Today a march against discrimination is being held with the aim of sending out a message that this is not tolerable in Maltese society.

Several celebrities and politicians have joined forces in organising the march, which shows that at least in times of need we can come together on this little rock of ours.

Unfortunately, as with anything in this country, it is the minority that sets out with an agenda of discrimination. We can see discrimination in Malta in various forms: against race, colour, religious beliefs, the disabled, homosexuals, couples that do not marry and many more.

We are a nation of eyebrow-raisers. Many will argue that it is all right to have your own opinion about something. But what is not acceptable is when people spread their own discriminatory and sometimes hateful views.

We must remember that, above all else, people are still people. Just because a person has a different skin colour, sexual preference or religious belief, it does not mean that they are in the slightest way inferior to others.

We can even look at our own doorstep. Only 15 to 20 years ago we used to discriminate between our own people on the basis of political beliefs, and that pretty much sets the tone for the rest of the argument.

We must, as a people, be more tolerant towards others unless we wish to neglect this underlying feeling that will come back to haunt us. We need only look at the return of Nazism in Europe and the racist demonstrations that are being held in various cities around the world.

Tolerance and the acceptance of others and their beliefs is fundamental to equality and harmony. If people do not accept that others have different views or, indeed, that they look different or have different traditions, then we will surely head down the path that most of the world seems to be on.

It is no coincidence that such protests and demonstrations are being held; it means that there is something intrinsically wrong with the social fabric of countries. It is true, all over the world, those who are discriminated against (and it must be stressed that this is not limited to race) end up having a lower standard of living than the mainstream.

A lack of education, poorer job prospects, the ability to climb up the social ladder are just a few of the major issues that hit “second class” citizens.

Many people who are discriminated against will tell you that all they really want is to be tolerated and accepted, to be allowed to live their private lives without people looking down on them or, God forbid, heckling or assaulting them.

We must really look at ourselves as a nation and think what we are all about. We must learn to accept different people and we must treat them as our peers – no one deserves anything less.

We have no doubt that there are still cases where people chose to employ one person over another because one may be a woman – or a man for that matter, or disabled, or even of a different race. This is unfair and it holds us back. We must learn to be more inclusive. Society has every right to shun people who have committed terrible crimes. But it has no right to shun people for physical reasons or because of their own beliefs.

We project ourselves as a warm and friendly country; perhaps we ought to think a little bit closer to home, sometimes.