‘Daphne became a symbol of our resistance’

Shortly before she was assassinated, journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia was worried that younger generations would be put off choosing journalism, yet she has become a symbol of resistance, journalist Julian Delia said on Saturday at the vigil marking 57 months since the journalist was brutally killed.

“I discovered what it means to be a journalist in a country picking up the crumbs left after the bomb exploded, sending a chill down the spine of anyone who wishes freedom of expression and the right to truth are protected,” he said.

He said the reality for journalists is that the climate in which Caruana Galizia was killed has not changed – “a hostile climate filled with threats and letters from one lawyer and others from the public relations machine of another.”

According to the International Press Insitute, 45 journalists were killed worldwide in 2021 alone, 28 of which were killed because of their work, like Caruana Galizia. 

Delia recalled how she had expressed concern that the younger generations would not want to choose journalism as a career path because of how she was treated as a journalist. “Instead, Daphne has become a symbol of our resistance,” he said. 

Before Delia, Repubblika committee member Matthew Grech spoke about the importance of scrutinising and criticising the government for the country to be able to move forward – as opposed to ignoring criticism or labelling critics as “negative” or “idiots”.

“Why must someone have an agenda or ulterior motives to criticise something? Why can’t we agree as to what is acceptable and what is unacceptable?” 

“Those who have their eyes and ears open… and are not blinded by money, power, nepotism or corruption, can tell you that the state of affairs in our country is not right – we can simply look at the recent behaviour of the Attorney General and Police Commissioner as evidence of this,” he added.

Grech renewed the call for justice for Caruana Galizia, as is done every month at the vigil, which has been held monthly since 16 October 2017 when the journalist was killed by a car bomb a few metres away from her home.