passenger planes were hijacked shortly after take-off from New York's airport. Two of them were f lown headlong into the Twin Towers, killing more than 3,000 people. A third crashed into the Pentagon, and the fourth was (by most accounts) shot down on its way to the White House. I don't recall the hijackers making any demands on that occasion, either. Does this mean the 9/11 hijacks were not really 'hijacks' at all? Certainly a lot of people around the world believe there was something fishy about the entire incident: but not even the loopiest of 9/11 conspiracy theories would question the authenticity of the hijacks themselves. It might not have been the conventional form we're more used to – where passengers are held hostage in exchange for clear demands – but that in itself tells us more about our preconceived notions, than about what the word actually means. Meanwhile, if that comparison is too far-fetched for your liking – it is for mine, too – then how about the hijacker who diverted an Egypt Air plane to Cyprus last March? This is from a BBC report at the time: 'EgyptAir Flight MS181 was taken over by a passenger claiming to be wearing a suicide explosive belt. Airline officials later said they had been told by Cypriot authorities that the belt was fake. The hijacker's motives remain unclear...." Sounds awfully familiar already, doesn't it? But wait, there's more. It later transpired that the motive behind the hijack was (of all things)... 'love'. The man, it seems, wanted to impress his estranged wife who had moved to Cyprus after dumping him. He was also described as 'mentally unstable' and – rather unkindly, it must be said – ridiculed all over the internet for months. But still: a hijack it remained. The man was duly arrested and charged with the crime of hijacking... even though, like the Libyan hijackers arrested in Malta last week, he never made any formal demands. The only questions raised by the incident concerned the levels of security at Alexandria's airport. Nobody even remotely suggested that the incident must have been 'staged'... because it didn't fit in with their own conception of what a hijack should actually look like. Interestingly enough, it also turns out that the Cyprus example is by no means unique. The Washington Post ran a story detailing an entire history of hijacks prompted by broken hearts. Here are a couple of examples: "In 1961, a drunken oil worker failed in an attempt to commandeer a f light to see his estranged wife in Arkansas... he was subdued by several passengers before the f light could leave the Chicago airport." And: "In 1971, Richard Obergfell, a former Navy aviation mechanic, hijacked a f light en route from New York to Chicago in an attempt to reach a pen pal in Italy, a woman with whom he had fallen in love..." This second story, however, had a somewhat unhappier ending for the love-stricken hijacker. Obergfell was shot dead by a sniper on the JFK airport runway. I guess the FBI didn't buy into the popular 'hoax hijack' hypothesis, either. They certainly didn't wait for any 'demands' to be made, to be able to conclude that what was happening before their eyes was both a hijack, and very real. But here in Malta, of course, we are special. Our hijacks have to be different from everybody else's. And if they're not 'special' enough... well, since when has that ever been a problem? We'll just embellish them with a little home-grown paranoia and delusion, like we do with everything else. Honestly, though: I thought we had scraped the bottom of the absurdity barrel decades ago. Yet there always somehow seems to be a lower level to sink to... S I T U A T I O N V A C A N T Jobsplus Permit No.: 237/2015 PROJECT OFFICER The Regulator for Energy and Water Services is seeking to recruit a Project Officer. The selected candidate shall: participate in the regulation of the energy sector, including the monitoring and/or enforcement of regulatory measures related to authorisations and permits granted by the Regulator; provide technical advice and expertise on issues related to the relative Unit; participate in the execution of any of the Regulator's functions as required in so far as compatible with the post and qualifications of the Project Officer. The selected candidate must be in possession of a relevant science or engineering University Degree (MQF Level 6) from a recognised University. Interested persons are requested to send an application, together with a detailed CV by not later than noon of Tuesday, 24 th January 2017. Further details on the above post can be obtained from the office of the Chief Executive Officer on telephone number 22955121 or on email address: ceo@rews.org.mt or from the Regulator's website. Applications marked Private and Confidential, are to be addressed to the Chief Executive Officer, Regulator for Energy and Water Services, Millennia, 2 nd Floor, Aldo Moro Street, Marsa, MRS 9065, or by e-mail to ceo@rews.org.mt. All applications shall be acknowledged and treated in the strictest confidence. Millennia, Aldo Moro Road, Marsa, MRS 9065. Tel.: 22955121; Fax.: 22955200 http://www.rews.org.mt S I T U A T I O N V A C A N T Jobsplus Permit No.: 237/2015 PROJECT OFFICER The Regulator for Energy and Water Services is seeking to recruit a Project Officer. The selected candidate shall: participate in the regulation of the energy sector, including the monitoring and/or enforcement of regulatory measures related to authorisations and permits granted by the Regulator; provide technical advice and expertise on issues related to the relative Unit; participate in the execution of any of the Regulator's functions as required in so far as compatible with the post and qualifications of the Project Officer. The selected candidate must be in possession of a relevant science or engineering University Degree (MQF Level 6) from a recognised University. Interested persons are requested to send an application, together with a detailed CV by not later than noon of Tuesday, 24 th January 2017. Further details on the above post can be obtained from the office of the Chief Executive Officer on telephone number 22955121 or on email address: ceo@rews.org.mt or from the Regulator's website. Applications marked Private and Confidential, are to be addressed to the Chief Executive Officer, Regulator for Energy and Water Services, Millennia, 2 nd Floor, Aldo Moro Street, Marsa, MRS 9065, or by e-mail to ceo@rews.org.mt. All applications shall be acknowledged and treated in the strictest confidence. Millennia, Aldo Moro Road, Marsa, MRS 9065. Tel.: 22955121; Fax.: 22955200 http://www.rews.org.mt

Articles in this issue

Archives of this issue

view archives of MaltaToday previous editions - MT 8 January 2017