Statement by #occupyjustice:
#OccupyJustice activists this evening commemorated 22 months since the assassination of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia by unfurling a banner featuring an image of the journalist with the legend ‘Invicta’ at the Great Siege Monument in Valletta.
‘Invicta’, meaning ‘unconquered’, is also the inspiration for Invictus, a poem by English poet William Ernest Henley. It is a poem that celebrates humankind’s ability to triumph over adversity; its lines a rallying call to exit the darkness into the light.
Over the years, Invictus has been appropriated by many a politician – good and bad, effective and insignificant, by those who left a mark, and others who left a stain. Great leaders like Winston Churchill, Nelson Mandela and Barack Obama have invoked it. As sadly, have some very unsavoury characters whose name we will not dignify with a mention.
We will of course mention that it was most recently used by Malta’s very own prime minister, who chose to ink the word on his body, creating, for himself, perhaps, a permanent dose of self-praise, a pat on his own back, if you will. ‘Impunitas’ may have been more apt.
“Henley’s Invictus is a poem that is, essentially, about people like Daphne,” say the activists. “It is about her, and people like her who fought and still fight so valiantly and relentlessly for the truth, whatever the cost.
“We are doing this because this is our country. This was Daphne’s country. This is our protest and we will not stop until justice is carried out.
This is our nation, this is our home, and we are the people. We expect better, we deserve better, we demand better.”
