I’d like to update my dearest readers about what’s going on this week and explain why you may not see as many articles as I usually upload in a given week. While I will do my best to update this site as regularly as possible, I have a couple of days which are packed with interviews and meetings so it may not be entirely possible for me to upload one article per day, which is my current production target. I have some very interesting stories that need to be finalised and I would rather prioritise quality over quantity.
Meanwhile, I’d like to invite you all to attend next Thursday’s vigil for Daphne in Valletta – as per the usual, we shall be meeting in front of the law courts at 7pm. I’ll be addressing the crowd for what will probably be the fourth or fifth time by now, and I must confess that it is always a cathartic source of pleasure to do so at the request of Repubblika, Occupy Justice Malta, and Manuel Delia, who have been supporting this project from day one.
Besides promising you that I’ll make every minute you spend listening to my speech worth your time, your presence at this vigil is both needed and desired for reasons that go beyond my own personal satisfaction.
I am aware that there is visible fatigue written all over everyone’s faces when it comes to the pursuit of justice for Daphne. Crowds swell and wane every year, and the November vigil is usually a rather quiet one considering that it happens a month after the annual anniversary of Daphne’s assassination in October.
However, I must stress that this is not just another vigil, and this is not just any other event, mainly due to the fact that the stated objective of these vigils and of the broader campaign which spawned these monthly reminders – that is, justice for Daphne – is far from being achieved.
Not only are we very far off from obtaining justice for Daphne herself, but we are also perilously and dangerously close to a further decline of the media landscape in Malta. After the damning findings of the public inquiry into Daphne’s murder were published, all the government has done is engage in its usual tactics: to delay, to deny, and to defend.
The government has not implemented the public inquiry’s recommendations. The government has failed to enhance and improve the working environment of journalists in this country, and has instead done the exact opposite: with each and every passing day, it becomes more and more dangerous to fight for the truth and the public’s right to know.
Remember that Daphne was killed because, after years of dehumanisation and mass hate campaigns in her regard, she was isolated and alone. She was killed because in spite of how isolated she was when she was murdered in a calculated, cold-blooded assassination that was enabled and directly linked with the highest echelons of the Labour government, she persevered and gave us some of the biggest stories this island had seen in decades.
The minute journalists and causes related to journalism become isolated again is the minute we should start preparing for more vigils.
Let us learn from our past so we can fortify ourselves for the battles that lie ahead in the near future.
