I attended the Q&A seminar held at the Phoenicia Hotel, where representatives from all main parties were present to talk about their views and ideas for the LGBTIQ community in Malta. The Prime Minister stayed for around 10 minutes, and left after making a simple opening statement before rushing off to Gozo, leaving the Minister for Civil Liberties in his place.
The whole event was an eye-opener in some respects, listening to some of the struggles people faced. I salute those who stood up and spoke openly about the struggles they faced, as it must have taken quite a bit of courage to do so.
Another thing that struck me about the whole event was that in terms of LGBTIQ rights, we as a community have little to worry about.
On stage sat four politicians from different parties all competing with one another on who supports us most. So the question on who to vote for is pretty simple in many ways: any party would do.
Changes still desperately need to happen, as I saw that afternoon from those in the audience who stood up and spoke. But all candidates rushed to reassure them.
However, now that we have reached this stage, we should remember the moral obligation that comes with voting.
As a community we must be on our guard. Politicians will come to us promising many things, and they may well have their heart in the right place. However, some may not. Some may wish to get our vote in order to let bad people do bad things. As a community we may be a small percentage of the population, but a large enough percentage to sway an entire election result. This makes us a coveted ‘pink vote’, and therefore we have a responsibility not to be corrupted by the power that gives us.
It has now become something of a farce, with people measuring how much hot water Joseph Muscat is in depending on what rights he talks about introducing
The issue of LGBTIQ rights as human rights is not just an argument in favour of the existence of such rights. It is also proof that LGBTIQ rights are born of the same value system that human rights are set in. Therefore it is, in theory, not possible to be in favour of LGBTIQ rights while at the same time denying the human rights of others. Unfortunately, that seems to have happened in Malta.
LGBTIQ citizens are not only interested in their own rights. Many voted for the Labour Party last election not just because they agreed with civil unions, but also because they thought that the Labour Party would bring the exact value system of human rights along with it.
However, the day civil unions were introduced, many felt guilty, yes guilty, because it came at the cost of human rights for refugees. From the push back to the absence of any Labour minister at solidarity marches, the message was clear: we are only in favour of the rights for those who can vote for us.
I have written about this great disappointment before, so I won’t go into it again. Those LGBTIQ activists who attached themselves to the Labour Party, directly or not, must have felt quite ashamed of themselves. Most opted to just stay silent, and then reminded people that we got our civil unions. How horrid.
It is true that politicians often adopt a social cause as part of their campaign, but when they do that, they know that they are also adopting the value system that comes with that cause. Betraying that value system is hypocritical.
To top it all off, Joseph Muscat seems to pull out LGBTIQ rights whenever he is in hot water. Panama seems to be the main reason why a new set of rights get mentioned (but not introduced).
It has now become something of a farce, with people measuring how much hot water Muscat is in depending on what rights he talks about introducing. The pink vote has now become the pink shield. The tenacious hold Muscat seems to have on our rights as a form of protection for him is sickening.
And now we are being asked by the Labour Party to give them our vote, while the complicated web of corruption gradually unfolds in front of our eyes.
Whether you are gay, straight, bi or trans, electing the Labour Party will be a vote in favour of gross corruption. Our cause should not be used to shield bad people. We mustn’t let our community be corrupted by the promise of a big pay cheque or a platform for our vanity. We must pull together and honour the value system our request for our rights is part of. Anything less than that is selfishness.
Edward Caruana Galizia is an actor and studied psychosocial studies at Birkbeck University of London.