It has begun already, the rehabilitation of Daphne’s assassination. 

I, though, will not stand for “Bidnija murder”.  Stop insulting everyone.  It is Daphne who was murdered, not the area known as Bidnija.  It is even an affront to women to start to downgrade the awful killing of a woman, to a place.  Femicide is also a part of it, especially as we know of all the verbal attacks that Daphne faced continuously and the harassment.

We know who the victim was, there is no doubt at all about who was killed on that black day.  There is no need to refer to the Bidnija killing as though the victim is unknown and therefore cannot be given a name and identity.

Everything in Malta in the past 4 and nearly half years has become a euphemism. 

Selling citizenship is converted to “Surplus”.  The word Surplus is now used to cover a multitude of questionable activities because they are sanctioned if they now produce the well-plugged Surplus.  

Any investigations into corruption are quickly defused with a libel court case. 

Serious infringements are dismissed with a demand for proof, when the proof is there for all to see and the actions surrounding the parties involved raise even more suspicions. 

Sanctioning corruption is the job of an organised regime.  And we have it functioning in full force here wherever you look. 

Originally, we had Family Planning from Konrad Mizzi concerning his New Zealand Trust and Panama account. 

The unknown Egrant Panama account was given a make-over with Brian Tonna claiming it to be his. 

Keith Schembri’s status as a business man before taking up the political post as Chief of Staff, was his euphemism for his own off-shore accounts.

In Joseph Muscat’s earlier days in the role of Prime Minister, we had been told that he is still learning the ropes, when we heard of the Café Premier scandal. 

Even the leader of the opposition could not resist some massage when his tax and debt problems were re-categorised as accounting problems.

Doubtless, though, the biggest euphemisms are coming to us to disguise the introduction of abortion.  They are trying every angle and every corner and using every phrase in the book, to reach a point where abortion is legal, without directly showing that it is legal. 

The world must look on us, Maltese citizens, and wonder if we live in reality or fantasy.  Many children grew up in fear of asking questions and would have to be satisfied with any tale told to them by their parents to explain away dad’s absence or bad mood or mum’s depression, being careful not to bring on any hysterical episodes, even in themselves. 

 

You buried the truth.  You hid it and stayed silent.  No wonder too, that there is all this cloud surrounding the truth around the level of poverty in Malta.  It is very easy to shed doubt on the real extent of it because many still hide it and it suits the government to exploit that attitude.  Instead of encouraging people to seek help and not be ashamed of their situation, there is a subtle warning to victims to remain quiet.  It also suits Ministers and canvassers to keep a contingency of constituents whom they can oblige with a job or permit here and there.  But, if you come from the wrong political group, your chances of help are pretty dismal. 

But to extend this show of ignorance to all that is happening around us and change the narrative to become a Sleeping Beauty when all is so dark as in Grimms’ "The Girl Without Hands" - The story of a man who accidently trades his daughter to the devil for wealth, because that's apparently something you can do by mistake (maybe he was still on a learning curve). But the daughter fights back by washing her hands, enraging the devil, who prefers everything to be covered in fart dust.

Predictably, the devil just has her hands chopped off. However, she cries so much that her blood-spouting stumps are washed clean, and the devil throws up his hooves and calls the whole deal off.

On the other end of the euphemisms are the explicit insults being dished out with liberty.  I know of no other country or western culture where such behavior occurs and it exposes the dark belly of aggression which is still so prevalent in our environment.  Hunting too, is well overdue its sell-by date.  The amount of guns that there are, show a very different picture to the one of the President receiving the millions of euros for the Community Chest Fund.

The time of rich words to cover grave deeds is approaching its limit.  Those who pursue such tactics and employ these methods are remnants of a past society clinging on to the poor and the weak and exploiting them callously. 

For all their fashion-forward sense and costly life-style, anyone who permits themselves to be used in this way, to be satisfied with fairy tales and given permission to retaliate with aggression, is still locked in a by-gone era and no amount of fancy liberal laws can alter that.

What a pity that our island, once so authentic, friendly and generous, has now become a fake, stupid and possibly even evil place. 

We know that efforts are being made, at great cost to some, to try and change this mentality and bring about a new direction, inclusive and just.  Will more people pay with their lives, their reputation or their job? 

Who is there at the national TV station, who is willing to cover all the news, not just the sanitized version of it?  Where is the result of the investigation into Daphne’s brutal murder? 

Needless to say, when faced with awful events taking place around us on a regular basis, many people take comfort in heeding the euphemisms and playing the fool.  On the other hand, Joseph Muscat and Chris Fearne will stress the ever-increasing numbers of voters for the Labour party.  People are free to take their vote where they please.  At this point, so much is already sold and rotten among us, that the numbers do not matter. 

But one thing, at least, should matter.  Do not, ever again, speak of Daphne’s murder without calling it such.  Her death remains a painful and terribly sad loss. Maybe for the few who do not make up the margin of 70,000 projected labour voters.  Or for the women of Occupy Justice or the Civil Society Network.  Certainly, for me. 

Take the country, take its soul, take its beauty and land and homes and sky and turn it into money.  Build it high.  Have it all.  But don’t think you can make us forget our sister.  I’m sorry, but you will not get away with Bidnija-ing this one.