There is a group of people, present in their hundreds but backed by silent thousands, that every month stand in front of what is known as the Great Siege Monument, in order to remind the Prime Minister, his government and the courts that justice has still not yet been done with regard to Daphne Caruana Galizia.

The gatherings, held month after month, are a tangible reminder to every citizen of good will, of the moral and national values that each and every one of us should embrace, which, in the name of the new god, Money, are downtrodden and held to ridicule.

The presence of these people reminds the government and a part of the Opposition, that what is wrong cannot be made to seem right, and that there are still very many who know how to distinguish between the two.

The memorialto Daphne Caruana Galizia that has been erected at the foot of this monument - which is situated strategically in front of the law courts - is a daily reminder to our judiciary that many of us are watching very carefully to see how justice is administered.

The three figures of Civilisation, Faith, and Fortitude represent what we believe in: the true values of a civilised society, the faith that these will triumph in the end, and the strength of a people that is unified in its determination to ensure that justice is done and seen to be done.

The photos of the murdered journalist, the candles and the flowers are tangible evidence of the fact that we are not ready to forget this horrible murder, which was an effort to assassinate the democratic voice that dares speak up in our country.

Daphne’s pen lifted the cover over what our government wants to pass as normality, and revealed the mess and stench underneath. She is the person who said, in a blog that could have actually been applied to the Maltese context: “[when] fear is internalised and gross corruptions and violations normalised, you can see things clearly”.

The power of this ongoing protest speaks volumes. It has created waves in the superficial, smooth surface of things that our Labour government spends thousands of euros to present to what it thinks is a gullible public. 

The proof of the power of this protest lies in the fact that it has angered Joseph Muscat and his cronies to such an extent that for the first time since it was erected, the monument by Sciortino has been boarded up, hidden away from public view.

In other words, our Prime Minister is so fed up of this constant reminder of the lack of true justice, and of the fact that Daphne has been proved right time and time again with regard to the corruption of his ministers, that he has actually taken the liberty to hide a public monument from the sight of one and all in the hope that we, the protesters, will finally give up, and Daphne’s name can pass into oblivion.

But the point is, that by his very action, he has brought her name once again to the fore, and drawn attention to the fact that there is a group of people who will continue to remind him, his government and the Opposition of the values that he, and the executive voted into power, are there to uphold, and that the police and judiciary are there to safeguard. 

No barriers or boards will stop the protest to gather more power and demand that the truth prevail.

 

Vicki Ann Cremona

University of Malta