We will not be silenced

Yet another week has passed since the assassination of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.

There have been no further press conferences, no updates or statements of reassurance from the Prime Minister or the Police Commissioner, and to the cynical among us, it would almost seem as if they are battening down the hatches and waiting for the whole thing to blow over with no real intention of solving it.

The Police Commissioner and Attorney General remain in the roles that they have proved themselves wholly unfit for, and not only do they reject the fact that their poor behaviour would signal resignation in any normal country, but they reject the fact that anyone is calling for it. This level of denial and burying-your-head-inthe-sand is sickening at best, and at worse, it makes it clear that they are being supported and encouraged to remain by the people who it suits.

One thing that has enraged me the most is watching the parade of false mourning from our political parties – Joseph Muscat, Adrian Delia, Your Excellency – I am talking to you. Please do not insult our intelligence by trying to make us believe that you are in any way saddened or distraught as Daphne saw right through all your deceitfulness, your lies, and your corrupt schemes and she made it her life’s work to make it public. She was a thorn in your side; you dreaded each time she posted a new column, and you prayed for the day that she would stop exposing your private and nefarious affairs. This false outpouring of grief and desire to see justice done is nothing more than a PR stunt fuelled by crocodile tears; after all, you hated her in life, why do you suddenly now claim to revere here in death? There is no desire to seek justice, there is no desire to revamp the institutions, and there is absolutely no sadness or remorse on your parts. The problem is that you are all counting on us forgetting this, hoping that in time we will grow bored of writing, protesting, and taking to the streets. You hope that something else will come along to distract us and you can sweep this under the carpet like you did with so many other things. Well, my apologies but you are mistaken.

You can pay as many trolls as you like to harass people, you can hack protestors social media accounts and personal devices. You can tap people’s phones, you can threaten to take away people’s jobs if they protest, you can try to censor the press and to steer the narrative in your favour. You can pull all the PR stunts you want, but please know one thing, we will never forget. Our pens, our voices, our opinions, and what we are fighting for surpass the power of anything you can throw at us. Every troll, every hack, every threat just motivates us more and gives us the strength needed to continue. Please know that we will not give up until serious changes are made to this country and it starts becoming a country for everyone, not just for the elite few.

It is not just the PN supporters that are up in arms, and this fight has gone beyond mere politics now. Expats and foreign residents are livid, PL supporters have denounced the actions of this government, disillusioned PN voters are leaving the party in droves, and floating voters are having their say. People have taken to the streets of London, Rome, and Brussels and the EU Parliament has said it will not accept the lack of inaction of the Maltese government. This is not a situation you can control with censorship and totalitarian means; this is far bigger than the government will ever be, and as such, we cannot be silenced.

To the rest of the world, and international readers I say don’t be fooled by state sponsored trolls and whilst yes, the world is still turning, people are getting up and going to work, and all seems OK-ish on the surface, please know that it is not. Please know that people are being threatened, and intimidated into silence, please know that the government is refusing to acknowledge the concerns of its country, and note that this is a place where female protestors are called whores and it’s deemed OK for someone to wish that they were all crushed to death with a car. While articles and “Best Place to Live 2017” writeups may paint a picture of a glorious haven of peace and happiness, this only tends to apply if you are male, over 35, a vocal Labour supporter, compliant, a bit simple, corrupt, and able to turn a blind eye. For everyone else, it is a dire situation, even if some have to realise it.

As Daphne has been laid to rest, I can assure you that the campaign for justice and change has not, and that the people who truly care about this country and everyone in it will continue their fight for justice in every aspect of society. To those of you that will shout “traitor”, “bitch”, and “go back to your own country”, I say one thing: I am not the one; we are not the ones that are ruining the reputation of your country. That has been accomplished with levels of corruption and inaction comparable to sub-Saharan regimes, which has been accomplished by the government’s lack of inaction and by whoever brutally murdered one of Europe’s leading, and most important journalistic voices.

To quote Daphne’s last words, which seem more and more apt every second that passes: “There are crooks everywhere you look. The situation is desperate.”