On October 16th, 2017, I was at Doha airport, returning from a mission in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, after weeks spent working with Rohingya refugees. As I walked through the lounge, I saw Daphne Caruana Galizia’s face on the front pages of newspapers from around the world. Something about seeing her image like that everywhere, unavoidable sent a chill through me. My curiosity was immediate, but so was the pit in my stomach. I knew, somehow, that I wouldn’t like the answer to why her face was there. The news hit me like a punch: Daphne had been assassinated. In Malta a country I’ve called home for several years a journalist, a mother, a voice for truth, had been brutally murdered in broad daylight. Even though I am Italian, Malta is where I have built my life, where I felt safe. But after that day, that feeling of security was shattered.
Daphne wasn’t perfect, and perhaps not everyone agreed with how she went about things. But no one can deny that her brutal execution turned her into a martyr and sent a chilling message: speaking out against corruption and injustice can come at the ultimate cost. Her death wasn’t just a murder; it was a warning to anyone who dares to challenge those in power. Since that day, Malta has never felt the same to me. The air is different, heavier. There’s a sense that something fundamental has shifted, that no one is truly safe when the truth becomes dangerous. Her assassination stripped away the illusion of safety and showed us just how fragile our freedoms really are.
Daphne’s death was more than just the silencing of one person, it was an attack on all of us who believe in justice, transparency, and the freedom to speak without fear. I still think of that moment in Doha, when I saw her face in those headlines. And I think of all that was lost that day her life, her voice, and a piece of Malta’s spirit, the place I’ve made my home.
Seven years later, the shock lingers, as does the determination to not let her death be in vain. Her murder was meant to silence, but instead, it has forced us to confront uncomfortable truths about power, corruption, and the fragility of the freedoms we took for granted.