It appears that 90 illegal immigrants being held in detention in Floriana managed to stage a "mass escape" that was well timed for the visit of EU MPs currently touring detention centres. As we try to see the comic in the tragic (not much left to laugh about) we find this piece in the Times particularly notable for its tragi-comic content:
"All officers available at the time were immediately mobilised and the immigrants were apprehended in Floriana, Sa Maison, Portes des Bombes and the Valletta Waterfront, among other places. Five others were intercepted at the former opera house site.
The escape caused a lot of commotion among passers-by, with some individuals heard calling out for the immigrants to be "burned in the square". Others said the migrants should be grateful they were being hosted in Malta in the first place.
The police were evidently overwhelmed by the mass escape, and at one point they were seen stopping black pedestrians who, as it turned out, had nothing to do with the escape."
Malta? Racist? Qed tifhem?
"I have to say I was profoundly shocked to see a Frenchman express himself in English at the (EU) Council table [SHOCKED AT THE LANGUAGE OR THAT A FRENCHIE COULD ACTUALLY SPEAK ANGLAIS?]. That's why the French delegation and myself walked out rather than listen to that, [THAT BEING A LANGUAGE OF A FELLOW MEMBER STATE]" Chirac told reporters.
Chirac said France had fought for a long time to ensure that French was spoken and used within multinational institutions, from the European Union and United Nations to the Olympic Games [AND IT STILL IS.].
"It is not just national interest, it is in the interest of culture and the dialogue of cultures. You cannot build the world of the future on just one language and, hence one culture. [YEAH, WE CANNOT ALWAYS SPEAK FRANCAIS MONSIEUR LE PRESIDENT]"
French once dominated the EU, but English has overtaken it since the bloc expanded to take in Nordic countries in the 1990s and east European members in 2004 [YES, NOW WE ALL SPEAK THE ENGLISH YES?].
Chirac, flanked by his foreign and finance ministers, quit the summit chamber on Thursday when Ernest-Antoine Seilliere, head of a European business lobby, switched from French to English during a speech to EU leaders [TUT TUT].
Chirac missed Seilliere urging leaders to "resist national protectionism in order to avoid a negative domino effect" in the EU's internal market, a veiled criticism of France and others who have tried to block cross-border takeovers.
English, French and German are the working languages of the 25-nation bloc, which has no single official language. All 20 languages of the member states are used at summits, ministerial meetings and in the European Parliament [MALTA STILL LACKS INTERPRETERS... BUT THAT IS ANOTHER STORY].
We hold this truth self-evident
0 Comments Published by Jacques René Zammit on Thursday, March 23 at 9:12 am.
