Watch: ‘None Of Us Suspected Anything’ – NET Journalist Opens Up On Aftermath Of Gouder’s Death
NET journalist Dione Borg has opened up about the shock he and his colleagues experienced following Karl Gouder’s death, stating that none of them had suspected he was going through anything serious.
“I was with Karl Gouder at the NET offices at 2:30pm, and the following morning I received a call about him. I thought it was related to his bid to become PN secretary general but then I found out he had died,” Borg said in an episode of Il-Podcast ta’ Jon that is currently available to Patreon subscribers.
“Even saying it hurts. And then when we found out how he died… there was too much pain, too much emptiness.”
“We passed through a lot of pain at Dar Ċentrali and we’re still passing through it. Sometimes you feel a bit better, sometimes you feel a bit worse.”
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Borg said that Gouder had never expressed any feelings of sadness or distress to him or any of his NET colleagues.
“After he died, a psychologist came to our offices to discuss the situation with the staff and she told us to speak about him,” he said.
“We all spoke positively and none us said that they suspected something was up or that he had told them something. Then obviously you start wondering whether certain things he did could have had a deeper meaning but that’s natural.”
“But in a general sense, none of us noticed that he had something so extraordinary going on that would push him to do something so tragic and serious.”
“He would actually be the one to encourage people to speak out himself. If you had a problem, he would invite you into his office or for a coffee to speak about it and solve it.”
On a political level, Borg said that while he leaned more to the right and Gouder leaned more to the left, their discussions were always healthy and non-confrontational.
He praised Gouder for his willingness to find a compromise in the toughest political disputes and for his refusal to make his sexual orientation the starting point of every discussion.
Borg said the tragic experience has taught him how important it is to respect others and to not let arguments drag on.
“Confrontations are common in our line of work and sometimes an argument with someone can last for three days – now I learned that you can’t afford this but you have to find out how to sort it out on the spot.”
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