Silent Victims: Activist Points Towards ‘Forgotten’ Construction Fatality Victims Whose Inquiries Haven’t Ended Either
As the Prime Minister denounces the courts for not concluding Jean Paul Sofia’s magisterial inquiry within seven months, there are other inquiries pending for even longer periods.
In the wake of yet another construction fatality, that of 26-year-old Mohammed Kasem Hashem Alkhateeb, author and activist Wayne Flask reminds us that there are still 87 death and injury inquiries pending.
He focuses on three of them; Hayrettin Kok who died after a fall from the tower of Michael Stivala in Ta’ Xbiex; Dieidy Coulibaly, 23, who fell from the construction site of a new school in Qawra; and the mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of 71 year old Karmenu Micallef.
He urges the families of these construction victims to attend tonight’s demonstration in Valletta “to unite with the Sofia family in their rightful display of anger towards the political class and the developers complicit in the creation of modern-day Maltese slavery”.
“Victims of Silence”
“Today, another death was reported: Mohammed Kasem Hashem Alkhateeb, 26, died after an incident at a construction site in Rabat. In light of the fact that the magisterial inquiry into JP Sofia’s murder has not yet yielded results, it is worth remembering that there are ‘excellent’ deaths whose inquiries are still inconclusive.”
“Among these, Hayrettin Kok who died after a fall from the tower of Michael Stivala in Ta’ Xbiex and Dieidy Coulibaly, 23, who fell from the construction site of a new school in Qawra. This project was being carried out by GP Borg, who is also involved in the case of the tragic death of Karmenu Micallef, 71, who died tragically in Birżebbuġa. This case, though significant, has not received much public attention due to several unusual factors. These are stories of normalised injustices, affecting both foreigners and Maltese without discrimination.”
“They are victims of the same system, often overlooked even by those who suddenly take an interest in construction, perhaps not for each victim to gain political capital or popularity through activism.”
“I once again urge the families of construction victims, no matter their nationality, to unite with the Sofia family in their rightful display of anger towards the political class and the developers complicit in the creation of modern-day Maltese slavery.”
Do you agree that greed and corruption may be the cause of so many construction industry deaths and injuries?
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