The country’s leaders this evening came together to convey the season’s greetings to the Maltese public and called for more tolerance and less hate speech.
President Marie Louise Coleiro Preca, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, Opposition Leader Simon Busuttil and Archbishop Charles Scicluna gave short speeches at the launch of the Milied Flimkien campaign.
Dr Busuttil spoke about yesterday’s attack in Berlin, which targetted families who were out enjoying a Christmas market. “They were there to enjoy Christmas, looking forward to spending Sunday with their relatives. My thoughts today are with these people and their families and those like them whose only wish is to live in peace and safety.”
The Opposition Leader said security is one of the things that we take most for granted. Expressing his solidarity with the German people, Dr Busuttil said the Berlin attack showed how important it was to treasure what is precious to us - security, serenity and peace.
Archbishop Scicluna said the angel standing next to baby Jesus in the Maltese crib at the Vatican carried the message ‘peace on earth.’ The events from the last hours, he said, showed the need for real peace among men.
Mgr Scicluna said Christmas was a time of peace and compassion and urged people to refrain from using hate speech. But he said this should be an all-year-round attitude, not just at Christmas thing. “All of us on this stage have been the victims of hate speech. But does not just affect us – there are people out there who suffer because of the cruel words of others. Let us create a culture of peace in our homes, our places of work and in the media.”
Referring to the recent terror events, the Archbishop thanked the authorities who provide security. “We should also thank God for protecting us from the wishes of those who would do us harm.”
The Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said today was a rare occasion where all leaders could agree on something, and today this was the need for all to use words that unite, instead of divide. “Those who speak in a hurtful way do not represent the essence of the Maltese people. They are the exception not the norm and in fact we speak of them as individuals. But let us speak of the positive side of the Maltese. We may have very differing opinions but we always manage to come together as one big family.”
Dr Muscat said one such example would be seen on Monday, during this year’s edition of L-Istrina, when the Maltese donate out of a sense of duty. The Prime Minister also referred to the events in berlin. “Terrorists want us to abandon our everyday lives, our traditions and the celebration of Christmas with our families. We must do the exact opposite for, the moment we stop is the moment they win.”
Instead of making a speech, President Marie Louise Coleiro Preca gave up her time for the voice of children to be heard. She explained how the St Sebastian Qormi school had asked its pupils, in a creative writing exercise, to write down whatever they wished of politicians. Laura Sammut Birmingham, representing the children, read out the message.
She thanked the leaders for their sacrifices, adding that theirs is surely no easy job. “It does not matter if you do not always agree but you should discuss ideas, not people. We should not use words of hate.”
The students said people were seemingly losing their human aspect and urged tolerance. “We should not categorise people. We cannot close our heart and reject those who are different from us. We would like to see the authorities working together so that the country moves forward. We want to see you do everything in your power so that no one lives in poverty and so that wealth is distributed fairly. We want to see initiatives to help those in need and the lonely - initiatives that make people happy. We should offer shelter to those who escape war, and provide them with a new start in life.”
Mrs Coleiro Preca said she was speaking on behalf of all the leaders when she said that they would all take heed of the message conveyed by the students during 2017.
Pictures: Jonathan Borg