“When I was seven years old, a kid my age came up to me and said they’re going to stab me to death because I’m black,” Sarah told a sports conference organised by the Nationalist Party.

“At the time, I was horrified but I was also thinking why it’s so bad to be darker. Am I a mistake? Do I even belong here? At the time, the issue wasn’t tackled properly because the teacher simply showed the other kid a black telephone and said ‘This is what black is, not her, so dont insult her’ as though if I was actually that dark it would be a reason for insult.”

“I wasn’t taught that, no matter what, I was beautiful. I was taught that I wasn’t as dark as I thought or I didn’t belong to the worst of the worst, and obviously this misinformation has led to even more bullying which even got physical.”

Sarah, who was last year named Athlete of the Year by the Malta Amateur Athletic Association, said the problem of racism goes hand in hand with the lack of proper education on the topic.

“Racism is an issue that’s passed down from generation to generation and no one has stopped it because we only address racism when it’s trending in the news. We share a photo to social media and act like we’re doing something. We dont properly educate ourselves about what’s going on, and this lack of education on racial diversity is exactly why racism is such a prominent issue today.”

Sarah, as well as Maltese goalkeeper Rashad Al Tumi, who also spoke about racism at the PN conference, were praised by Opposition leader Adrian Delia  for standing strong in the wake of racist attacks.

“I wish I could be able to excuse society for the thousand times you were offended,” he said. “This has nothing to do with Malta or Europe; racism has always existed and it has always been due to the fear of the unknown, sometimes also described as ignorance.”

“Rather than trying to understand, explore and get to know, judgemental humankind simply switches off and acts in a condemnable manner.”