An emotional and at times tense debate is raging across American and British cities as historical figures are being judged for their less popular actions.

Last week, an 1895 statue of British slave-trader and philanthropist Edward Colston was pulled down and thrown into a river. For a brief moment, the images of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill were removed from Google.

In the USA, a number of statues related to the Confederacy, as well as its flag, have been removed as well.

The removals come as many wonder whether people who did exceptionally egregious things in their lives should be commemorated in statues.

In Malta, the discussion revolves around eulogising Malta’s former colonial owners.

Do the British or French people who governed the Maltese deserve a prominent statue in the nation’s capital? Or should there instead be one dedicated to someone like Mikiel Anton Vassalli, who died after fighting for the Maltese language?

In a country like Malta, where the remnants of colonial overlords can be seen on practically every street corner, the country would need to replace quite a lot of things.

The capital city itself is named after a French man; the main city in Gozo is also named after a British woman.

And what about English as an official language, or the George Cross on Malta’s flag? Should these be removed as well? And what about Malta’s Roman Catholic religion, a foreign belief system given to us by a Turkish man?

“Let us create monuments to the Maltese who elevated us, not to foreigners who controlled us and lived off us,” said one person.

“And should we take down the Coliseum in Rome too? Sorry, I don’t agree with you on this. History is history. Good or bad, no one can change history, not even bringing a statue down,” said another.

In a country with as much colonial history as Malta, removing public symbols of past colonialists may just be the beginning…

Cover photo: RK3AUU