You cannot imagine how good he was to us

Rosine sent us pictures of her and the rest of the team sat down around a dinner table, with Paul in the middle, smiling. “Every Friday he would cook new dishes for us. We shared laughter. He cared so much about us.”

Describing her friendship with the murdered Maltese man, Rosine said she used to have lunch and dinner with him regularly.

Rosine wanted Sarah to know that her father was a “hero” to his team. “All of us have such good memories of him. For sure he loved his family because we knew you through him. He was always proud of his family. He will be missed by many of us. You cannot imagine how good he was to us. He deserves to be known in good way.”

The pictures are not Paul Formosa being published at Rosine’s request. She says she is not afraid to speak or use her name but does not want to compromise the safety of her colleagues.

“The Islamists are everywhere nowadays so we hide our identity.” She has since fled from the lawless country and does not yet know whether she will be returning to her job. “I don’t even know if I will be going back to my job. I will wait until things calm down,” she says.

Rosine also pointed out that Formosa was in Somalia legally, contrary to what was reported in some sections of the international media. She sent a link to an online report detailing the 2017 handover of the port of Bosasso to the Dubai-based P&O Ports, for which Formosa worked. The report includes pictures showing Formosa attending the official handover ceremony.