Anläßlich der aktuellen Koranverteilungsaktion in Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz rufe ich den folgenden Unterschied erneut ins Bewußtsein, damit Sie nicht mit einem Einkaufskorb voll Unerwünschtem nach Hause kommen:
"Korane! Frische Korane!"
"Kormorane! Frische Kormorane!"
In Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz ist zur Zeit eine islamische Organisation unterwegs und versucht, 25 Millionen Exemplare des Korans in deutscher Übersetzung unters Volk zu bringen. Kostenlos. Wer Interesse hat, kann ja mal sehen, ob seine Stadt auf dem Tourneeplan steht.
Ich bin ein begeisterter Leser, und “kostenlos” hat in meinen Ohren eine höchst positive Konnotation. Dennoch werde ich mir kein Exemplar abholen und insbesondere keines lesen. Warum nicht?
Der rohe Befehlston verbunden mit der maßlosen Selbstüberschätzung fürt also dazu, daß mich selbst dieses kostenlose Angebot nicht zu locken vermag. Der Koran schafft es trotz dieser Aktion nicht auf meine Bücherwunschliste. Ob der Islam eine friedliche Religion ist, wird sich in den nächsten Wochen daran zeigen, ob bei mir ein Paket mit etwas ganz anderem als einem Buch eintrifft.
I have already reported about the Easter procession at the Maltese town of Dingli in the light of its publicly humiliating treatment of a child with Down Syndrome.
But this was not the only scandal I witnessed that evening: the procession also revived the Christian tradition of anti-Semitism.
Look for yourself. Who are these guys that are following Satan?
I don’t exactly know who these guys are, but in order to make it easy for us to identify them, the organisers stuck a big fat sign on each of their chests.
The Star of David leaves no doubt: these grim-looking guys must be the Jews.
I assume that their appearance meant to symbolise the Sanhedrin trial of Jesus, but using the Star of David not only misses the fact that it was not used as a Jewish symbol in Jesus’ time, but only became a symbol of Judaism at least 1,500 years later, but it is also a dangerous allusion to the Christian belief of Jewish deicide, a belief that places the responsibility of Jesus’ death on the Jewish people as a whole and a founding stone of anti-Semitism.
Even the Catholic Church has meanwhile – ok, it took them until 1965, well after the Holocaust – repudiated the belief in the collective Jewish guilt for Jesus’s death. But here on Malta, organisers of a public procession for Easter are still happy to use the symbol of Judaism in this context, thus linking Jews in general to the crucifixion of Jesus.
And finally, when you organise a religious pageant and you design the costumes for the Jews, which colour will you pick for the Star of David? Well, that’s simple, because there is another historic example which you can depend on. You can’t go wrong with yellow.
What were they thinking?
For months, people have asked “What are you actually doing in Malta?” For months, I incessantly maintained my cover story of being a student and a tourist. At least it was a more comfortable cover story than others I had used on previous assignments.
But now, as my job here is coming to an end, I can reveal the real reason behind this stranger’s presence on this island. I am also able to do so and to lay open the results of my clandestine investigation because part of these results have already been made public.
The press has reported today that Iranian shipping companies based in Malta used these ships to circumvent sanctions against Iran and lately also Syria. The Islamic Republic of Iran uses Malta as one of the prime places for its shell companies with the aim of hiding its activities. It has to be said unfortunately that Malta was less than cooperative in these investigations. Business and profit seemed to trump laws and human rights.
In addition to this exhausting investigation, which led me from the offices of notaries in Valletta to the hull of ships anchoring in Marsaxlokk Bay, I have single-handedly uncovered another example of Maltese companies defying the sanctions against Iran:
On a side note, I wonder if the Iranian producer is aware that “Goldstar” is the brand of a well-known beer from Israel.
On a second side note, the product description “Whilst every effort has been made to remove the stones, complete removal cannot be guaranteed” also describes how Iran deals with the opposition and human rights movements.
To the few of you who always suspected me of being a spy: Hats off! Stay tuned to find out about my next assignment.
Walking around Vittoriosa (or Birgu, to use the Maltese name) yesterday, I saw this government notice posted on a door, stating that it is “URGENT”.
Taking a step back, neither the door, nor the house, nor the street actually oozed any sense of urgency. Quite the contrary.
Probably it wasn’t that urgent after all. The notice had been there for two months already.
Remember this quiet alley in Malta when someone tries to rush you with the pretended urgency of something.
Visiting Vittoriosa (Birgu in Maltese) and its harbour, one of the boats stuck out and particularly caught my eye among all these beautiful boats.
Exactly, it was the orange one.
Not only its colour, also its shape was rather special.
Yesterday, I went to the small town of Dingli in Malta to watch a street procession for Easter. There were bands and the scouts who played music. Children and adults had dressed up as persons from the Bible’s New Testament and marched through the streets of Dingli while the story of Jesus’ life was read out over loudspeakers.
I found the event very well organised, the costumes colourful and creative and the citizens of Dingli giving their best to impersonate characters from the Bible. I enjoyed the evening – until something happened that shocked me so much that I could not believe it at first. But see for yourself.
One of the highlights of the procession were the children. They were cute, sweet and lovely.
But Saint Mary Band Club of Dingli also had one child who visibly suffers from Down syndrome, a handicapped child. Oh shock. “What do we do with the disabled child?” the organisers asked. And had an idea: “We have the perfect role for the handicapped and disadvantaged child.” This is what they came up with:
Yes, you are seeing correctly. This boy was given the job to announce and walk around town in front of Satan. The devil. The impersonation of evil. When I saw this boy step out of the hall with the sign “Satan” in front of him – after dozens of other children had announced Jesus, Mary, Joseph, the Apostles and so on – I could not believe my eyes. I was shocked.
What did the organisers think?
On the Official Malta Tourism Site, the event was announced, inter alia, as follows:
The principal aim of the author for this production is to convey the message of God’s Love for Humanity and through such love, God wants to release us from our sins through His Son, Jesus Christ. The message is one of triumph over the darkness of evil and of everlasting happiness. Through this Pageant, the organisers wish the general public to understand that only GOD can make a difference in our lives.
Maybe I imagined this, but I had the impression that I was not the only one in the audience who was shocked. If you were in Dingli this Saturday as well, I would love to hear from you.
(C) for all photos: Andreas Moser, 31 March 2012.
When I was in Dingli, Malta today I saw that their football club is called “Dingli Swallows”.
Well, as long as I am the only one to misunderstand this club’s name (until I saw the logo), it shouldn’t be a problem.
Good luck for this season!
Germany is one of the so-called Schengen countries, which means there are no more border controls. You can enter the country without being stopped, without showing a passport and if you travel by train, car or on foot often even without noticing that you have entered Germany.
No more border checkpoints. That’s one part of the story.
However, the German Federal Police have the right to ask passengers on public transport for their identification (§ 22 Ia German Federal Police Act) in order to combat illegal immigration.
I’ve been on many trains in Germany and have experienced these identity checks a few times. Well, not myself actually, but I could observe my fellow passengers being checked. It’s always the same routine: two police officers walking through the moving train, asking some of the passengers for their ID or passport. Whom do they ask? Preferably dark people, more solo travellers than families, never anyone in a suit (that’s why I was always spared). Sometimes when a dark-skinned person sitting opposite of me was checked, I though to myself “why don’t you officers at least have the decency to ask me for my ID as well, to make it appear less racist?”
“Great court ruling! We don’t even need to pretend to be non-discriminating anymore.”
Now I know why: because racial profiling is legal in Germany. That’s what the Administrative Court in Koblenz ruled today (case no. 5 K 1026/11.KO). A train passenger had sued the police after he was arrested in the course of such a random check. During the court proceeding, one of the police officers stated that they were mainly looking for illegal immigrants and admitted that one feature by which they pick the objects of their checks is the skin colour of the passengers. The court stated that the police may use the “exterior appearance” to determine whom to subject to a random check.
Neither the police nor the court can explain why somebody’s skin colour makes him or her more likely to be an illegal immigrant. No word about the possibility that black people may be Europeans or, oh shock, even Germans. No word about the possibility that white people can actually be immigrants, too. I don’t see the connection between skin colour and somebody’s citizenship, and even less between somebody’s skin colour and the question whether they have a valid visa or not.
So here is what you need to do if you don’t want to be picked up by the German police. These 10 rules are based on my own experience.
Good luck and enjoy Germany!
UPDATE:
As expected, the Appeals Court has overturned that decision and has declared racial profiling to be unconstitutional. We will see whether this will lead to any changes in how police behave.
I have often wondered if I can bring my own parachute on board as part of the carry-on. One never knows; I may have to leave a flight early.
To my surprise, the FAQ of Ryanair address this question:
CAN I BRING A PARACHUTE? |
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Parachutes of any type, recreational or sports type or paragliding wings (also known as ‘canopy’) can be accepted for carriage as checked-in or carry-on baggage subject to the standard restrictions for size and weight. These packs may contain an auxiliary or emergency ‘chute’ and a barometric mechanical activating (auto-release) device. These accessories are acceptable for check-in. The parachute pack must not contain pyrotechnics or smoke canisters- these accessories are not acceptable for carriage on our aircraft. |
They also allow self-inflating life jackets and an avalanche rescue pack, although all three of these gimmicks combined would probably exceed the 10 kg allowed in total.
On my next flight, I’ll be prepared.
It’s good to bring your own. (from the James Bond film “Moonraker”)
The Happy Hermit 