So many people have come out on social media, guns ablazing, condemning the horrific murder of Ivorian migrant Lassana Cisse. Which is as it should be, of course. It is about time that the masses wake up from their self-satisfied stupour.

A single, unified voice of condemnation is needed if Malta is to make any inroads into this shocking climate of xenophobia that crept upon us and took us unawares (though it really shouldn’t have).

But I can’t let these self-righteous pronouncements of “if you don’t condemn this murder unfriend me now” go unchallenged. Not when I see too many people posting these statuses when, up until a few weeks ago, they were posting to the tune of: “I’m not racist but there is no space for them”; or “I’m not racist, but Malta belongs to the Maltese”.

The victim: Lassana Cisse.

I have news for you, all those of you who have used the phrases “not racist” and “but” in the same sentence in the past. This murder is on your conscience too. You were the ones who subtly, and without even sticking your necks out (because it’s safe to spout pseudo-politics and solutions from behind the keyboard) helped create a society in Malta that automatically views migrants in a negative light.

Please spare me your cyber pats on the back and your holier-than-thou “this is so shocking, anyone who agrees with the murder unfriend me now” facile pronouncements. Where were you when Malta was creating this far-right monster that we live in now? Stoking the fires of nationalism, that’s where. Trading glib status updates for likes.

Where were you when Malta was creating this far-right monster that we live in now?

To all those of you who have posted alarmist statuses everytime they see a black man or woman on the street (“They’re taking over! Are we in Malta or Libya?”), well done. This is where your thoughtless comments got us, with migrants too scared to leave their homes.

What you should be doing is writing ‘mea culpa, mea culpa’. And admitting the role that you, yourself, played in generating this society of hatred when you were posting drivel along the lines of “ħa nsiru Musulmani”.

Only once the blame is shouldered can we fight this aura of xenophobia properly, and only then can we really start working towards a truly inclusive society. Only then can Malta start to heal from the horrific killing of a young man who should today be playing with his kids, but instead lies six feet deep.

PS: Chev Maurice Mizzi, no your personal statements were not ‘perceived or interpreted as potentially insensitive’, no matter how you like to spin it. They were indeed extremely insensitive and highly damaging to Muslims. There is no place for xenophobia in public office, end of.