€8,000 donation to women’s shelter from book on Daphne Caruana Galizia

Women’s shelter Dar Merħba Bik today received a donation of €8,000 from the sale of the book ‘Invicta: The Life and Work of Daphne Caruana Galizia‘ published a year ago by Pertinent Press.

This book was conceived when Caruana Galizia was killed with a car bomb on 16 October 2017 and includes no less than 20 contributions from academics, journalists and friends reflecting on the life and work of the journalist, and the circumstances of her death. The book was edited by Joseph A Debono and Caroline Muscat, co-founder of The Shift News.

Over 1,300 copies of the book have been sold so far, with €10 from every book donated to Caruana Galizia’s favourite charity, run by the Good Shepherd Sisters. The team behind the project said it would be donating further proceeds from the sale of the book.

The team thanked the Sisters and staff of Dar Merħba Bik, for bringing some light in the darkness faced by the victims of domestic violence who are given shelter at this home.

Last year, Dar Merħba Bik completed its project for a safe entrance for women seeking shelter at the home. The charity’s Head, Elaine Pavia, said the funds would be used to cover the pending costs of the project to increase security at the home, totalling some €200,000.

“When that door closes, it’s a loud noise, but it means freedom for all the women here. Thank you for contributing to that,” Pavia said.

She also said that a Bay Leaf tree would be planted in the home’s garden tagged with a white ribbon in Caruana Galizia’s memory. Dar Merħba Bik placed a metal tag on the tree with the words, “in grateful memory of Daphne Caruana Galizia who held our mission close to her heart”.

Pavia also gave a plant to Corinne Vella, Caruana Galizia’s sister, to commemorate the event, saying to her, “we will nurture Daphne’s memory with the Bay Leaf plant in our garden”.

During the last 38 years the home has provided refuge for hundreds of women and their children who had to leave their homes due to domestic violence. The Sisters at Dar Merħba Bik recalled Caruana Galizia’s continued support for the cause.

When some €69,500 were raised in a crowdfunding exercise to enable her to make good for the garnishee orders issued against her by Economy Minister Chris Cardona and his aide Joe Gerada, she donated the surplus to Dar Merħba Bik.

“Given that my gender is a significant factor in the moral violence I experience on a daily basis as a critic of male politicians in the southern Mediterranean, I think this appropriate. It is also a cause close to my heart,” Caruana Galizia had written.

The book on the journalist’s life and work was also translated into Italian by Paula Giannonis, entitled ‘Uccisa in Nome Della Verita’. In the Italian version, Antonio Di Pietro, ex magistrate behind anti-mafi operation Mani Pulite, writes an open letter to the journalist killed for her work.

“They killed you in order to silence you. Yet, you are more present than ever in those who believe in the right to free speech and press freedom,” Di Pietro said.