Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1531843
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 26 JANUARY 2025 4 INTERVIEW Alex Caruana: 'Why don't we talk about LGBT children?' Long-time LGBTIQ activist Alex Caruana describes the case of a couple who wanted to change their son's teacher because he's gay as "mind-blowing." The apparent ease by which the parents wanted to change their son's teacher, based solely on a rainbow badge, is worrying, he says. Despite this, Caruana tells me the positive side of the whole incident is the widespread discussion on dis- crimination that followed. Speaking about the rapid societal change that took place in Malta dur- ing the past decade, he explains that people are slowly catching up with the transformation brought about by several legal developments such as marriage equality for all. When challenged on whether polit- ical symbols such as the rainbow flag are appropriate in classroom settings, Caruana says many items and school illustrations (such as drawings of chil- dren with different skin colours) are political symbols. He says that if a po- litical symbol synonymous with LG- BTIQ acceptance is an issue, that says more about the person who is object- ing rather than the symbol itself. Addressing a recent controversy surrounding last year's Europride cel- ebration in Valletta, which exceeded its budget, Caruana insists the gov- ernment should be as transparent with taxpayer funds as NGOs such MGRM are with their own budgets. Alex Caruana believes the legal changes that enabled the LGBTIQ community to acquire more rights were important to encourage individuals to come out. In the wake of a recent controversy involving parents objecting to a gay school teacher, he tells Matthew Farrugia it is now a question of people catching up with the changes. I think that first came the laws, then LGBTIQ people started coming out, and I think that now we're in the final stage where people start to catch up with this rapid change.