Can any decent human being remain silent in front of such horrifying brutality that has been going recently? Can we simply remain spectators? Today we are not merely Maltese citizens interested only in what is happening in our country; we are part of the globalised world.

The video showing the captured Jordanian pilot Mouath al-Kasaesbeh being burnt alive in a cage caused everyone great distress and created a feeling of helplessness. Are we going to leave it only to international leaders to do something to stop this crime against humanity? Shouldn’t every citizen, of whatever colour, creed or race, all over the world, stand up and shout out loud that enough is enough?

We have been silent for too long. We have been hoping for a change of heart while in the meantime, innocent individuals are being deprived of their dignity and slaughtered in the name of God. Besides those terrible atrocities there are migrants who risk their lives and die in the open seas after escaping from the injustices taking place in their country of origin. The poor and marginalised, all over the world, are being discarded and abandoned due to selfish policies.

No amount of advancement in science and technology can, on its own, bring lasting peace. It is we, the citizens of the globalised world, who have to speak out loud and safeguard our dignity by sticking to those values and principles that put the human person at the centre of all decisions.

Today’s martyrs and heroes are these innocent human beings who are being killed as a result of individuals who want to eradicate all that is human and good in us.

Let us all speak out with one mind and one voice. Let those in authority hear this universal outcry coming out from all citizens they represent.