It is indeed a shame to see your idol crumble before your very eyes. I am referring to Ms Daphne Caruana Galizia, whose journalistic output has deteriorated in quality as well as the level headed balance, which I used to admire so much, in her writing.

Daphne took it upon herself to berate all Maltese, the Church included, for what she sees as our wide-spread racism, and in the case of the Church for not being more forthright in its condemnation of racism – as if that would do much good.

She seems to think that the continuous daily arrivals of emigrants to our already hopelessly congested island are no cause for concern.

Having experienced the rapid mixing of alien cultures, I think that I am more qualified than she is to write about this problem.

For cultures to be assimilated successfully, the whole operation has to be carried out in manageable numbers. Sudden cultural shocks do give rise to uneducated racism.

It is not the amount of melamine in one’s skin that bothers people, but the habits of the varying cultures one is suddenly faced with. I have witnessed a crowd of tourists in Bugibba watching in disgust while an Arab gentleman skinned a live rabbit on the doorstep of his rented flat in Tourists Street. I had to ask him politely to go into his yard and finish the job inside because he was upsetting other people.

I can also narrate the story of the Indian woman, who used to live just two doors away from me. This elderly woman was completely nonplussed and disgusted when told that in England people use internal toilets and insisted on using the garden for her daily needs, just as she always did in the remote Indian village she came from. Naturally, neighbours were not amused; she might have found more sympathy in Bidnija.

I am aware that nature loves diversity and abhors inbreeding. In the long run it will prove to be healthy to increase our genetic stock. This is especially true in a tiny island such as Malta where the incidence of diabetes is probably due to our limited gene pool.

I think that a capable journalist such as Daphne should explain and calm the troubled waters, instead of getting on her high horse and offending people with the slur of racism.

When asked about the number of coloured people he employs, my ex-boss retorted saying that he had both white cows and black cows on his farm and he milked them all the same way!!

I conclude by asking Daphne to come down from the clouds she pretends to be living in and try to understand that people are indeed worried when they read about the arrival of yet another boatload of uninvited people, and think about our flagging economy and very limited space at our disposal.

Maria Dolores Spiteri

QAWRA