My guest poster today is my own wife, Clemence who had to travel from the island and is kicking herself for missing this afternoon’s march demanding justice after Daphne Caruana Galizia’s assassination.
Today I will not be able to make it to the protest because I am abroad. But if any of you are still thinking whether you should attend, I am reproducing what I posted earlier this week on my Facebook profile. I hope the below helps nudge you. Your presence at today’s demonstration is not optional. We owe it to Daphne, her children and our own children. Let’s be there today.
First posted on 18th October, 2017.
Tonight, I have witnessed something in our household I would have never imagined I would have to face. Our daughter Amelie is 7 years old… very aware of things, but somehow as a mother I never realized the depth of thinking she could reach on her own. She has literally broken my heart and made me realize that if anything, and if for nothing, Manuel has the responsibility of keeping up the fight for freedom of thought and expression.
This girl, our girl, on the dinner table, asked Manuel to stop writing. We were sitting down at the table with a very close friend and having a side conversation whilst she was trying to express her opinion. When we heard her, of course, we all stopped talking and started listening. I obviously jumped in and asked why did she feel this way. She looked in our eyes, and with tears and sobs she said ‘’ I don’t want daddy to die, the same way Daphne died ‘’.
I left her cry, and when she was ready went through trying to explain, that it is because we don’t want anyone one to die the way Daphne did that we need her daddy to keep writing. That we owe it to Daphne because she paid the price of her life for it, we owe it to Daphne’s children, we owe it to them – our children and we owe it to anyone else in the country. That we need daddy to keep doing because he needs to say the truth and get people to realize what is right and wrong.
Today I have just faced a new reality which is that such a murder, an attempt on democracy can actually scare young generations, as young as 7 years old to speak their mind, because they may be scared. They may be scared of peer pressure, they may be scared of being different, but they may also be scared for their own life or the lives of their parents.
Amelie is strong, Amelie is empathic, Amelie is generous and has accepted that daddy is doing the right thing and we have re –assured her, that we will do anything in our power for this to never happen again. But this can only happen if Manuel keeps writing.
Emanuel Delia, I am so proud of you, I know you are doing it because you believe you owe it to Daphne but also to the country … and you need to keep doing it, if anything for our own children to never be afraid to have a critical opinion, for them to never be afraid to analyze facts, for them to never be afraid to voice their views, and contribute to what we hope, will be a better Malta for Amelie, Jerome and Benoit to live in.