| Like many other electoral campaigns, the journey has not been smooth. There have been ups and downs. Moments of doubt, moments of clarity. Times when you question why you’re running for elections, internal conflicts about messaging, and … and … and. Just last week, I sat in a TV studio debating two far-right candidates, and a spineless moderator, on my own. As they equated LGBTQI people and activists to pedophiles, I had to dig deep down to stay calm, look at the camera, and tell my story, asking for acceptance of LGBTQI people. As they implied that non-European migrants would beat up LGBTQI Maltese people, I stated – I am more scared of you than a migrant. They laughed in my face, hysterically, and asked… “Are you scared of us because we tell the truth?” As they claimed that LGBTQI people are confusing children, I pushed for the need for representation. How much better my life would have been if I learned about LGBTQI people earlier on. “How early could you have known?” the moderator asked, “I was 4” I said. “That’s impossible” he retorted. So I replied, firmly, “You’re trying to tell me you know my life better than I do?” I was exhausted. And frustrated. And angry. As much as I tried, during this campaign, to set myself as a candidate and politician beyond my trans activism, beyond my identity, it would keep coming back to that. People kept messaging the party chair, Sandra Gauci, about my gender – “That person is too progressive, that person is doing harm to the Greens”. But my gender was not the only thing that people wanted to pick on. When I speak in English I am told off. When I speak in Maltese I am ridiculed. There would be so much to unpack here, that we could be here for hours. |
| Why was I trying to assimilate anyways – if my accent, my name, my dual-nationality, my gender, set me apart – if my areas of expertise are gender, LGBTQI rights, migration, inclusion, diversity, green politics in the EU – why shouldn’t I just double down on those messages? So, in the last few weeks of the campaign, I found my voice and I was myself. I spoke about migration like I haven’t heard any other candidate do in Malta – with humanity. I have no regrets, other than not having done this sooner. Please don’t let others make the decision of who represents us in Europe on our behalf, if you have a vote – use it. Thank you for being with me on this journey, take care of yourself, |
First published as a newsletter on 6th June 2024.
MJ Tolu 
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