Watch: PN’s Leone Sciberras Opens Up About His Friendship With The Man Who Blinded Him
PN candidate Leone Sciberras lost his sight at age 12, the result of a fight between him and another boy. But surprisingly, the road that followed led not only to forgiveness but to a close friendship with the man responsible.
The story was unveiled in Ħerġin, a new PN documentary that shines a light on individual candidates.
For Sciberras, such a challenge only served to make him stronger.
“The moment birthed a great anger,” he began. “But through it all, I was somehow able to forgive.”
“I can almost dare say that it was ‘good’ that it happened because otherwise, I wouldn’t come to be where I am now. Here, running on the PN ticket. To change. To see persons with disabilities move forward.”
Sciberras talked about how one of the greatest satisfactions he has ever experienced was when he saw his own mother embrace the man who blinded him in his youth, describing the moment as “one of healing”.
“What’s the point of harping on anger? Where is the worth in that? You get up, walk on and put your past behind you and then you see what you can do.”
The forgiveness did not end there. Today, Sciberras is proud to say that the two are not only on good terms but even friends.
“Today we are great friends. If we’re in the same bar, he would offer me a drink and we could share words together. For me, that is beautiful.”
He compared his ordeal to that of Eddie Fenech Adami after the former Prime Minister’s home was broken into back in 1979.
“Fenech Adami’s response to that was inspirational. He came out and said ‘let us not seek revenge. Let us put the past behind us for the good of the country and its people’.”
Sciberras’ experience drove him to become the man he is today, one who fights for what he believes in, and one who never shies away from lending a helping hand.
“If someone is lost and is looking for help, I won’t be the one to walk up to him and ask what his political beliefs are. I’d simply help him.”
“This is solidarity. This is what makes us human. What makes us Maltese.”
What do you make of this?