Can activism in Malta ever be as vibrant as one would wish it to be in a fully-fledged normal democracy? Many people would say ‘no’.
A friend recently disappointingly referred me to the ‘crowd’ that gathered to protest the latest construction disaster that led to the tragic death of a person. Malta was shocked. Malta was angry.
However, the number of those who bothered to go and protest was relatively small.
He then compared this to what happened in Hong Kong. Students and other activists were on the streets for months on end. He moved nearer home and mentioned Slovakia. After the murder of journalist Kuciak large crowds demonstrated day in, day out and for a very long time.
Compare all this to what happened in Malta after the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia, he said. There were weekly demonstrations which petered out after a few weeks. A number of groups mushroomed and were active just for a few months. He conceded that Occupy Justice and Repubblika are a noteworthy exception.
“Small but vibrant with ideas, enthusiasm and energy,” he said.
Israel of the Mediterranean
In his opinion Malta is more like Israel than Slovakia.
Why? I asked.
“In Israel the prime minister who was accused of corruption is still prime minister and in the last election he increased his vote over the previous election. In Slovakia the prime minister accused of corruption is out of office. You see what I mean?” he hypothetically asked.
My friend, while noting that Muscat won in 2017 in spite of all the clear indications of rampant corruption, conceded that the scandalous revelations in the last months of 2019 forced him out of office in disgrace for some but honourably for others.
I agree that activism in Malta is not up to the standards one would wish it to be, even if I immediately add that activism is much more alive today than it was a decade ago.
There are many reasons for this state of affairs. People feel lost because several institutions ignore them when the big-monied bullies and politically powered bullies are at fault. The police and the courts are among the culprits.
Let me give two examples.
When the police turned a blind eye
On the night of November 16, 2019 together with another journalist from Newsbook.com.mt I was at Ta’ Qali near the abandoned factory of Southern Concrete Ltd.
Over the months construction debris was piled in an area as large as a football pitch.
From the direction of Attard three large trucks brimming with construction waste, a bulldozer and a van drove towards the place where the construction waste was to be deposited.
From the Rabat side of Ta’ Qali another big truck drove in the direction of the same place. At 11pm near the Aviation Museum (some 200 metres from where the outrage was happening) a police car stopped a truck. The driver said he just wanted to park.
People feel lost because several institutions ignore them instead of helping them
The police left him be and he phoned his bosses who abandoned the operation for that night.
When we contacted the police they had the cheek to deny that a police car had been at Ta’ Qali at that time or that the police stopped a truck.
The police emulated the three proverbial monkeys when it comes to corruption by politicians. They even ignored FIAU investigations mentioning names and immense figures that were destined as bribes for the powers-that-were.
In light of all this can one blame those who feel it is useless to resort to the police?
Our courts fail us
Giovanni Bonello, a former judge of the European Court of Human Rights, has repeatedly pointed out the dismal record of our courts in human rights cases. Time and time again the courts opted for the powerful instead of defended the rights of the ordinary citizens. Truth be told there were recently some notable exceptions.
I refer to the scandalous behaviour of our courts and their total dereliction of duty in the case of the 2004 tragedy of St Paul’s Bay when two women were killed by the construction industry.
In 2009, two men were found guilty of causing the death of these two women. The men appealed. In 2010, the Appeals’ Court adjourned sine die since both men had filed a constitutional request.
This was finally decided in July 2019.
Insult is now being added to injury. Eight months have passed since the July decision but the appeal has not been appointed.
In a recent interview, President Emeritus Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca described the court’s delay as “shameful”. A well respected former judge told me that the behaviour of the court was “despicable”.
Never give up
Giving up is the option many adopt. This attitude, understandable as it is, should be avoided more than the coronavirus.
Elie Wiesel was a Jewish prisoner in the Auschwitz and Buchenwald concentration camps. He survived and became a writer, a professor, a political activist, and Nobel laureate. He wrote that “There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest.”
Is there hope of success?
The American cultural anthropologist Margared Mead used to say: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”