Green MEPs join calls for justice for Jean Paul Sofia, who was killed when the construction site he was working in collapsed in December 2022
Green MEPs join calls for justice for Jean Paul Sofia, who was killed when the construction site he was working in collapsed in December 2022
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>Green MEPs have joined calls for justice for Jean Paul Sofia who lost his life in a construction incident in Malta last year.
>Sofia was killed in a construction site collapse last December and despite calls by the victim’s family, the Opposition, and civil society for a public inquiry, prime minister Robert Abela ostensibly refuses to order a public inquiry, claiming that court proceedings were sufficient and an independent probe would obstruct the course of justice.
>Last week in Vienna, newly-elected ADPD – The Green Party chairperson Sandra Gauci spoke with MEP Terry Reintke from the German Greens and Co-President of the Greens-EFA Group in the European Parliament, about the construction sector in Malta and Sofia’s death.
>Sandra Gauci commented, “I am happy to be welcomed by the European Greens as the first female chairperson of ADPD. I took this opportunity together with Mina Jack Tolu to present a number of concerns about political news in Malta. Including on the call for a public inquiry into the building colapse that caused Jean Paul Sofia’s death. We are not alone in our fight against the institutionalisation of corruption in Malta.”
>The current debate in Malta about the government’s amendments to the law to end blanket ban on abortion were also discussed.
>Gauci also shared ADPD’s views on the need to better regulate the construction industry with French MEP Gwendoline Delbos-Corfield, who is a rapporteur on Malta, and Danish MEP Kira M. Peter-Hansen, Vice-President of the Greens/EFA Group in the European Parliament. They expressed their concerns and support the call for a public inquiry.
>Gauci was also welcomed to the EGP Congress by Austrian MEP Thomas Waitz, co-chair of the European Green Party, on which ADPD deputy chair Mina Jack Tolu sits as a committee member.
>The EGP congress in Vienna took place this weekend to vote on a series of resolutions including on topics like sustainable and just wellbeing economies, science-based cannabis regulation, and justice, inclusion and representation for underrepresented groups because of Europe’s colonial past.
And to this day, Prime Minister Robert Abela **still** refuses to call for a public inquiry. Why does he refuse to call for a public inquiry? Because we would have black on white a statement from an independent commission that Malta has an institutional problem with construction, and that beats the narrative of “building good, economy good” that Labour want to keep parroting. The most hazardous workplace in the country, where both migrant and Maltese workers fall victim to a complete lack of standards or regulation.
I wonder if Robert Abela was ever lawyer to some property developers? Maybe he doesn’t want to lose them as his allies, especially where the €€€ are concerned. Hmm would be interesting if someone could research that.
[Jean Paul’s parents blame the state and developers for his death](https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/jean-paul-sofia-parents-blame-death-construction-site-developers.1018443), because they *are* responsible.
I am glad to see stickers calling for justice all around in my town, but it also breaks my heart. Can you fucking imagine your son going to work, like any other day, and a building fucking collapsing on him??? Your flesh and blood gone forever because some millionaire cunt wanted to save money instead of having work done safely. [Here’s a video too if you want to see how terrible a death having an entire building collapse on you is](https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/moment-corradino-construction-site-collapsed.999268). Now how can anyone watch that and say “The institutions are working”?
The institutions do fuck all.
We don’t need a one day protest, we need regular protests, all the time, until something is done and justice is served.
We have to beg for justice. But no one really expects it. We call it activism, they call it ‘jibilawh f’sormom bil poplu’