by Lisa Darmanin Demajo

As the horrific events of last Monday sink in, I am still suspended somewhere between disbelief and grief. Grieving for the mother, the wife, the sister, the daughter who was loved and lost. Brutally murdered and left to burn in front of her son. My heart breaks for them. Disbelief, that the woman, the writer, the journalist whom I admired so much for so long is gone. I shed selfish tears and think who will save us now? And my grief turns to anger.

I want answers, we all do. But we aren’t going to find answers by pointing fingers and bickering with each other. Remove your partisan blinkers and stop blaming the other side. There is no other side. We are all one nation. A nation left alone with an institution of law and order which has failed us miserably. Rule of law and justice system are catchphrases thrown about on the news but which ring hollow in real life. What rule of law? What justice system? The powers that be have led us to this slaughter and now we must find our way back to the strong, safe democratic society that we once were. The government is there to serve you, to serve us. Do not allow them to distract you from this fact by playing the blame game. They are the problem, we need to be the solution. Stop engaging in pointless online wars with your neighbours. Whether you like it or not this barbaric act happened on our watch. Ours. Let that sink in. We allowed our country to reach these depths and now with blood on our hands we have to make sure it never happens again.

This begins with ensuring that the institutions designed to protect and serve the citizens of this country are indestructible, respected and most of all hold the trust of the population. We are so very far away from there.

No more keyboard warriors, no more armchair critics. Stand up and speak up and don’t be afraid. Or be afraid and do it anyway. Because this is not the country I grew up in. We are in a dark, dangerous place and I want my children to know a better life, not a life of fear and fury. It’s time to stop talking and start acting. Be the change, be part of the solution and demand more from the people elected to serve you.

Malta, this is our watch and it’s time to wake up and face the music.