Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1536968
6 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 27 MARCH 2022 OPINION 2 maltatoday EXECUTIVE EDITOR KURT SANSONE ksansone@mediatoday.com.mt Letters to the Editor, MaltaToday, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016 E-mail: dailynews@mediatoday.com.mt Letters must be concise, no pen names accepted, include full name and address maltatoday | SUNDAY • 29 JUNE 2025 A million 'what ifs' and the keyboard idiots Editorial THE death of a child in any circumstance is shock- ing. It robs parents of their most precious gift. It shatters their hope of seeing their child grow up and slowly establish themselves in society. It is even more shocking when the death is untimely and the result of tragedy. In these cir- cumstances, the demise elicits countless 'what if' questions. It instils a sense of guilt in parents, even if guilt is unwarranted. The tragic death of six-year-old Zaylen, who wondered off from his family's field and drowned in a swimming pool in a neighbouring property, was one such shocking incident. The fact that the boy had autism and was non-verbal just adds to the sense of disbelief. We cannot even begin to understand the sorrow Zaylen's parents, siblings and loved ones are feel- ing. The deep sense of loss; the million 'what ifs' passing through their heads; the mixed emotions of anger, grief, emptiness. And in the midst of what appears to be an ac- cidental tragedy that was compounded by the boy's condition, the parents have had to deal with a barrage of stupid and hurtful comments from ordinary people, who acted as judge and jury on social media. The parents, particularly the mother, were blamed for neglecting their child; not keeping him under their watchful eye. Every parent knows that it only takes a few seconds of distraction to suddenly lose sight of a young child, especially if they are energetic. And the distraction may not even be voluntary—another daughter calling out for assistance; the door buzzer going off; a quick run to the kitchen to switch off the kettle; looking down to discard a soiled nappy in the dustbin. According to the interview Zaylen's mother gave to the Times of Malta, she had just changed her son's nappy and he was off to play with his siblings when she suddenly lost sight of him. Any parent, who understands the difficulty of raising a child with autism, knows that this is a very plausible ex- planation. Here is a boy who will not answer back when people call out his name; who has no sense of danger; who could have a million frustrations that ordinary individuals cannot understand; who simply wonders off for no apparent reason and feeling no need to an inform an adult. The easiest and cruellest thing to do is blame the parents, based on puerile assumptions and misguided notions. This incident has once again brought out the worst in many people, who feel no scruple sitting behind a keyboard and blurting out anything that comes to mind—veritable key- board idiots. Maybe if we showed a little bit more decency, respect and compassion towards one an- other, there would be less anguish all around. But at the same time, while fully understanding the shock Zaylen's mother and her sister were in as they tried to make heads and tails of the trag- edy, we cannot agree with their suggestion in the TOM interview that the swimming pool owner could in any way be blamed for the death. After all, the pool was on private property that has a surrounding wall demarcating the site. Neither do we agree with suggestions that have been floated by some that private swimming pools should be surrounded by some form of fencing or guard rails. Such a suggestion makes no sense and is simply a knee-jerk reaction to what appears to be an unfortunate accident involving a child who 'trespassed' into another dwelling. Zaylen's death, like any other such case involv- ing an accidental or untimely death, is subject to a magisterial inquiry. The investigation is being led by Magistrate Joe Mifsud and is still underway. We have no doubt the magistrate will leave no stone unturned to establish the facts of the case and determine whether anyone is criminally re- sponsible, if at all. No child should suffer or die because of an adult's neglect but it is also possi- ble in circumstances like these that no one is to blame because the accident was not caused by neglect. The legal amendments approved earlier this year mean that the parents will be kept abreast of developments by the magistrate. But whatever the magistrate's findings will be, the parents have already suffered the worst fate possible. They do not need our judgement as well. Quote of the Week "They don't know what the fuck they're doing." US President Donald Trump, in comments to journalists, chiding Israel and Iran over an alleged breach of a ceasefire agreement just a couple of hours after it was announced. MaltaToday 10 years ago Lands dished out €400,000 compensation for€60,000 land in 2011 28 June 2015 A thread of emails published today sheds light on the political interfer ence inside the Lands Department this time on a €60,000 country side passage in Mtahleb that was expropriated back in 1974, but which returned €400,000 in com pensation to its original in 2011. The Mtahleb land was expropri ated for road formation in 1974 Dom Mintoff's first leg- islature after his 1971 electoral win - and for which compensation was paid just four years ago, after much arm twisting, the emails sug- gest. The land in question belonged to entrepre- neur Emanuel Per esso, CEO of the Michele Peresso Group of Companies, who received €400,000 cash even though Lands DG Albert Mamo estimated il at just €60,000. The emails in possession of MaltaToday show that the then-director general of the Lands Departmen.t, Albert Mamo, had esti- mated the land's value at just €60,000 and em- phatically wrote in communication with for- mer minis ter for lands Jason Azzopardi that it was inconceivable that higher compensation be given for it. According to Albert Mamo, Per esso's land at Mtahleb was outside development zones and therefore its value should be set according to the formulas sel out in Chapter 88 as an agri- cultural piece of land, valued at €60,000. On 9 October, 2011, Mamo emailed Jason Azzopardi on the Emmanuel Peresso request, who was demanding an amount four times as much as it was worth. Peresso, Mamo says, had bought the land at a much lower price, and that it was then expro- priated for road formation....