Bernard Grech has condemned authorities for having allowed a child to die at sea this year, in his most direct criticism of the Armed Forces’ reluctance to save people aboard boats in distress.

“I understand that we have migration challenges, but I cannot understand how we left a four-year-old girl die to thirst in our search and rescue zone,” Grech said in his Christmas message, issued by the PN on Saturday.

The Opposition leader was referring to Loujin Ahmed Nasif, a Syrian four-year-old who died of dehydration in September while crossing to Europe.

Loujin died shortly after the group she was with was transferred to a cargo ship, several days after their boat had sent out a distress signal while within Malta’s SAR zone.

She was unconscious when she was pulled onboard and died of dehydration shortly afterwards.

Her death prompted vigils and a request for an explanation from Archbishop Charles Scicluna, but was met with silence from the Home Affairs Ministry and Armed Forces of Malta, which is responsible for sea rescues.

The AFM has since been accused by NGOs of ignoring other distress calls within its area of responsibility, with the most recent such accusation having been made just a few days ago. 

In his Christmas message, PN leader Grech recalled the Biblical retelling of the Maltese welcoming St Paul “with open arms” and said modern-day Maltese would do the same for Ukrainians fleeing war in their country.

The PN leader also wished well to women facing various forms of hardship, from domestic violence to difficult pregnancies.

“These women turn to the state and society for help,” he said, “but the help they receive should be help that fosters life, not destroys it.”

The PN and Grech have accused the government of seeking to introduce abortion by stealth through an amendment to the criminal code – something the government denies. A final vote on the amendment is expected in January.

“Unity does not mean staying silent. Silence can dress us as unity and peace, while fuelling injustice and social division,” Grech said, adding that people should unite to fight “femicide and the killing of unborn babies.”

The PN leader’s first thoughts in his Christmas message turned to his late father John, who died in September aged 90.

This Christmas would be an especially sombre period for those who had lost a loved one this year, he said.

“This will be my first Christmas without my father, so I want to share my thoughts with those who lost a loved one,” he said, as he noted the spate of construction site and road deaths that Malta had registered this past year.

The PN leader’s thoughts also went to those who would be spending Christmas alone, “with nobody to wish a merry Christmas to”.

Caritas says it expects it will be feeding around 600 such people this year for Christmas lunch.

Part of the problem is that the gap between the rich and poor continues to widen, Grech said, with around 100,000 people “on the brink of poverty” and an increasing number of people living in garages, tents, cars or nowhere at all, he said.

“The rising cost of living affected everyone, but it stripped bare those who already had almost nothing,” the PN leader said.  “You cannot sleep soundly when you know you have bills due, and no money to pay them.”