This is the speech I delivered today at the Civil Society Network demonstration this afternoon in Valletta. An English translation follows. If you were in Valletta today do please share you experience and photos or videos in the comments below. The photo with this post is by The Times’ Matthew Mirabelli.
Nixtieq nirringrazzja ‘l Daphne Caruana Galizia. Tat ħajjitha għas-servizz ta’ pajjiżna. M’hux nhar it-Tnejn. Iżda kuljum f’karriera ta’ tletin sena. Għas-sagrifiċċji tagħha tħallset biż-żebliħ u bit-tgħajjir. U fl-aħħar tħallset bil-premju kiefer ta’ mewt barra ħinha.
Nixtieq nirringrazzja ‘l żewġ Daphne, ‘l ulieda, ‘l ommha u ‘l missierha u ‘l qrabatha. Tajtuna lill-mara li tħobbu kuljum. U batejtu magħha t-tkasbir ta’ min ma jridx li nkunu nafu s-sewwa. Nixtieq inħares f’għajnejkom bla ma nistħi. Nixtieq inħares f’għajnejkom bla ma nibki.
Għax anke meta mititilkom Daphne, it-tgħajjir u l-kefrija ma waqfux. Anzi ħraxu.
U minkejja dan, l-eżempju tagħkom jibqa’ jkaxkar. Fis-siegħat tal-akbar dieqa, fejn kulħadd kien jifhem kieku dħaltu f’qoxortkom, moħħkom kien fix-xogħol ta’ Daphne. Inkwetati li jieqaf. Li min qatilha se jirnexxielu jidfen dak li qed jaħbi u s-sigrieti maħmuġa jibqgħu misturin.
Ċirkondati bl-egoiżmu ta’ madwarna, il-familja Caruana Galizia qed turina l-akbar altruiżmu. Moħħhom fit-tkomplija tax-xogħol ta’ Daphne għall-ġid ta’ min mhux magħna llum għax jgħid li Daphne ġabet mewtha b’idejha.
Daphne ma nqatlitx għax gidbet. Daphne ma nqatlitx għax ħa għalih xi ħadd b’xi ħaġa li qaltlu. Daphne nqatlet għax weħidha kixfet il-marda li nawwret dan il-pajjiż fejn issaltan ir-rgħiba u fejn il-ġnien tas-sewwa nħaraq biex floku nbena t-torri tal-kilba għall-flus akkost ta’ kollox.
U tul ħajjitha u wara mewtha flok irrabjajna ma’ min tefa’ l-ħmieġ fil-borma, ikkundannajna ‘l min kixifha.
“Kull fejn tħares issib il-kriminali. Qegħdin f’sitwazzjoni ta’ disperazzjoni”. L-aħħar vers li nisslet ftit minuti qabel ittajjret f’ballun tan-nar.
Imma titfixklux. Daphne qatt ma riedet li dawk ikunu l-aħħar kliem tagħha. F’moħħha kellha min jaf kemm-il storja u min jaf kemm-il dnub ta’ politiċi u kriminali u ta’ politiċi-kriminali li kien għad trid tgħidilna bihom.
Daphne Caruana Galizia kienet iffaċċjata mid-disperazzjoni kważi kull jum tal-karriera tagħha. Imma qatt ma ħalliet id-disperazzjoni tgħaffiġha u ssikkitha.
Għax Daphne Caruana Galizia kienet motivata minn sens ħafn’ogħla mid-disperazzjoni.
Kienet motivata mid-dmir lejn is-soċjetà tagħna li minkejja li ħallsitha bis-swat u bid-demm, kienet tħoss l-obbligu li sserviha billi tikxef il-verità flok il-gidba li qed ngħixu.
Kienet motivata mill-imħabba lejn pajjiż li kien jifrustrha bil-medjokrità, bl-egoiżmu, bis-sinsla ratba ta’ min moħħu fil-lira tal-lum u m’hux fil-ġnien li jrid iħejji għal uliedu għal għada. Iżda din kienet darha u dan-nazzjon tant ingrat lejha kienet tqisu l-familja tagħha u kuljum bis-sagriffiċju tagħha riedet tagħmillu l-ġid.
Kienet motivata mit-tama li minkejja kollox xi darba qabel ikun tard wisq nirrealizzaw x’inhu jiġrilna. Li dan il-pajjiż indipendenti li ħallewlna ta’ qabilna qed jitjassar u jinħakem minn kolonisti ġodda, kriminali li jużawna biex jaħslu flushom imċappsa bid-demm tal-vittmi tagħhom.
Daphne Caruana Galizia riedet tavżana li xi darba se jisgħobbina li se nħallu ‘l uliedna pajjiż maħruq, deżert imdaħħan sfruttat illum sal-punt li għada ma jibqa’ xejn.
Fil-qtiegħ il-qalb tagħha, Daphne Caruana Galizia baqgħet tittama. It-tama qajjmitha għax-xogħol kuljum biex tikumbatti l-mibgħeda. Sal-mument li l-mibgħeda qatlitha.
Dan hu l-eżempju li jibqa’ jkaxkarna wara li telqet. F’uliedha u f’uliedna hawn il-ħajja wara mewtha. Għalihom fejn hemm il-qtiegħ il-qalb, ħallini nferrex it-tama.
Ħallitilna l-missjoni li nsalvaw lil pajjiżna.
Pajjiżna llum qed isejjħilna m’hux biex nivvutaw jew biex nipprotestaw. Qed isejjħilna biex insalvaw din l-art għal uliedna.
Hawn aħna l-ftit: il-minoranza li fihmna x’riedet tgħidilna. Irridu nkomplu xogħlha. Nitkellmu ma’ min ikasbarna. Nikxfu għawwar min irid jaħbilna. Inwaqqfu lil min qed jisraq lil pajjiżna minn ħalq uliedna.
Matthew, Andrew, Paul: ħallejna ‘l ommkom weħidha tiġġieled għalina. Imma l-ġlieda ma tiqafx magħha. Lill-qattiela tagħha u lil dawk li daħku meta mietet, qed inwegħduhom minn hawn li l-ġlieda tagħha se tiħrax.
It-terrur li tawna se nrodduhulhom lura mitt darba. Se nħarsu f’għajnejhom sakemm joqtluna jew nieħdu lura ‘l pajjiżna mill-jasar tal-ħażen.
I wish to thank Daphne Caruana Galizia. She gave her life to serve this country. She did not do this last Monday. She did this every day of her thirty-year career. She was paid for her sacrifices with derision and name-calling. And at the end she was awarded the cruel prize of an untimely death.
I wish to thank Daphne’s husband, her sons, her parents and relatives. Every day you gave us the woman you love. You suffered with her the hurtful insults from those that did not want us to know the truth. I wish I could look you in your eyes without shame. I wish I could look you in your eyes without crying.
Because even when Daphne died, the name calling and the cruelty did not stop. They got worse.
Yes your example remains inspiring. In your saddest hour, when no one could have blamed you for shutting yourself in, your concern was on Daphne’s work. You are worried her work might stop. That her killers will manage to bury what they want to hide and their dirty secrets remain unknown.
Surrounded by all the egoism around them, the Caruana Galizia family shows the greatest altruism. Their thoughts are on the continuation of Daphne’s work for the good of people who are not with us today because they say Daphne brought her own death upon herself.
Daphne was not killed for lying. Daphne was not killed for offending someone with her words.
Daphne was killed because she alone uncovered the illness that has weakened this country where greed rules and the garden of fairness has been burnt down to make way for the tower of desire for money at all costs.
And throughout her life and after she died rather than direct our anger to those who committed wrongdoing we condemned the one who uncovered that wrong doing.
“There are crooks everywhere you look now. The situation is desperate”. Her last sentence written before she was incinerated in a ball of fire.
Let this not confuse you. Daphne never meant these to be her last words. She had in her head god knows how many stories and how many politician’s or criminal’s or criminal politician’s sins she still meant to tell us about.
Daphne Caruana Galzia was faced by despair almost every day of her career. She never let despair crush or silence her.
Because Daphne Caruana Galizia was motivated by a sense far stronger than despair.
She was driven by duty to our society that repaid her by beatings and blood, and yet she felt obliged to serve it by revealing the truth in place of the lie we were living.
She was motivated by love of country that frustrated her with its mediocrities, the egoism, and the brittle spines of those too stuck on today’s pounds to think of the garden they should be building for children to live in tomorrow. But this was her home and she thought of this oh so ungrateful nation as her family to which she wanted to contribute with her sacrifice.
She was motivated by hope that in spite of everything, one day before it is too late, we realise what is happening to us. That this independent country we have inherited from those who came before us is being enslaved and ruled by a new breed of colonists: criminals using us to wash their money soaked in the blood of their victims.
Daphne Caruana Galizia wanted to warn us that one day we would be sorry for passing on to our children a burnt country: a smoking desert exploited today to the point that nothing is left for tomorrow.
In her despair, Daphne Caruana Galizia kept hoping. Hope helped her on to work every morning to fight hate. Until the moment hate killed her.
This is the example that keeps inspiring us even after she left us. In her sons and our children there is life after her death. For them where this despair, let me sow hope.
She left us the mission to save our country.
Our country calls us today, not to vote or to protest. It calls us to save this land for our children.
We few: the minority that understood what she was telling us. We must go on with her work. We must speak with those who would mock us. We must reveal the secrets of those who would hide from us. We must stop those who would take our country away from our own children.
Matthew, Andrew, Paul: we left your mother alone to fight for us. But the fight does not end with her life. To her killers and to those who laughed at her death, we promise them here and now, her fight will get harsher.
The terror they threw at us will be returned hundredfold. We will look in their eyes until they kill us or until we take our country back from the slavery of evil.