Daboma Jack’s daughter was once reprimanded by a commuter for playing with a white child on a bus and he still trembles while reflecting on his arrest, but this has not stopped him from trying to see the best in Malta.
“I do not want to tarnish this island. I do not want to label it as racist. My mission is to try and make the situation better,” he said today.
Mr Jack was speaking at an anti-racism workshop organised by Cross Culture International Foundation, an NGO which works with international students studying in Malta.
He told the gathering of 60 students at the University of Malta residence in Lija, how his 15-month old daughter had started playing with another older child on a bus some months ago, when another commuter told his daughter to stop and even reached out to her.
This, he said, was one of many racially motivated incidents he had experienced during his year in Malta.
Despite this, Mr Jack is committed to improving the situation and has made it his mission to educate on the harm caused by racial discrimination.
Earlier this week, he attended a panel debate organised by an environmental youth NGO and told Times of Malta he is eager to work with more organisations and government entities to spread his message.
“I want to make a difference. We need action not words,” he said, referring to a meeting he had with Civil Liberties Minister Helena Dalli last week.
Dr Dalli met with Mr Jack to apologise “on behalf of the Maltese” after he was racially assaulted at the Valletta bus terminal last Wednesday.
After the meeting Mr Jack had said he was grateful for the apology, but wanted to see a change in the way racial discrimination was addressed.
He said today his assailant had spoken out to the press about the incident, defending her innocence, and claiming she had been assaulted by Mr Jack.
Saying he was taken aback by her comments, Mr Jack declined to delve into much detail.
He added that those who wanted to know the truth only had to read the several witness accounts of what happened on the day.