Youths have been conspicuous in their absence during the spate of protests which have erupted across Malta since the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia last month. With this in mind, a bunch of students have now formed their own group to mobilise young people to speak out and protest in the streets for the sake of good governance, rule of law, and constitutional reform. 

The group, which calls itself Awturi (Authors), falls under the Civil Society Network – the platform which has organised two major protests and several actions since Caruana Galizia’s assassination.  

“Things in Malta are not going as they should be and we are determined to talk about it, no matter how often people tell us we’re just a bunch of kids throwing a tantrum,” Alex Hili, one of Awturi’s founders, said. “Unfortunately, Maltese youths have been raised in an atmosphere of subservience where you mustn’t step out of line.”

Alex Hili, one of the founders of Awturi 

Hili warned Facebook and other social media have given youths a false sense of comfort that they are fulfilling their civic duties simply by posting a comment or sharing a post.  

“The truth is that Facebook is limited…your friends often share your views and it is essentially a bubble,” he said. “To effect real change, you have to put your face out there and take part in a proper action.” 

He warned many youths are scared speaking out in public could damage their own or their parents’ career prospects, but said he is optimistic the Awturi initiative will catch on. 

“If we do something, then maybe it will snowball into something bigger…we cannot give up before we even try,” he said. “This is an endemic problem in Malta – people don’t usually like taking risks in everyday life.”  

Awturi’s first task will be to mobilise youths to attend the Civil Society’s third major protest in Valletta this Sunday – which will be addressed by famous Italian anti-corruption prosecutor Antonio Di Pietro. 

Will you be joining Awturi? 

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Tim Diacono

Tim is interested in the rapid evolution of human society and is passionate about justice, human rights and cutting-edge political debates. You can follow him on Instagram or Twitter/X at @timdiacono or reach out to him at [email protected]