Pink (October 2018)

ISSUE168∫ OctObEr2018

MURDERED ONE YEAR AGO UNCOVERING THE HUMAN FACE OF A FEARLESS JOURNALIST THROUGH THE EYES OF FRIENDS, COLLEAGUES AND FAMILY

UNDER CONSTANT POLICE PROTECTION Life for the brave women who dig up the dirt

GIVING A VOICE TO YOUNG DYSLEXICS THIS IS NOT A DISABILITY BUT A POSITIVE TOOL FOR CREATIVITY

SELAH MARLEY ARMANIEXCHANGE.COM

The Point & Bay Street

INSIDE

October 2018

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FEATURES 14 LifeStyle a creative mind The positive aspects of a learning difficulty 19 InFocus a different way of working out the world Young dyslexics find a voice 25 PrivateEye under threat Living with police protection for telling the truth 28 EyeWitness the true picture Honouring an assassinated journalist, mother, friend and colleague 37 ArtyFacts abortion discussed A play on real-life stories

HEALTH & BEAUTY

FASHION

67 BeautyParlour fat lot of use Body contouring and bum lifts for that Instagram effect

44 ShowStopper minimal but magnificent Styling a striking silhouette 48 ShowStopper layer it on Slap on the colour 54 FashionStory pink for pink in pink Upcycling pink clothing for breast cancer awareness 60 TheUniform speaking volumes Big coats, chunky sneakers and the western look

9 EditorsNote 10 MailShot 39 WomanKind 12th-century saint remains relevant in 21st Hildegard of Bingen 64 ThinkPink food, fashion & beauty 74 SnapShot on stage with mozart Jasmine Farrugia

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REGULARS

COVER Photography Manuel Bonnici ∫ Styling Marisa Grima [marisagrima.com] ∫ Hair & make-up Gabrielle Zammit Grungo ∫ Model Amy Zahra @ Supernova MM, wearing roll-neck top, €24; trousers, €39, both Marks & Spencer ∫ shoes, €69, Oltre.

6 ∫ Pink October 2018

EDITORSNOTE

One year later… #whokilleddaphne?

October 7, 2018 ∫ Pink is a monthly magazine ∫ Issue 168 ∫ Executive editor Fiona Galea Debono ∫ Publisher Allied Newspapers Ltd ∫ Printing Progress Press Ltd ∫ Production Allied Newspapers Ltd ∫ Contributors Dominic Bartolo, Iggy Fenech, Mary Galea Debono, Amanda Greaves, Marisa Grima, Samira Jamil, Caroline Paris, Lara Sierra, Gabrielle Zammit Grungo ∫ Design Manuel Schembri ∫ Photography Manuel Bonnici, Jonathan Borg, Matthew Mirabelli, Kurt Paris, Zach Farrugia, Chris Sant Fournier, Matthew B. Spiteri, Majda Toumi ∫ Advertising sales Veronica Grech Sant [2276 4333; veronica.grechsant@timesofmalta.com].

THIS PUBLICATION IS BEING DISTRIBUTED AS PART OF:

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© 2018. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole, or in part, without written permission of the publishers, is prohibited.

Pink October 2018 ∫ 9

MAILSho

THE LETTER THAT TICKLED Pı SUCH AN ORDEAL I read with a heavy heart the feature Rare and Deadly [PrivateEye, September 2018] dealing with Melas. It really brings you to tears to accept that a family can go through such an ordeal. Unfortunately, we rarely get to know about certain diseases and conditions before we read about them for the first time in a magazine such as Pink. It is negatively incredible how fragile our body system is and that, all of a sudden, we can go from simply being healthy to a state of weakness and pain. When you read such features, one of the things that springs to mind is the admiration you feel towards both the person who is suffering and the family. This family shows how, even in such sad situations, human beings, including children, can show a lot of inner strength. Battling with sickness and rare conditions is probably one of the most difficult situations we can encounter in life. But here, we cannot but mention the greatness of human intelligence, given to us by God, which, through scientific research, is always trying to improve the lives of human beings.

TOUCHING CHORDS I always enjoy reading Pink, but I think the September issue has touched a couple of particular chords. I can particularly empathise with the editorial; if people, from time immemorial, reasoned that “if you don’t like it, you can get out”, we would still be living in the Dark Ages. It is because there has always been someone to refuse to put up with injustices, with excessive discomfort, that we are now living a better life. Maybe the younger generation does not realise that they can say “get out” because somebody has worked for them to be able to say so. It was heartbreaking to read the young widow’s story, Rare and Deadly [PrivateEye, September 2018] about how a rare illness took a husband and father away from the family. How devastating it must have been to realise that the life she had been planning was disappearing before her very eyes. These are the two stories that struck me the most after having read the magazine from cover to cover.

DANIELLE SAPIANO, FROM LUQA

MARY FARRUGIA, VIA E-MAIL

The writer of the letter of the month wins a Coach Platinum for Men eau de parfum; a pedicure; PLUS a selection of Diego dalla Palma make-up products, all from Chemimart.

LIFE IS TOO SHORT Dear editor, I look forward to reading Pink magazine from month to month. Good work and keep it up! I read the article Rare and Deadly [PrivateEye, September 2018] and I was very touched by this rare disease and this young woman’s story. We always take life for granted, planning our future and those of our loved ones, but we do not know what is around the corner.

So instead of pushing our kids to study and go to private lessons, why not enjoy our time with them? After all, life is too short. Tomorrow is promised to no one.

wrıte ı AND WIN

CARMEN AQUILINA, FROM DINGLI

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we want to hear from you. Send us your feedback on Pink and any stories that may have touched you in some way, and you stand a chance of winning a Boucheron Quatre en rose eau de parfum florale; a manicure; PLUS a selection of Diego dalla Palma make-up products, all from Chemimart. write to Pink, with your contact details, at Allied Newspapers Limited, triq l-ıntornjatur, Mrieћel, BKr 3000, or send an e-mail to pink@timesofmalta.com Correspondence may be edited for length and clarity. If prizes are not claimed within two months, they will no longer be available. Winners should be willing to have their photograph taken for marketing purposes.

10 ∫ Pink October 2018

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LIFESTYLE

A CREATIVE MIND For Rebecca Barbaro Sant, dyslexia has been pivotal to her unique creative output. Speaking to her during Dyslexia Awareness Month, LARA SIERRA confirms that persistence is part and parcel of this learning difficulty… and also the key to success.

W

ho do you think of when someone says “genius”? Albert Einstein? Steve Jobs maybe? Perhaps Pablo Picasso, or Leonardo da Vinci? They were all, unquestionably, geniuses. And they were all also dyslexic.

“I didn’t do well at school,” says Rebecca Barbaro Sant, creative partner and founder of The Authentic Brief. “I was moved schools when I was about 12 to one that had better provisions for dyslexic students.

“In my experience, people with dyslexia tend to be very creative and make creative connections in a different way.

14 ∫ Pink October 2018

My brain is constantly observing things. When I work, I like to sit near people, watching and trying to understand what they’re doing, saying, wearing, and why. I go into my own little bubble.”

Rebecca, as you may have guessed, is dyslexic. Today, she talks about how she overcame difficult circumstances as a child to become a “creative strategist” at 30. For her, dyslexia has been pivotal to her unique creative output.

“As a family, we did face our difficulties and I struggled with my dyslexia. I had gone from a convent school to a large, co-educational one and I was bullied a bit, which

LIFESTYLE What further adds to the confusion is that symptoms of dyslexia often apply to non-dyslexic learners too. For example, many students will suffer from visual stress [when words and letters jump around, or morph on a page], poor working memory and difficulty recalling specific instructions, but not all of them will be dyslexic.

Similarly, children with ADHD are often confused with being dyslexic, and while some are both, for the most part, those with dyslexia often fidget, or act out from mere frustration.

To call dyslexia a leaning disability implies that dyslexic people are less intelligent than their peers, which is not the case. For that reason, its academic definition is a learning difficulty. The reality is that dyslexia is just about having a brain that works slightly differently from the norm and, therefore, requires different learning stimuli in order to achieve results.

“WHEN I WORK, I LIKE TO SIT NEAR PEOPLE, WATCHING AND TRYING TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY’RE DOING, SAYING, WEARING, AND WHY. I GO INTO MY OWN LITTLE BUBBLE”

didn’t make things easy. But my mum, who is my backbone and the strongest person I know, used to stay up with me until 2am to help me study for my exams, even when I would fail them all! I learnt a lot about persistence from that,” she adds fondly.

Dyslexia is an extremely difficult term to understand and equally difficult to explain. Its definition varies somewhat, depending on which expert you are talking to, so much so that the statistics of people who have dyslexia vary from between five to 20 per cent of the European population.

The international charity Understood provides more background into its science: 49 per cent of dyslexic children will have dyslexic parents too, evidence that it is often a hereditary condition. It is also treatable, as brain activity in people with dyslexia changes when they get proper tutoring for the condition.

While the diagnostic, treatable symptom is primarily reading difficulties, there are surprising benefits of ‘suffering’ from dyslexia.

“Dyslexic students perceive the written word differently, but they may also excel at spatial reasoning, interconnected thinking and display amazing creativity,” according to another international charity, Dyslexia Advantage.

Good news for those bestowed with this amazing creativity; as the creative economy is currently the fastest growing sector in the Western World. Culture and creative industries in Malta outperformed the rest of the economy in 2015, accounting for seven per cent total gross value added and six per cent of gainful employment.

In June last year, in fact, Arts Council Malta launched The Creative Industries Platform to help accelerate growth in the sector. Since 2004, when Malta legally opened its doors to the iGaming industry, the island has undergone an extraordinary surge of creative output to support this influx of tertiary trade.

Rebecca experienced this first hand while doing internships at some of Malta’s leading marketing firms. “I loved it,” she exclaims, “but I was still working out what I wanted to do at the time.

“Since school, I had been trying out different things; I used to sell bracelets and wash cars at the weekend; then I worked in a DVD shop and then as a receptionist. I found more and more that I liked trying to understand people. Watching people always go to a CD with a picture Pink October 2018 ∫ 15

LIFESTYLE

“FROM A YOUNG AGE, DYSLEXIC STUDENTS CAN TRAIN THEIR BRAIN TO BECOME ATTUNED TO TAKING ALTERNATIVE ROUTES. THEY BECOME MASTERS AT OVERCOMING OBSTACLES AND HURDLES AND THIS, AS ANY ADULT KNOWS, IS AN INVALUABLE TOOL THROUGH LIFE” of a pretty girl on the front made me start thinking about advertising. I learnt a lot about how to deal with people and how to react to them. After trying out marketing, I went to the UK to study.”

At this junction in Rebecca’s life, a key fighting characteristic came to the fore; a trait many dyslexics know well – persistence. “This is really important,” she says stoically.

“University was interesting as I was thrown into it; there was no hand holding and it was not lecture based.

It was all discussion in class, brainstorming with a team, and there should have been more guidance.

“Eventually, I started a petition to change the way things were done and got everyone together in class. We weren’t being entered into competitions, for example, so I felt that we were missing out. The lecturer got on board, and finally the outcome was that they restructured the whole course in our final year. Now, this course is winning awards and working with the biggest partners in the industry.”

As she explains how she applies this attitude to her day-to-day work, the passion and energy she has for each project simply pours out of her. “It is important for me to understand what people think, because at the end of the day, they are our target audience. For a campaign, I need 16 ∫ Pink October 2018

to understand what people need, what they like, what makes them tick.

“It’s a bit like creating music; how to make them feel a certain way. I don’t just do advertising. I’m a creative partner, so I am a consultant. I might suggest, for example, giving out bags of popcorn at an event to heighten the five senses, or adding that homemade touch; giving gifts to a client they can take home and make for themselves, like homemade pasta.”

It is quite a surprise when, on several occasions, Rebecca pauses and hesitates. “I’m nervous,” she apologises.

“I’m quite a shy person.” Yet she does not seem nervous in the slightest; she is in command of the room, impressively swapping business cards with the photographer and picking out the best spots for our photo shoot.

She hides it well, and if the struggling, troubled, young girl is still in there, she is the underground roots of what has blossomed into a strong, colourful and fruitful woman.

I wonder if this persistence Rebecca speaks of is integral to the dyslexic challenges she struggled with at school. In the education community, there is a process that is sometimes described as “the learning challenge”, or more dramatically “the pit of despair”.

Consider this example: a person falls into a pit. They see a rope ladder nearby, chuck it down, and hey presto, they’re

out within minutes. But for a dyslexic child, if they cannot clearly see the letters on the page, how can they learn to read them? They have no rope ladder. They must, and shall, survive.

They will draw upon all the resources and skills to work out how to get out. They will invent, create and devise new skills and persist until they are able to.

From a young age, dyslexic students can train their brain to become attuned to taking alternative routes. They become masters at overcoming obstacles and hurdles and this, as any adult knows, is an invaluable tool through life.

Unfortunately, in reality, however, things are more complex and not all dyslexic students will thrive. Dyslexia is still woefully misunderstood in many communities and students are often not given the right tools to learn in a way that works for them. While they continue to be tested through written exams, dyslexic students will always achieve low results. It’s like saying: “You’re a netball player? You must be good at throwing balls. Let’s test your skills in rugby.” That’s quite an injustice for a young child.

Prof. Margaret Snowling, president of St John’s College, Oxford, and one of the world’s leading dyslexia researchers explains: “Dyslexic children are not getting intervention early enough, not least because of the impact on self-esteem and academic self-concept.”

Another Margaret, this time Margaret Rooke, author of the brilliant Dyslexia is my Superpower [Most of the Time], says that “out of 100 children I interviewed worldwide, one thing I would say is how easily some of these feel embarrassed and humiliated, for example when they have to read aloud, or have their marks read in public”.

There are many ways to support the dyslexic student; coloured overlays, for example, are cheap and easy to find and greatly reduce visual stress. Breaking projects into sizeable chunks, involving a starter, a couple of main tasks and a round-up, will reduce the learning load; while providing organisational tools, such as file dividers, Post-it notes and diaries, are also useful.

Ultimately, dyslexic students, or any student who learns differently, will continue to suffer until standardised testing can expand to encompass this broad spectrum of learners.

“I’ve been knocked down so many times,” Rebecca says, “but my mother, who herself has been through so much, has been there through my most difficult times. It was expected of me to go into the family business, and because I didn’t, I have had to prove myself in so many different ways.

“I’ve been running this business for two years now. In the future, I would like to have clients abroad, preferably in Islamic countries because advertising is much harder over there. Legs cannot be shown; and in some countries, women must be wearing a full burka, and so on. I find that very interesting.

You have to simplify everything. Simplicity is the best, but it’s also the hardest.”

Tanner Christensen, app designer and author of The Creative Challenge, sums up Rebecca’s approach neatly: “A creative mind,” he writes, “does not see challenges as attacks, darkness, or pressure, but as clues, or opportunities to create something new.”

As she said, persistence is key. www.theauthenticbrief.com

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INFOCUS

A different way of working out the world LARA SIERRA meets inspiring young dyslexics who have been told they have a disability their whole lives. They are learning, however, that dyslexia is a positive tool, which can be a starting point for a bright and visionary future. This is their voice.

“I

was made to feel like an outsider from the beginning,” the young man explains. “I was diagnosed with dyslexia aged 10, and no one knew what to do with me. There was no effort made to provide support. Then they told me I had ADHD because I just wasn’t paying attention.

“Eventually, I changed school. I started all over again: new friends, new teachers, a new assessment of my dyslexia. This time though, they took the best of it. At this school, they reinforced the positive things that come from having dyslexia. The ADHD had been a symptom of the frustrations of not being supported in my learning.”

Welcome to Dyslexic Teen Dialogue’s second youth organisation project, titled

Dys-Team Dys-play and Dys-cuss. Its coordinator, Mary Rose Formosa, an educator herself, is warm, compassionate and extremely articulate on matters relating to dyslexia. She explains the work she’s been doing alongside her day job to bring this project to life.

“Designed and written in Malta, this youth group targets young people with dyslexia and helps them discover and develop talents and soft skills that formal education does not target,” Mary Rose says.

“Our organisers took over a year to prepare and develop an exchange, which happened over summer, between the

Maltese group and its Italian counterparts, Futuro Dislessia, in Molfetta, Puglia.

“The idea for this group originated from 11 young people who wanted to raise awareness about dyslexia through their own voices and experiences. We toured schools and had meetings with policymakers, educators, other young people and the general public. The aim was to start a conversation about dyslexia; to remove the taboo and also to be a source of encouragement to others.

“The group further developed by exploring funding opportunities to start the conversation overseas with young people who are in the same situation, while learning each other’s languages,” Mary Rose explains.

“These young people have finished compulsory school, aged 16, and are

“THE AIM WAS TO START A CONVERSATION ABOUT DYSLEXIA; TO REMOVE THE TABOO AND ALSO TO BE A SOURCE OF ENCOURAGEMENT TO OTHERS” Pink October 2018 ∫ 19

INFOCUS looking towards their next step in life; either to find a job, or to continue their education.”

The room is filled with bright and engaged youths, with dyslexia being the common denominator, and their adult supervisors. As the difficulties they have faced in their various educational institutions are discussed, there is no self-pity, or any me-against-the-world mentality. They talk with thoughtful insight and thorough analysis, offering carefully constructed solutions to providing better support for the dyslexic children of the future.

This would be impressive were it a group of adults all speaking the same language. Now consider it is a group of fidgety teenagers, working across three languages, all squeezed into a stuffy conference room over their summer holidays…

Diagnosed with dyslexia “I have always had a strong character,” says one young Italian. “And that developed more once I began needing to overcome hurdles in the classroom.

“I was not diagnosed with dyslexia until the age of 15. Being diagnosed at such a late stage was a relief. It made me realise I wasn’t just incapable, but that I could finally move along and find ways to work around it.

“Having said that, I had to start from zero. How I was being taught all along in school was not the right way of learning. I had always had problems.

“My mum thought I was lazy and that I wasn’t putting the energy into it, but she was always encouraging me and trying to work with me. She taught me to keep trying and trying and trying and that helped my mindset a lot.

“There were various points at school that were so hard I thought I would never overcome the difficulties. But at the end of the day, when you keep seeing your grades are low, it is very discouraging. However, as I was very strong-willed, that discouragement didn’t get me down; I learnt to just keep going.

“Once I went to the psychologist and got the diagnosis of all the various dys – dys-this and dys-that, dyslexia, dyspraxia and many, many, others – she 20 ∫ Pink October 2018

was surprised at how I had managed to carry on and said I should be proud of myself, as even with all the bad marks at school, I had reached that age without any support.

“Being diagnosed dyslexic wasn’t surprising for us,” explains one half of a pair of twins. “Our older sister had dyslexia; then they found we had it too.

As we got older, it affected us less and now I am studying to be a chef at the InterContinental Hotel. It doesn’t affect me at all.”

One half of another set of twins says that “when they told us we are dyslexic,

The girl pauses and tears begin to roll down her face. Her friends squeeze her shoulder and the adults assure her she’s doing very well.

She continues: “I believe exams should be less stressful; other students should not judge too harshly when we are given particular arrangements such as extra time. These allowances are authorised to help us, but then we are made to feel like we are cheating.”

There are sighs and nods all around the room… And there are also those who acknowledge that the entire exam system cannot simply be scrapped,

“I WAS NOT DIAGNOSED WITH DYSLEXIA UNTIL THE AGE OF 15. BEING DIAGNOSED AT SUCH A LATE STAGE WAS A RELIEF. IT MADE ME REALISE I WASN’T JUST INCAPABLE, BUT THAT I COULD FINALLY MOVE ALONG AND FIND WAYS TO WORK AROUND IT” our mother went to meetings and tried her best to understand what it was. Yet for me, dyslexia is a word that will not affect me, because I try as hard as my friends, if not more. In fact, they are always surprised when they realise we are dyslexic”.

Extra time “In school, it was difficult for me,” her sister continues. “I never took the extra provisions, such as extra time, or a laptop for my exams, because I knew that, at the last minute, the allowances could be taken away due to discrepancies in the way the reports are written.

“It was frightening to know that they may be taken away, so I thought I would rather do without. I also didn’t want to be judged for using these extra support methods.”

Her twin nods in agreement. “I believe the education system needs to change a lot. I believe a system that is more project based, rather than exam based, would help.

“I have become accustomed to feeling intense pressure around exam time because I feel I need to do well in spite of my dyslexia. I have developed anxiety around that period. I have suffered panic attacks… even right now, just thinking about it…”

with everything being project based, as that would exclude the pupils who do well in exams. They want the system to be “adaptable”.

No, no, no!

Mary Rose speaks, giving the girl a chance to compose herself.

“Us adults all have children who have dyslexia, and what this young woman is explaining is how we all feel right now. We’ve all been there; we’ve all had these negative experiences. We’ve all been told: ‘No, this is not possible!’

We’ve all been told: ‘No, your child will never make it!’ And that’s why we are all here. All those ‘nos’ have put us in this room.

“And we have to remember too that there are people who are not in this room; who do not have these opportunities to work positively with their dyslexia.

“There are many more children who have been destroyed by the ‘nos’ they have been told. But this difficulty is what has made this group possible, and we have taken the positives, so we can educate others that dyslexia is a positive thing.”

Another woman adds: “When we are told, as mothers, that our child has dyslexia, we take it as bad news because that is what the world has made us believe…”

INFOCUS

Help at hand

The tools to succeed A softspoken teacher at the back of the room says she finds it “very unfair when students have been diagnosed with dyslexia, but their report has not been written in a specific and formatted way, which says they can have extra time, or a laptop. And just because of an error in the way a report has been written, they will not be permitted the tools needed to succeed. Then their grades won’t reflect their intelligence.”

Mary Rose nods. “Even with the required documents, sometimes the provisions are still not handed out.

Sometimes, a student’s provisions are taken away if they seem to be doing well. Their allowance of extra time is taken away because their grades improve; they may, for example, have been awarded a four, but could have got a one!”

Another girl speaks up. “Malta does, however, offer opportunities. I think it’s important to state that. I, for example, receive both extra time and a laptop and help from an occupational therapist and psychologist. However, the support is not always given in the right way,” she adds. “There are biases from the top level…”

Another Italian student says that this is also the case in Italy. “When the system works so that you are given necessary support, it is seen as being given ‘extra help’, so students are penalised. Whoever is marking the exams will see that extra time has been allowed and will adjust the marks, so we may as well not have received support to begin with.

“Dyslexic students can never get the highest mark, otherwise other students will deem it unfair.”

One of the adults pipes up and chips in: “Yet the computer is a mere tool; like a pen, or a pencil. It is not cheating, or an extra advantage; it is just a different tool. The competence remains the same, whether you are writing by hand, or typing. But it is not viewed in that way; and the students are penalised.”

Their voice The entire room is in agreement about the fact that they are tired of not being asked directly about dyslexia.

There are so many experts, who talk about them and tell them what resources they need, but the young people have felt they never had the opportunity to voice their own opinions about how they can best be supported.

“This is why we began the project,” says Mary Rose.

“I have been using a smart pen,” says one of the Italian youths. “It helps me a lot; the pen translates what I write onto the computer and records it into different media, which is easier than typing when I am taking notes. It corrects any errors, and when I go back to my notes, I have the option to listen to them, or read them.”

Another boy enjoys using mind mapping as a learning resource, but adds that some teachers don’t like this because they don’t know what to do with it.

“I had one teacher I’ll never forget,” says another Italian boy. “She would produce summaries and mind maps for the dyslexic students in her class. She went that extra mile for us, and actually, all students enjoyed access to these tools, so she helped others to learn in a different way too.”

Teachers’ competence It is agreed that the level of competence of the teacher is crucial, but that this will not change unless there is a general mindset shift in the public of what dyslexia is.

It is safe to say that we have all been mis-educated about dyslexia. We have all learnt that it is not a good thing and, therefore, we have all put it in the box of ‘learning disabilities’.

Yet we need to stop treating it as such; because these children do not have a low IQ, or anything preventing them from learning other than the way they are taught.

So why are dyslexic students often shunned from the education system?

Because it is easier to marginalise than to make the required changes to allow them to thrive.

Creativity as a consequence There is an educational psychologist in the room, who has mostly been helping with the translations up to this point.

But he now offers his insight into the benefits of having a dyslexic mind.

Pink October 2018 ∫ 21

INFOCUS “Creativity is a consequence of dyslexia,” he says slowly, in a mixture of Italian and English. “Dyslexic students have to get used to solving additional problems. They have to draw on their creativity as a resource so find ways to solve the problem in front of them.

“If you don’t have a problem, you don’t have to find a solution. But dyslexic children become very well versed in finding solutions; they become very good at problem solving, which helps them for life.

“Everyone’s dyslexia is so different,” he adds. “And people develop very different creative methods…”

The taste of failure This group of young people, on the brink of adulthood, have already tasted so much failure; failure to read as quickly as their peers; failure to do well in spelling tests; failure to read aloud; failure in exams; and failure when kids laughed at them.

Even when they were handed a laptop and extra time, eyebrows were raised.

Were they cheating? And by default, even when they did well, they failed.

Yet they are not thick. They are not cheaters. They are certainly not lazy.

They have ‘failed’ their education system for one reason alone: their brains work differently. And their education

system may have failed them by making them feel they were at fault; that there was something wrong with them.

Ultimately, “we are all different and we all learn in different ways, so we should all be allowed to learn in the way that suits us best.”

PRIVATEEYE

UNDER THREAT Investigative journalist Federica Angeli lives under constant police protection, forfeiting her freedom for her revelations about the Roman Mafia. The winner of the Leali delle Notizie’s Daphne Caruana Galizia prize for journalism, she tells IGGY FENECH the award has renewed her spirit to show Daphne’s family that evil doesn’t win. On the first anniversary of her still unsolved assassination, Federica says the truth never sleeps and it’s a matter of time – and patience – until the names emerge.

W

hy did you become a journalist? It had

been my dream since my teenage years, actually. I think my curiosity and the way I view the world – wanting to go beyond the filters and lies that often leave it looking and feeling opaque – are good qualities for a journalist.

Some of your major stories have involved the Mafia, which operates where your parents live. For those who may not be that familiar with your work, what were these stories and how did you feel before and after they were published? It’s actually also

the place where I, myself, live with my husband and my three children. My investigations, I believe, did one thing: they brought out into the open all the things people didn’t want to see about the Roman Mafia. Many think it only operates in southern Italy, but no, this Mafia speaks the Roman dialect, and what I discovered was shocking: connections between the Mafia and politicians, public administrators, entrepreneurs, bankers… And I published it all, with names and surnames included.

You’ve been under police protection since 2013, following numerous death threats. How has your life changed? I have lived like this for over

2,000 days now and I can assure you that one of the hardest parts is going through life without truly being free.

Nevertheless, the State, following my investigations and testimony, and a [thankfully unsuccessful] double attempted murder right outside my doorstep, which I was an eyewitness to, decided that I should be given police protection. It’s hard, but I can’t give up on telling the truth just to have an easier life. It’s simply not how I’m built.

murder has pained me so much; it really feels too close for comfort.

Yet, it has renewed my spirit to show Daphne’s family and children that evil doesn’t win by using my pen to fight back. Now more than ever, this is needed.

Why is it important that journalists around the world continue to ask pertinent questions to those in power and that stories like the ones you and Daphne unearthed continue to be told? Journalism is information;

a basis of democracy and a civilised society. Asking pertinent questions and investigating the truth means making

“SINCE THAT BARBARIC ASSASSINATION, I HAVE STARTED REFLECTING MORE ON MY ROLE AS A PARENT. DAPHNE WAS A MOTHER TOO, AFTER ALL. THIS MURDER HAS PAINED ME SO MUCH; IT REALLY FEELS TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT” How has your attitude [as a journalist and a parent] changed towards your work since Daphne Caruana Galizia was assassinated? Since that barbaric

readers aware of the power they have in choosing the right people to put in power.

assassination, I have started reflecting more on my role as a parent. Daphne was a mother too, after all. This

Who do you think killed Daphne Caruana Galizia? Unfortunately, it was

the hypocrisy of those who thought Pink October 2018 ∫ 25

Corinne Vella presents the prize dedicated to her sister Daphne Caruana Galizia to Federica Angeli.

Photography Katia Bonaventura

PRIVATEEYE You’ve received the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic [the highest of its kind in the country] and recently won the Leali delle Notizie’s Daphne Caruana Galizia prize for journalism.

What does that mean to you?

“IF A STATE ONLY TAKES ACTION AFTER EVIL HAS BEEN ALLOWED TO HAPPEN, THEN IT HAS ALREADY LOST” they could get away with it that killed her. They wanted to silence her, but I am sure their names will be revealed someday because the truth never sleeps. We need to be patient and wait, but it will come out.

What is your opinion on the whole saga that has followed Daphne’s

assassination? Do you think the Maltese State and the police have done/are doing enough? In all honesty,

no. If a State only takes action after evil has been allowed to happen, then it has already lost. I believe they need to find the willingness to dig deeper, just like Daphne used to do. Only then can they catch her murders.

Daphne’s prize was an incredibly important sign of recognition and, as I have promised her sister, who handed me the award at Ronchi dei Legionari, this is an incentive for me to do my job better and even more thoroughly than before… maybe even digging deeper myself to find out who killed Daphne.

After all, I am a journalist like her, and should this have happened to me, she may have done that herself.

“If you write, we’ll shoot you in the head. You’ll never win against us.”

The Ostian Mafia. May 23, 2013.

Just one of the many death threats received by Federica.

EYEWITNESS

THE TRUE PICTURE On the first anniversary of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia’s assassination, SAMIRA JAMIL gathers family and friends from far afield to honour her memory, while others continue to try and annihilate it, showing readers a side to the vilified intrepid writer that many may not be aware of.

A

fter moving back to Malta in 1995, I became an avid fan of Daphne Caruana Galizia’s weekly column. She was a brilliant investigative journalist; eloquent, analytical, sharp and with an acerbic wit as she used her pen, in an almost effortless manner, to expose injustice, corruption, nepotism and to challenge perceptions and mindsets.

Daphne was direct and never afraid of ruffling any feathers. There were times when I disagreed with her writing, but I always admired her true grit and fearlessness.

It was at a reception at the Tunisian ambassador’s residence in 1996, which my husband and I were attending, that, in a crowded room, I heard a female’s voice behind us stating: ‘Maltese is Arabic.’ I turned around to find Daphne and Peter standing there.

This marked the beginning of our friendship, one which would flourish for over 22 years until it was brutally cut short.

In 2004, Daphne invited me to contribute a feature to her newly launched magazine, Taste. I was touched, but I hesitated before accepting. Although I enjoyed cooking and was proud to share our cuisine with friends, I had never written for a publication and was a complete novice.

However, Daphne believed in me and encouraged me to write. She was a brilliant editor to work with, instilling in me a love of words and a keen interest in the media.

This came at a time when I was dealing with the trials and tribulations of motherhood, far away from my own family.

Writing about the humble harissa led to several other features, giving my self-confidence a real boost, spurring me on to pursue a Master’s in communications and media, which armed me not only with the tools to write, but to also to question, analyse and evaluate.

In Daphne, I found a friend who was sensitive, accessible and intuitive. She empathised with me for not having family in Malta and was always there for me. I believe that, at times, she too felt like a foreigner in her own land.

I recall how touched I was when she invited my children and I to a Christmas Day tea at her beautiful home, an occasion that is normally an intimate family gathering.

Daphne had exquisite taste and a real flair for interiors and gardens. A vast collection of books, paintings and artifacts from all corners of the globe made her home one of the most beautiful I have ever visited.

When Daphne travelled with me to Tripoli in September 2005, I was struck by the way she dressed, in such a modest and culturally sensitive way. She was impressed by the Roman ruins and by Libya’s natural beauty. However, she was also saddened by the predicament Libyans found themselves in, living in such an oppressive and autocratic regime.

My first two features for Daphne were cover stories. They were so special to me that I had had the magazine covers framed. And this is a note Daphne wrote to accompany these books she gifted me.

Photography Majda Toumi

28 ∫ Pink October 2018

EYEWITNESS Daphne was the first friend who joined my family and I in front of the Libyan Embassy in 2011 as we mustered up the courage to publicly protest, for the first time in our lives, for the downfall of the brutal dictator. She could relate to how it felt to live through oppression, repression and suppression.

As a young mother, I was impressed by the way Daphne encouraged her sons to question everything, to reach out of their comfort zones in the pursuit of education and careers and to broaden their horizons by looking further afield beyond these shores. She inspired me to instil this in my own children too.

“In Daphne, I found a friend who was sensitive, accessible and intuitive. She empathised with me for not having family in Malta and was always there for me. I believe that, at times, she too felt like a foreigner in her own land” During the summer of 2017, we exchanged many messages and planned to meet up, however, we never got down to it. As a friend, I understood how much pressure she was under with deadlines for her column, blog and magazines. However, I truly lament not having had that last lunch together.

October 16, 2017, will be forever etched in my mind as one of the darkest days in my life. That afternoon, as I sat at my desk at work, I heard the dreadful news.

Shaking, I packed up and headed home to let the shocking news painfully sink in.

I try to replace these sombre memories with positive ones of the special times Daphne and I shared and of how fortunate I felt to have found such a good friend in her; of the last time we met at Andrew and Lucie’s wedding, where she radiated so much happiness; of how, as her coffin was carried out of the packed church, the entire congregation, young and old, from all walks of life, from different corners of the island and from further afield, and of different faiths, all united in their loss and grief, put their hands together to salute her. My elderly and frail father was one of those paying his heartfelt respects.

I try to replace these sombre memories with positive ones of how we all stood up and applauded, and with each applause, saluting a daughter, a mother, a wife, a sister, an aunt, a colleague, a friend and a remarkable woman, who left an indelible mark on society.

I try to replace these sombre memories with positive ones of how, as one of the hundreds of mourners outside the church shouted ‘Gustizzja’, we all applauded until the hearse carrying her coffin disappeared into the distance.

And of how we will all applaud again the day that justice will be served.

Loredana Gatt

I

met Daphne at St Aloysius Sixth Form way back in 1981. We were in the same class. I would describe her, back then, as reserved and an introvert. I remember she used to hang around with a very restricted group of people.

We were not close friends at the time, but we used to take the bus to college together from Msida. She would come off the Sliema bus, while I’d arrive from San Gwann. We’d meet in Msida and take the bus to Balzan together. I normally did most of the talking as I was a chatterbox – and she was a great listener.

For many years, Daphne and I lost touch. After Sixth Form, our lives took two very different routes. While she was raising a family, I was studying and then working – and vice versa. We became close since she set up Running Commentary and I was already living in Italy.

Throughout the years, I always followed her work as a journalist and was one of the first people to post a comment on what was then her new blog. She replied immediately and since then we remained in contact – more recently using WhatsApp. I can safely say she was the person with whom I was most in touch out of all of my Maltese friends. I miss the texting, I miss the long lunches when I visited Malta and I miss the occasional telephone conversation.

Most of all, I miss her opinion, not just on the subjects she discussed on her website, but on everything else from raising children to reading, travelling, cooking and life in general.

This photo was taken in Urbino. We had just come out of the Urbino palace and museum and were waiting to be seated at an open-air restaurant on the city walls. I remember teasing Daphne that I would post it on Facebook. Her reply was: ‘Don’t you dare!’ I hesitated before posting it after she died – it felt like going against her wishes while she was alive. I eventually decided to go ahead because I felt that these snippets of information on Daphne are very important to reveal the woman that her friends and people close to her knew.

Pink October 2018 ∫ 29

EYEWITNESS My fondest memory of Daphne is grape-picking in Fano, Italy, where I live. It was such a pleasant day. We had lunch and then went to visit a vineyard. After the grape-picking, we had an aperitivo at sunset in beautiful surroundings; we were all so relaxed.

Daphne had a great sense of humour – we played at guessing what the other Italian visitors in the group [total strangers] did for a living – we laughed no end.

I have other funny stories about the time we spent together.

Daphne had her sons when she was very young. I became a mother much later than her. When Federico, my son, met Daphne for the first time, he was about four; he asked her whether he could play with her “bambini”. Daphne told him: “Let me show you some pictures of my bambini” and brought out three pictures of three grown men. Then she asked: “Do you still want to play with them?”

“It may sound ironic, because it was probably what she lacked most recently, but what I think Daphne valued most in life was serenity. She loved peaceful settings, she loved beauty, she loved particular objects, she loved colour” But apart from the humour, there were also lessons to be learned from her – primarily, the importance of thinking clearly. Daphne was the most analytical and clear-thinking person I know. That, I think, is what made her so resilient and such a rock. She could see beyond what would cause most of us to become emotional.

Her writing was so special and effective because it was the product of her analytical thinking, expressed in flawless language.

It may sound ironic, because it was probably what she lacked most recently – I would say – but what I think Daphne valued most in life was serenity. She loved peaceful settings, she loved beauty, she loved particular objects, she loved colour.

The most memorable conversation I had with Daphne that I will always think of and treasure was about her, what she was going through these last few years and why she carried on.

I was one of those people she often quoted as asking her whether it was all really worthwhile. I have played that conversation over and over in my mind since her assassination.

I wish I insisted more with her to leave Malta. I often suggested it – but I don’t think she would ever have listened. However, my biggest regret is that we were planning for me to come down for a long weekend and stay at her place – she promised she would switch off her computer and we’d just lie back and relax. We never got to do that – it was planned for the first weekend of November 2017.

Now, I think the only way to honour Daphne is to keep her message going; her fight against corruption and her fight for democracy and justice. Since Daphne was killed, I have become more aware of this on a wider level and more appreciative even of Italian journalists who are fighting battles similar to Daphne’s here in Italy.

As for whether I am hopeful there will be justice for Daphne in Malta, I tend to be a pessimist generally. The government is conveying the message that the Daphne case is closed and that she is best forgotten. The present opposition is clearly very weak, with no clear-cut political agenda or direction on important issues, which include its stand on Daphne’s assassination.

I, therefore, see the situation as pretty bleak. Having said that, I obviously hope that the few brave people, who are trying their utmost for some form of justice for Daphne, succeed.

30 ∫ Pink October 2018

Simone Camilleri

I

have known Daphne for most of my life. We met in junior school at St Dorothy’s, Sliema, before transferring to St Dorothy’s in Mdina for the senior years. We went to different Sixth Forms after that and life took us in different directions. I moved to the UK and then to the US, but spent my summers in Malta.

We met occasionally over the years, until a friend’s illness brought us together again nine years ago. We became very close at that time and developed a more adult relationship, which I think we both valued greatly.

From an early age, I was attracted to everything that Daphne stood for. She had a calm demeanor and an amazing sense of humour, with the cheekiest smile and twinkle in her eye.

She had an impeccable grasp of the English language and had the most wonderful descriptive writing – I remember when she read her essays out loud in class, she truly made me want to be a better writer.

She was an avid reader and often read books during class – I was always so amazed that the teachers didn’t call her out on it. I have always wondered if they knew about it, but figured she was smart enough to keep up with the lesson by herself !

Nine years ago, I received a phone call from Daphne out of the blue. A good friend of ours, who had emigrated to Canada, had been diagnosed with breast cancer and was very ill. She asked if I would meet her in Canada so that we could go and support our friend and see her for what we thought would be the last time [she ended up living for an additional six years with stage IV metastatic breast cancer].

That visit to Canada, where we shared a hotel room and supported each other through the difficult time of seeing a good friend in such pain, was a turning point in our friendship. I think we rediscovered each other as adults and enjoyed each other’s company tremendously.

My most endearing memory from that trip was the fact that, even after all those years of not seeing much of each other, we never stopped talking!

Daphne truly valued friends and friendships. She was there when our friend needed her in Canada, and she called me when she found out that I was ill. I found out from friends who had had problems that she was there for them too at every step of the way, even after other friends had stopped calling.

It is amazing to me that someone who was always so busy – with her writing, her magazine, her family, visiting her sons as they studied and worked overseas – could still find time to prioritise her friends when

EYEWITNESS

they needed support. She has made me realise that a true friend is one who will always be there for you, no questions asked.

I think Daphne definitely valued her sons most in life.

She was always very humble about her own achievements, but she lit up when she spoke about her sons’. She was excited for all the opportunities they had in life and was proud of all they had achieved in their young lives.

I remember how proud she was to tell me about Matthew’s Pulitzer Prize and how excited she was about Andrew’s wedding.

The last time we met, we spoke about how difficult things had become for her. I read her blogs; read the negative comments. I had been with her one time when she was verbally attacked by a man on the street. I asked her why she continued to write and fight when there were obviously so many people who did not want her to fight corruption on their behalf.

Her sons were grown-up and living overseas. Why not retire her blog and focus on her family, her magazine? Why not leave the country? In typical Daphne fashion, she

At our St Dorothy’s school-leaving party in 1980.

“She shrugged off my concerns with a smile and told me that she felt compelled to write because she felt so strongly that Malta deserved better. It was the first time I truly understood how selfless her sacrifices were” shrugged off my concerns with a smile and told me that she felt compelled to write because she felt so strongly that Malta deserved better. It was the first time I truly understood how selfless her sacrifices were.

Like Daphne, and many others of my generation, I spent much of my youth attending mass meetings and protests. I was actually at the protest in the 1980s the night Daphne was arrested, but I was pulled out of the crowd by my father before the arrests began.

My wedding was on the same day as the attack on the Curia and several people did not attend because of that.

Some of my generation, such as Daphne, used those experiences to become more politically involved. Others, like myself, retreated as far as we could from politics.

However, since Daphne’s assassination, I vowed to become more vocal and to always speak up for the underdog.

I think that is the best way to honour Daphne’s memory.

I wish I had told her how proud I was of all that she had achieved in her lifetime. It is still shocking to me that we spoke, via WhatsApp, less than 12 hours before she was assassinated. Out of the blue, she wrote to tell me that she had met my cousin – “a very nice man” – at an event where they were selling indigenous trees on October 15.

That was Daphne to the core – so attentive to detail and caring enough to go to the trouble of letting me know about her encounter with my cousin! I responded several hours later, not realising that it was 3.15am in Malta.

Surprisingly, she was still awake and we chatted for a while. The last thing she told me was: “Please call me when you come to Malta.” Those words will haunt me every time I return.

What do I miss most about her? Our chats about nothing and everything; about politics and family; about our childhood and adulthood; about the joys and challenges of parenting; about life overseas.

She was one of my only friends who showed any genuine interest and curiosity about my life overseas and it was a pleasure to discuss and share with her.

I have come to Malta three times over the past year and I feel cheated not being able to meet up with her to catch up on our lives as I really did value our time together.

2017 was a year of loss for me. After a two-year struggle with ALS, my mother, who was very progressive and a champion against inequality, passed away less than two months after Daphne was murdered.

Since their deaths, I have decided to stop living on the sidelines when it comes to politics and to speak out for what I believe to be right.

As for the prospect of justice for Daphne in Malta, one always has to be hopeful that it will prevail, in all matters.

But this is entirely in the hands of the authorities. They alone have the capability to ensure this is done.

Meanwhile, all those who value justice need to continue to be vocal in demanding justice for Daphne, so that her family and friends can have some form of closure.

Pink October 2018 ∫ 31

EYEWITNESS

Megan Mallia

G

rowing up with Daphne as an aunt was not how many might imagine it to be. As her niece, I didn’t look at her as an investigative journalist. I looked at her as a woman, my loving aunt.

When people saw a journalist walking in the street, I saw a woman who could take an old, age-worn piece of furniture and uplift it with a splash of dark cyan paint and dozens of magazine cuttings.

The same woman collected books of all kinds, new and ancient, on all sorts of topics, and shared a little piece of wisdom concerning them with me: never feel guilty for spending money on books.

Daphne saw beauty where there was none, as if she lived with a desire to pull out the weeds in the world and plant flowers in their place. She certainly did that in a literal sense too – her garden was unlike any I’ve ever seen.

Although loving the busy streets, packed with curious sights and sounds in cities abroad, when it came to travel, Daphne had daring. She’d visited India and Costa Rica, where a tiny baby howler monkey jumped onto her head in the rainforest. She’d sent us a photograph and I remember her smile in it, and her smiling eyes.

Another memory that keeps coming back involves a conversation we had on June 5, last year. I had messaged her to thank her for writing her article ‘Right and wrong are not a popularity contest’, in which she articulated my thoughts about my peers’ attitudes around the election exactly. Her words were timeless in their timeliness. I remember her reply and the conversation that followed.

Daphne was always supportive of me – of any loved one, really – and the last time I ever saw her, she told me, in the midst of my confusion about which course

“The last time I ever saw her, she told me, in the midst of my confusion about which course to follow at university, how in this day and age, there is a world of opportunities, so I shouldn’t be boring and follow the crowd.

She taught me to follow my heart” In the words she’d once used to describe what a garden really should be like, hers was ‘the equivalent of rambling old houses packed with rackety furniture and old curios brought back by antecedents from their peregrinations’ – never plain or roundabout planterlike. When she wrote about beauty, her pen didn’t write; it painted.

to follow at university, how in this day and age, there is a world of opportunities, so I shouldn’t be boring and follow the crowd. She taught me to follow my heart.

In a world that worships money and power, my aunt Daphne valued life, love and honesty – and a few good laughs over tea and cake in her living room would have made our day.

This photo was taken in 2005, but we only came across it recently. Daphne, my sister and I are in her garden, enjoying the sun and laughing at the camera.

32 ∫ Pink October 2018

EYEWITNESS

Sadly, I don’t have a photo with Daphne that I can treasure. But during our trip to Helsinki, one of our favourite dishes was salmon soup from the market.

We sat at one of the food stalls on a cold afternoon, watching the people bustling by, the seagulls, the ships… We held the warm soup in our hands and said nothing.

We just watched the world go by and these were priceless moments.

We have funny stories together too. I was once doing a photo shoot at her home. It was about tomatoes. I was looking for good light and moved around the house, looking for the brightest spots. I went close to a window to photograph a tabbouleh, and unbeknown to me, her dog was looking at me from the other side… He barked so loud, I jumped out of my skin and went running to her, thinking he was chasing me. We looked at each other and burst out laughing.

One memorable conversation I had with Daphne that I will always think of and treasure was when I asked her if I should take a course in food styling and photography. I wanted to improve my work. She said: Do you want to be like everyone else?

“I realised I met someone as bad as me when it came to buying plates.

She was an interminable source of information about all things I love – travel, food and design”

Claire Borg

A

fter I read the first few editions of Taste, I made up my mind that I wanted to work for Daphne. I was determined to be part of her team, so I got in touch.

I wanted it so badly that I had no option but to be good at it.

She must have thought I was insane… but she took me on.

I looked up to her, with total admiration. And the fact that she believed in me and took me on board as a food stylist and photographer when I practically knew nothing says a lot about her.

She pushed me in the right direction, polished my work and directed my enthusiasm until I shined. She welcomed me into her home with open arms, helped me sustain my family when I had nothing and was always there for me.

Always.

My fondest memory of Daphne was travelling with her to Finland. I spent four days following her like a little pet, asking all sorts of questions, sharing wonderful meals and discovering Finnish crockery. I realised I met someone as bad as me when it came to buying plates. She was an interminable source of information about all things I love – travel, food and design.

She so believed in my work that, at times, I asked myself if she was for real. Today, I understand that I have been moulded… by her. I know exactly what she likes in terms of colours, styling and textures.

Daphne lives in my heart. That’s how I honour her memory. I think of her a great deal. I honour her in my work. My food photography is a tribute to her.

As for whether there is something I wish I could have said to her before she was killed… should have, could have, would have… I’d rather not think about this because it makes me really upset. What could I have said? Don’t get in that car? It’s just surreal.

What I miss most is sending her the first previews of my work. I miss bouncing back ideas. I miss her feedback.

I miss working very late at night, sending her an e-mail and getting a reply straight back. I just miss her being there.

I think Daphne valued most the truth, her family and her work, and the one lesson I learned from her is never to be afraid.

Over the past year, there has been a void in my life.

When you lose a friend, nothing can replace them. It just makes me very sad to think how she was ripped from us.

It’s just not fair.

My outlook towards life? Well, I am more determined not to let her down. I still work for her. Taste & Flair is Daphne. Each issue is a celebration of her life.

I really do hope there will be justice for Daphne. Really.

Pink October 2018 ∫ 33

ARTYFACTS

I

t all started with a series of one-on-one interviews, done in complete confidence with Times of Malta journalist and editor Herman Grech. Now, in just a few weeks’ time, a script based on those interviews will seek to weave out the various views that have become part of the national abortion debate by removing the cacophony eclipsing the issue.

Written and directed by Herman himself, De-terminated: The Abortion Diaries will be staged at Spazju Kreattiv Theatre in Valletta between October 19 and 21, and again between October 26 and 28.

The stories the six actors starring in it will tell are heartbreaking, funny, moving, shocking, surprising, but, above all, real.

Meanwhile, two of them talk about the people they’ll be portraying and how their stories have affected them and their opinions on the subject.

CHARLOTTE GRECH is playing the character of Sarah, who has lots of experience dealing with today’s youths and their more sexually-active lives.

What can you tell us about Sarah?

Sarah is one of the activists/narrators in the play, putting the harsh reality of facts surrounding abortion into the discussion; yet all she seeks is debate. As Sarah, I talk about women who have faced a dilemma with their unwanted pregnancies, some of whom have sought an abortion abroad, while others have been left struggling alone in a desperate state as a result of the fact that Malta has the toughest abortion laws in the world. She is also aware of the strong views coming out of the anti-abortion lobby.

ABORTION DISCUSSED Actors Charlotte Grech and Alan Paris tell IGGY FENECH about their parts in the upcoming, set-to-be-controversial, taken-from-real-life play De-terminated: The Abortion Diaries.

What has surprised or shocked you the most about the script? I was struck by

the fact that a number of the characters portrayed in the play have spoken out for the first time. Their real identity might be concealed, but they have chosen the medium of theatre to tell their stories.

Has your opinion changed since starting out on the play? I am more informed

about the statistics, the harsh realities faced by different people, and I am, probably, more open to people who want to discuss abortion.

It also helped me understand the frustration of those who are being shouted down simply because their position doesn’t conform with that of others.

What do you think the audiences can take away from De-terminated? I believe it’s a

call for the subject to be opened up to discussion – at least that.

I am pleased that the play doesn’t take sides and is based on factual documentation of experiences and events. It also embraces the need for debate, and for acceptance of those who were faced with such a dilemma at some point in their lives. Being based almost entirely on Maltese characters

reflects the fact that abortion is happening closer to home than most of us may think.

And, if people can walk out of the performance debating their points of view, based on facts, rather than mere rhetoric, then it should go a long way.

ALAN PARIS is playing two polar opposites: Konrad, who is very firm in his beliefs, and Jacob, who figures things out along the way.

What can you tell us about Konrad and Jacob? They

are two very different people with totally different stories. Jacob is trying to figure out which side of the argument he’s on. He does reach a conclusion by the end of it, based on his experience with abortion and his present situation. Konrad, meanwhile, has had quite a rough ride, but acknowledges that it was his ‘ride’ that brought him to where he is today. He’s very firm in his beliefs.

What has surprised or shocked you the most about the script?

To be honest, I identify more with Jacob. He could be someone I’ve had a beer with over the weekend. We’d have argued about a few things, but I can see bits of myself and my

friends in him. I was, however, very lucky that the person Konrad is based on agreed to meet me. What amazed me about him is this total aura of peace that surrounds him. He believes that it’s his past, both rough and smooth, that led him to a place where he can help and serve others. As he put it: ‘Before it was all about me; everything was for my own selfsatisfaction. Now I get to turn that around and make it all about others.’

Has your opinion changed since starting out on the play?

Not really, but being part of this production has given me a much clearer and better informed picture. Herman has constructed it beautifully. We’ve all been watching, reading and listening to the ongoing national debate. What Herman has done is bring it to the audience, through two characters, debating throughout [they’re the only two who actually interact]. Their debate is surrounded by six true stories with very different experiences of abortion. I think when you put the debate within a context of real-life experiences, it opens your eyes to more on both sides.

What do you think the audiences can take away from De-terminated? I hope they

take the piece to dinner with them afterwards and discuss it.

Then they talk about it again the next day over lunch. Even if they categorically agree or disagree with the abortion issue, they’ll be exposed to further views and experiences on all sides. I hope it makes them think, question and spark up a conversation. This is a conversation that we need to have, and where better to spark it off than through live theatre?

Pink October 2018 ∫ 37

WOMANKIND In 2012, Pope Benedict XVI, who described her as “an authentic teacher of theology and a profound scholar of natural history and music”, canonised her and declared her one of the four women doctors of the Church, the three others being St Catherine of Siena, St Theresa of Avila and St Thérèse of Lisieux.

Hildegard was born into a family from the lower nobility in 1098 near Mainz in Germany. As was the custom in those days, as the 10th child of the family, she was dedicated to the Church, and when she was eight, her parents sent her to an anchorage [convent] at Disibodenberg, where her father’s sister Jutta, an ascetic with a reputation for holiness, lived.

“HILDEGARD WAS A VISIONARY; EVEN AS A CHILD, AS SHE HERSELF LATER STATED, SHE HAD EXPERIENCED INTENSE VISIONS OF LIGHT, WHICH SHE COULD NOT INTERPRET AND WAS RELUCTANT TO DISCUSS WITH OTHERS – A DECISION THAT HAD COST HER ‘COUNTLESS GRAVE SUFFERING’”

12th-century saint remains relevant in 21st Although her thoughts have been manipulated and quoted out of context, the great thing about Hildegard of Bingen is that she remains perennially relevant even for the more secular society of the 21st century. This Benedictine nun, now revered by Catholics, Lutherans and Anglicans, was famous all over Europe in her lifetime, and soon after her death, she was beatified. MARY GALEA DEBONO finds it would be wrong to think of this saint as merely a thinker; what makes her special is that she was above all a doer.

T

he year 1979 was the 800th anniversary from the death of Hildegard of Bingen, the 12thcentury woman who has captured the imagination of the 21st century.

This Benedictine nun, now revered by Catholics, Lutherans and Anglicans, was famous all over Europe in her lifetime, and soon after her death, she was beatified. However, there was a time when she was a somewhat neglected saint; that was until these last few decades when popular interest led to a rediscovery of the breadth and depth of her writings.

It was adjacent to the monastery of the Benedictine monks and it was here that she received her religious education and was later joined by about 12 other girls.

When she was 15, Hildegard took her vows as a Benedictine nun, and after Jutta’s death in 1136, she became the abbess. Her convent grew and continued to flourish.

Hildegard was a visionary; even as a child, as she herself later stated, she had experienced intense visions of light, which she could not interpret and was reluctant to discuss with others – a decision that had cost her “countless grave suffering”.

But when she was 42, she had one vision that changed her life. She described it as a light that “is hot without burning”. Suddenly, she felt she could not only understand, but also felt compelled to “write and tell”.

Since her knowledge of Latin was scant, having received no schooling, she dictated by word the interpretations of the spiritual insights that she received during her visions to a Benedictine monk, Volmar, who became her secretary and confidant.

The result was Scivias [meaning Know the Ways of the Lord] – three volumes of visionary theology composed between 1147 and 1157. Presented with an early copy of her writing, the abbot [later saint] Bernard of Clairvaux encouraged her to continue recording them, and when Pope Eugenius III – who happened to be at Trier attending the Synod – obtained a copy, he too commended her writing. The abbess interpreted this as an approval.

Some medical doctors, basing their diagnosis on descriptions of her experiences during these visions, have concluded that Hildegard suffered from an acute form of migraine.

It is true that in her life she was often assailed by ill-health and the modern tendency is to search for a scientific explanation for any extraordinary experience.

But attempts to rationalise every aspect of life can Pink October 2018 ∫ 39

WOMANKIND An illumination from the Liber Scivias, showing Hildegard receiving a vision.

sometimes lead to mere stubborn investigation.

It must be kept in mind that Hildegard had no formal education and little theological instruction. To infer that she could have produced a work of profound spiritual insight that is still relevant to this day, more than eight centuries after it was written, based solely on a physical debility, smacks of cynicism.

Hildegard felt both liberated and empowered after the inspiration to write her experiences. She decided to move her convent to a more remote place, which she deemed more in keeping with the nuns’ spiritual life, choosing a deserted mountain retreat at Rupertsberg near Bingen, where she knew her nuns would enjoy more freedom.

her wide range of interests. In the herbarium of her monastery, she dedicated a lot of time to the herbs she grew. She had an intimate knowledge of their properties, their taste and smell, their description and their effect on the body. Hildegard spent time drying, boiling and mixing these herbs to extract their curative powers, developing treatments, some aspects of which are still used by doctors in modern times.

The plant Hildegardia has been named after her in recognition of her contribution to scientific natural history.

Hildegard also explored the links between spirituality and healing. She combined ‘spiritual healing’ with her practical approach to medicine, exploring the causes of disease and under-

“THE EXTRAORDINARY FREEDOMS THAT HER NUNS WERE ALLOWED, SUCH AS WEARING THEIR HAIR LONG AND UNCOVERED, IS YET ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF HER INDEPENDENT SPIRIT” But Hildegard found unexpected opposition to her decision from various quarters. The first to oppose were the merchants. After Jutta’s death, the convent where her relics were kept had become a place of pilgrimage and, as pilgrims brought with them commerce, the town’s merchants were afraid that without them a valuable source of income would come to an end.

The monks too feared that their monastery would lose its prestige if the new abbess took the relics away with her, while some of the nuns themselves were unenthusiastic about the move to a remote area.

But Hildegard was a determined woman and not one to give up easily. Undaunted, she persisted with her plan, and in 1150, she managed to establish a vibrant centre of scholarship and sanctity in her new convent. Her community continued to grow, and 15 years later, she set up a second one in Eibingen.

Hildegard’s decision to move her convent is also a manifestation of her sturdy independence, a trait she was to demonstrate again and again. When her monastery was closed and placed under interdict because she was accused of permitting the burial of a young man who had been excommunicated, she insisted that he had repented and was, therefore, reconciled with the Church, and so she saw no reason to change her stand.

A few months later, the interdiction was lifted. The extraordinary freedoms that her nuns were allowed, such as wearing their hair long and uncovered, is yet another example of her independent spirit.

One of the more appealing qualities of this saint’s personality, which has undoubtedly endeared her to the modern public, is

standing of psychology, physiology and human sexuality. She wrote about menstruation, aspects of female sexuality and stressed the importance of early detection of cancer.

Her scientific approach to healing demonstrates she found no conflict between science and religion. Rather the contrary; her interest in these subjects stemmed from her fundamental belief in the connection between God, man and nature.

The result of her studies in these two thematically complementary subjects – natural science and healing – is two books on natural history, one celebrating the sacred in nature and the other a manual on medicine.

Before she died, she incorporated both books in the Scivias Codex in which she gathered all her writing.

This saint is also considered to be the first person to have written morality plays for her nuns to perform. A popular genre in the Middle Ages, they were a vehicle for ethical and religious instruction and Hildegard’s are considered the oldest surviving ones.

But perhaps the most fascinating aspects of her creativity are her musical compositions for which she also wrote the songs. She is the first identifiable composer of a vast and rich repertoire in the history of Western music. An award-winning album of this music, with the title A Feather on the Breath of God, was recorded in 1983.

Her compositions of plainchant were meant for Divine Office and were sung by the nuns. It is not clear how and at what stage of her life Hildegard learnt to compose; although she had, no doubt, been exposed to the singing of psalms and religious hymns when she was living in her first convent.

Pink October 2018 ∫ 41

WOMANKIND “SHE WAS NOT AFTER EQUALITY; NOR WAS HER INTENTION TO PROMOTE AN ANDROGYNOUS SOCIETY; HER AIM WAS TO PUT FORWARD THE FEMALE DIMENSION AND THE CHURCH DID NOT REPRESS HER FOR HER STANCE”

Hildegard’s music, described as unique, glorious and sublime, has proved to be also timeless; her verses are personal and lyrical and again reflect the feminine perspective. Her music cannot be separated from her spirituality; one is a reflection of the other.

It would, however, be wrong to think of this saint as just a thinker; what makes her special is that she was above all a doer.

The 12th century was a violent age, riddled by wars and schisms, but also an age of great spiritual revival. Hildegard was no passive spectator of what was happening in the wider world.

To show the errors of those who were provoking these disorders, she made four preaching tours. In her sermons, she spoke to both laity and priests, denouncing their corruption and calling for reform.

In itself, this was a great feat not only because travelling was such a difficult undertaking, but above all, because in this maledominated era, it was unheard of that a woman was allowed to preach. This is one reason why Hildegard appeals to modern feminists; they see in her a courageous woman who spoke her mind at a time when women were not allowed to speak.

Hildegard kept a prolific correspondence. About 400 of these letters still exist – the largest collection from the Middle Ages.

Many are addressed to popes, cardinals, emperors, kings, abbots and abbesses, seeking spiritual and political advice.

She never hesitated to speak her mind and denounced actions that she deemed erroneous. She preached against the

schismatic Cathars, but also rebuked Emperor Fredrick Barbarossa for siding with the anti-pope. To King Henry II of England and his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine she wrote reminding them to “beware of flattery, unrest and inconsistency”.

Neither did she shy away from being confrontational, and when she encountered ecclesiastical corruption, she did not hesitate to warn the offenders to mend their ways. But she was never subversive.

Theologians and musicologists, feminists and environmentalists all find something to admire in this extraordinary mediaeval woman. In Hildegard, the consciousness of womanhood is very strong; it can be seen in her poetic imagery; in her practical approach to problems related to her own gender; in her championing of their rights; in the way she identified with female needs; in promoting a sense of self-worth in her nuns.

She was not after equality; nor was her intention to promote an androgynous society; her aim was to put forward the female dimension and the Church did not repress her for her stance.

Although it is inevitable that her thoughts are sometimes manipulated and quoted out of context, the great thing about Hildegard is that she remains “perennially relevant” even for the more secular society of the 21st century as the many films and documentaries produced amply demonstrate.

Hildegard died in the monastery that she founded at the age of 81.

SHOWSTOPPER

Minimal but magnificent CLEAN AND SIMPLE LINES MAKE FOR THE PERFECT SILHOUETTE. Photography Manuel Bonnici Styling Marisa Grima [marisagrima.com] Hair & Make-up Gabrielle Zammit Grungo Model Amy Zahra @ Supernova MM

Dress, €99.99, Cortefiel ∫ shoes, €69, Oltre.

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SHOWSTOPPER Jacket, €79, Marks & Spencer ∫ culottes, €149, Pedro del Hierro ∫ trainers, €69, Cortefiel ∫ Celine sunglasses, €378, O’hea Opticians.

Pink October 2018 ∫ 45

SHOWSTOPPER Jacket, €99.99, Mango ∫ PVC trousers, €39.99, Noos.

46 ∫ Pink October 2018

SHOWSTOPPER Wrapover top, €89; trousers, €79, both Oltre ∫ earrings, model’s own.

Pink October 2018 ∫ 47

SHOWSTOPPER Dress [worn open], €59.99; shirt, €49.99; trousers, €49.99; shoes, €59.99, all Mango.

Layer it on BE AN ARTIST WITH YOUR CLOTHING AND ENJOY A VIVID PALETTE THIS SEASON. Photography Matthew B. Spiteri Styling Marisa Grima [marisagrima.com] Hair Dominic Bartolo Make-up Amanda Greaves Model Kristina Stilon @ Supernova MM Location Stephanie Borg Studio Boutique, Rabat

48 ∫ Pink October 2018

SHOWSTOPPER

Coat, €119.99; dress, €49.99; trousers, €35.99, all Mango ∫ Dsquared2 spectacles, €155, O’hea Opticians.

Pink October 2018 ∫ 49

SHOWSTOPPER Top, €89; shirt, €119, both Pedro del Hierro ∫ trousers, €59.99, Cortefiel ∫ bag, €39.99, Mango.

50 ∫ Pink October 2018

SHOWSTOPPER Jacket, €269; trousers, €139; trainers, €99.90, all Pedro del Hierro ∫ dress, €89.90, Cortefiel ∫ silk scarf [worn in hair], €75, Stephanie Borg Studio Boutique.

Pink October 2018 ∫ 51

FASHIONSTORY

PINK FOR PINK IN PINK Shannon Grech has upcycled pink clothing, modelled by digital influencers, to help raise awareness about breast cancer in the month that focuses on this disease. In so doing, she’s also playing her role in promoting sustainable fashion, reducing waste and hence pollution.

S

tylist Shannon Grech has used her sewing skills and sustainable approach to fashion to support breast cancer awareness, upcycling old pink clothing that has been modelled by digital influencers to help spread the word.

“I was eager to work on a project for a good cause, rather than creating fashion just for the sake of it. Fashion, here, is being used as a tool to promote the message; to start the conversation on breast cancer and sustainability through the colour pink,” she says.

“Breast cancer awareness immediately came to mind and I knew I could use pink, the universal colour for this cause, to create a capsule clothing collection that would promote the work Pink October Malta does all year round and to encourage more people to donate to this charity,” Shannon explains.

The ultimate aim is to donate money and support Pink October by spreading the message to a larger audience through her clothes, and with the help of the three models, whose own audience is over 20,000 on Facebook and over 26,000 on Instagram.

“My hope is that, if I do this again next year, I can follow through with my original idea of having cancer survivors wear my clothes and make it more personal in that way,” Shannon says.

Her pink outfits are all upcycled garments: the six original items came from Paws 4 A Cause, the local charity shop that sells second-hand donated clothing, her grandmother’s closet and a bridesmaid dress she wore a few years back [upcycled with permission from the bride of course].

Shannon sources the clothes she uses from anywhere, including her own closet and pieces her friends and relatives no longer want.

“Although there are elements of original design in my clothing, I don’t call 54 ∫ Pink October 2018

myself a ‘designer’. I use silhouettes and patterns that are timeless, complement the body and are wearable, and I want everything I create to be relatable…

“Give me a piece of clothing and I’ll make it work – even if that may require altering its very seams by pulling it apart and putting it back together in a new and interesting way,” explains Shannon, who, by day, is a personal assistant to a primary school principal.

The end results of this creative project have been modelled by Taryn Mamo Cefai, Martina Caruana and Jade Zammit Stevens in the hope that their platforms would spread the message of breast cancer awareness to a wider audience. With every photo, they will link the pages where people can get involved in Pink October activities and donate to the cause.

Although all still in their 20s, which puts them in a very low risk bracket, they feel they can still make a difference by raising awareness and learning about what preventative measures to take.

They have also all pledged donations to the cause for this project.

“Breast cancer is relevant to every woman and can affect anyone of us, or someone we are close to,” Shannon points out. “The high cost of cancer treatment and research can possibly be alleviated through the generosity of individuals.

“Whether the money collected goes directly towards the treatment of diagnosed cancer patients, or towards preventative measures, such as services that help smokers quit, every little bit counts,” she adds.

“Fashion is just the medium we have used to communicate and promote this message. You only get one body in this lifetime and it is vital to get to know your own and to take care of it through a healthy lifestyle.”

MARTINA’S OUTFITS

This multicoloured top from Paws 4 A Cause and the skirt from a bridesmaid dress was a simple upcycle, involving replacing the buttons on the top and sewing it shut down the front, then adding the chiffon top-skirt from the bridesmaid dress over that with a thin silk-satin waistband added.

FASHIONSTORY

TARYN’S OUTFITS

The linen crop top and skirt [below left] are made from this blazer also from Paws 4 A Cause. I cut the blazer at the seams, opening up and flattening the sleeves, separating the front from the back and removing the collar till I had a series of flat pieces of fabric in front of me. Then, like a puzzle, I laid the pattern pieces I created for the skirt and top over the fabric pieces to find the best size match and built up the garments in that way. By keeping the front of the jacket intact, I was able to use the buttons and pockets as design details of the skirt.

This bow top was made from fabric from the massive skirt [below right] from Paws 4 A Cause.

I used a pattern from a Japanese pattern wizard Tomoko Nakamichi to create this. Her books Pattern Magic, of which I have three editions, have been very instructional and inspirational in my sewing development. For me, this was the ‘campaign’ top, so to speak. The bow, tied in the front, is a nod to the pink ribbon of breast cancer.

The fabric for the top half of this ice-pink mini dress came from this cotton jersey skirt lining. The fabric for the bottom part also came from the massive silk skirt, which had lots of material to work with. I reused the original zipper for this dress too.

Pink October 2018 ∫ 55

FASHIONSTORY

JADE’S OUTFITS For this dark pink dress, I used this original Paws 4 A Cause garment, taking it apart at the seams and making a shoulder strap that ties at the back. It is my original design.

A SUSTAINABLE STYLE

This floral one-shoulder was made using an old blouse from my grandmother’s closet. It was a simple upcycle, where I removed the right sleeve and re-set the seam on the right side to make it fall as a one-shoulder dress. Then I used the fabric of the right sleeve to create two additional frills – one on the left shoulder and one at the hem.

Consumerism has created huge problems in the world, socially and environmentally, with fashion being the second largest polluting industry. The facts are grim, and it is time to revise the way we do things, Shannon says.

She has, therefore, transferred her passion for a minimalist lifestyle and reducing waste to how she creates her clothes.

“I do this by primarily using old clothing as raw materials – clothing that would otherwise be sitting in a closet for years on end, or worse still, end up in a landfill.

“My goal is to inspire and encourage people to find alternative ways to curate their wardrobes, rather than thinking a trip to the shops is the answer.

“Instead, look inwards; look at what you already have. Can you style it in a new way? Can it be upcycled? When you do need to purchase something, try and buy second hand, or support local designers.

“Instead of mindlessly following trends and contributing to the detrimental cycle of massproduced fashion, which is ultimately designed to make you feel like you’re always a step behind, take control of your style and what clothes mean to you.”

Shannon advises to edit down our wardrobes: keep only our favourite items and a few basics so that we can mix and match.

“I want to help people see that less is more even when it comes to clothing and that everything they need to look great is probably already hanging in their wardrobe.”

In fact, Shannon is so keen on the idea that she wants to pass it on. Her dream is to open her own business next year, selling her own clothes and products, offering upcycling services to her clients and giving sewing lessons.

“I would love for clients to come to me with old dresses that belonged to their mother, or even their grandmother, and ask me to restyle them.

“I see a lot of potential for upcycling old wedding dresses and even bridesmaid dresses, i.e. clothing that is, by design, created to be worn only once. Imagine the possibilities!”

Photography Zach Farrugia

56 ∫ Pink October 2018

THEUNIFORM

SPEAKING VOLUMES From voluminous coats to chunky sneakers and the country-western look, fashion blogger and stylist CAROLINE PARIS finds her inspiration for the season at Milan Fashion Week. But for a change, it’s coming more from the catwalk than the head-to-toe, brand-specific outfits, loaned to the people on the streets.

T

he first Fashion Weeks began in the 1940s, small shows tailored exclusively for key press and buyers. Times have changed. The future of Fashion Week as we know it remains unclear as more and more designers call for a change that reflects the faster paced modern world. But only time will tell if and when this change ever happens.

Last week, I hopped on a plane to Milan to see two things: what is coming to our stores next summer; and what the jet set are wearing out on the streets.

It was a fast-paced season. I was at my first show literally one hour after landing in Milan, but at least it was a week of sunshine and no rain.

“ARE WE ACCEPTING THAT PEOPLE LIKE DIFFERENT THINGS, OR JUST PUSHING FOR PEOPLE TO BUY MORE THINGS?” Let’s start with the street-style outlook.

We really do exist in times of variety; there has probably never been a moment where there was so much acceptance of different trends, shapes and sizes, so much so that the phrase ‘out of fashion’ almost seems like a dated concept.

Although, let’s face it, it does make you wonder whether this mentality is driven mainly by increased consumerism, rather than a move towards greater acceptance of individualism. Are we accepting that people like different things, or just pushing for people to buy more things?

60 ∫ Pink October 2018

In terms of STREET-STYLE TRENDS, the western look cannot go unnoticed – prairie blouses, cowboy boots, buckle belts, overstitched denim shirts and, of course, saddlebags. Certain pieces have moved to the top of the hot list, such as the Fendi cowboy boots available in a different range of colours, and the new Chloe Tess bag.

Side by side resides the folk-inspired trend – a mix of fringing, patchwork, quilting and crochet, with lots of patterns, colours and frills. Long maxi dresses, ponchos and lovely shirts and blouses all feature.

“VOLUMINOUS SHAPES WILL PREVAIL ACROSS THE COMING WINTER SEASON, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO OUTERWEAR. EXPECT TO SEE BIG COATS, FLARED SKIRTS, PADDED SHOULDERS FRESH OUT OF THE 1980S, AND OF COURSE, BIG HAIR”

Generally, at Fashion Weeks, we are used to seeing a lot of coats and winter wear, but the weather was far too warm for that in Milan and only the brave and truly dedicated went for it.

Having said that voluminous shapes will prevail across the coming winter season, especially when it comes to outerwear. Expect to see big coats, flared skirts, padded shoulders fresh out of the 1980s, and of course, big hair.

When it comes to shoes and sportswear, some time ago, some people predicted the death of what was termed ‘normcore’; some Pink October 2018 ∫ 61

THEUNIFORM

thought it might signify the end of sportswear being so integrated within high fashion. However, the sneaker has really become the one item that is literally everywhere.

It is such a good seller that it has become the item high-end brands are focusing most energy on. After all, the truth is that women today want to be comfortable, and high heels, as good as they look, just cannot be worn day in, day out without a degree of discomfort. There’s simply nothing like a cushioned pair of trainers for that heightened comfort.

Not everyone enjoys seeing what they call ‘ugly shoes’ paired with an elegant dress or a tailored pair of trousers, but like it or not, the chunky trainer has infiltrated the doors of high fashion and shows no signs of leaving.

I consider the street-style looks to be phenomenal when I feel driven to change: change my outfit, change my wardrobe, change my way of thinking. But sadly, over the last few seasons, while, yes, of course, there are some amazing looks out there, a lot of it, especially what gets published, is brand-driven.

62 ∫ Pink October 2018

Head-to-toe, brand-specific outfits, loaned to people straight from the press room, unfortunately, limits experimentation. Personal interpretation is still there, but one cannot help but wonder how the individual pieces might have been styled by that very same person.

Nowadays, I think I’m back to finding more styling inspiration on the catwalk rather than off it.

On that note, onto THE CATWALK and the summer shows…

These always bring on a lot more colour and frivolity, the reigning hues being nude and blush pinks, although yellow and mustards were also widely popular.

In general, the looks are quite whimsical and very feminine. There’s a soft edge even when female power was an underlying theme. Sheer dresses, for instance, have been quite a prominent feature on different catwalks.

Voluminous looks will carry on featuring heavily even in evening wear, so you might want to start picturing yourself in that big couture gown, with huge sleeves, rather than a slinky, tight number.

“WE’RE NOW HOPELESSLY IN LOVE WITH THE IDEA OF A FULLY MATCHING OUTFIT, INCLUDING SHOES AND HANDBAGS” We’ve had matching, coordinated pieces as a trend for some time now and this will continue. It is quite hilarious how after many seasons of the fashion set shying away from coordinated looks, we’re now back and hopelessly in love with the idea of a fully matching outfit, including shoes and handbags.

Tie-dye fabrics were also quite popular, although this is a refined, beautiful tie-dye, not the just-throwbleach-on-it kind. Pair a tie-dyed outfit with big frizzy curls and soft lips and you’ll be perfectly on trend.

Photography Kurt Paris

82 TOWER ROAD SLIEMA

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THINKPI FOOD, FASHION & BEAu

1 THE SCENT OF FREEDOM Jean Paul Gaultier presents Scandal by Night, the friend of the night – one you meet in the Paris of Jean Paul Gaultier. It’s the scent of freedom, a honey tuberose. Scandal is still there with its honey, but now it’s partying with its intoxicating tuberose, sandalwood and tonka bean for an even more addictive blend. For more information, contact Ta’ Xbiex Perfumery Ltd on 2133 1553.

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2 ONE BOUTIQUE, A WHOLE ROLEX WORLD

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Everything you need to live it up, look good and be your best self…

Edwards Lowell and Rolex announce the opening of a Rolex Boutique that is the first of its kind in Malta. Situated in Republic Street, Valletta, the Edwards Lowell Rolex Boutique features an innovative use of Rolex’s signature aqua pattern and a handcrafted stucco wall with a depiction of Valletta. The new boutique offers professional expertise in an elegant setting, one that promotes a sense of harmony, discretion and intimacy with the brand that has been setting standards in watchmaking for more than a century. “This is an exciting new chapter in Edwards Lowell’s distinctive history; a singular and world-class project that aims to set new standards in Maltese retail and pave the way for future projects,” said Malcolm R. Lowell, managing director of Edwards Lowell.

3 BOUTIQUE BOTTLINGS

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5 6 6 EVERY SHADE OF YOU MAC is celebrating the power of self-expression and individuality with Studio Fix Fluid, now available in Malta in 60 shades so you can find your picture-perfect match. Studio Fix is a modern foundation that combines a matte finish and medium-to-full buildable coverage with SPF 15 protection. It applies evenly while controlling shine and is both comfortable and extremely long-wearing for a flawless look that stays put a full 24 hours.

It also helps minimise the appearance of pores and imperfections, giving skin a smoother, flawless look and finish. Throughout this month, get a free foundation pump with any Studio Fix purchase at all MAC locations in Malta. Get your free sample at MAC Cosmetics, Tigne Street, Sliema; Zachary Street, Valletta; and Debenhams, The Point. @maccosmeticsmalta 64 ∫ Pink October 2018

Delicata has released the 2017 vintage of the mono-varietal Cabernet Sauvignon and the blend of Shiraz and Cabernet – two wines in the winery’s flagship Grand Vin de Hauteville range. Both cask-matured reds are crafted from hand-picked grapes from bespoke vineyard parcels in Malta, with predominantly calcareous and tal-Hamri, or terra rossa, soils.

These boutique bottlings have become sought-after Maltese wines thanks to their quality and unique character. Grand Vin de Hauteville is a multiple award-winning DOK Malta wine brand. The 2017 vintage is also suitable to drink if you want to stay vegan, or vegetarian. www.delicata.com

4 THAT SPECIAL COFFEE BREAK Your coffee break just got more refined, with the new Nescafé Gold Blend. After all, it is more than your average instant coffee – way more. Nescafé Gold Blend contains mountain-grown Arabica coffee that has been carefully roasted to perfection and finely micro-ground, for a richer, flavourpacked gulp. Plus, the revamped Nescafé Gold Blend has been given a new look and taste and is now available across Malta from all major retail stores. So, go on, try the new Nescafé Gold Blend and make your coffee break that bit more special.

5 AUTUMN MUST-HAVE Check out this green, red and black striped wrap bodysuit with long sleeves and a pressstud fastening at €16.99 from Jennyfer in Baystreet, St Julian’s and Arkadia, Gozo.

FAT LOT OF USE Whatever happened to the beauty of the small bum? More and more women are seeking posteriors of dramatic proportions.

LARA SIERRA talks to Dr Foued Hamza, the Harley Street cosmetic surgeon making waves in the field of bum lifting and body contouring by transferring fats around.

D

r Foued Hamza sees a lot of naked women. As he scrolls through his before and after shots, it is hard not to become distracted by the number of, well, nipples, that are on his screen.

But he does not register the naked women. One of the world’s most renowned cosmetic surgeons, thanks to his meticulous attention to detail and innovative methods, he only sees areolae, cutting routes and fat density.

Working predominantly in Paris and Harley Street, London, Dr Hamza began a collaboration with Niumee Concept Esthetique in Mriehel last year after discovering quite a demand for his trade on the island.

A doctor, originally from Tunisia, he trained in cosmetic surgery in France under a famous facial reconstructive surgeon, where he was based for more than 20 years.

“Plastic surgery, at the time, was a new field and I was extremely interested in the ‘constructive’ side of it, particularly the face. The reconstructive surgeon I worked under specialised in plastic surgery for infants, and particularly for those who had face malformations. They were particularly complicated procedures.”

It was from there that he moved to aesthetic surgery…

“Besides surgery, I also teach, research, write books and so on. My academic work has led me to pursue my primary interest – body contouring by transferring fats from one area to another.

“It all began with a transgender patient 10 years ago. I had started facial remodelling and then we began to think about the feminisation of the body. And that’s how fat transfers kicked off.

“I have been carefully developing this method ever since. Little by little, it gained popularity. It can be used for many different reasons and now, suddenly, it is developing very quickly.”

The body is something that changes with age and diet, and until 10 years ago, the only way to correct these problems was through liposuction. But fat transfer is the new way.

“We can now permanently remodel and change the shape of the body,” Dr Hamza guarantees. “Now,” he continues, switching to academic mode, “we can do this to create normal and more extreme shapes.

“Some patients ask us for strange things, such as the Kim Kardashian look [pictured right]. But this is an extreme caricature.

A Brazilian patient, for example, wanted a more dramatic Brazilian body shape as it was more fitting for her ethnicity, so we gave her a more ‘Kim Kardashian’ look.

It’s not just about adding fat, however; it’s about creating a smooth contour.”

Then of course, ‘small’ procedures can also be done; for example, if a woman naturally has a masculine shape, the fat can be transferred to make her more curved; and to feel a lot more confident and feminine.

Dr Hamza nods in agreement. “The bum-lift transfer has had several problems recently. The procedure developed very, very quickly. People began doing it without any training, which led to a huge rise in complications and fatalities. They would sometimes inject fat in the wrong places – in the vessels – forming a clot that would be fatal. It was considered the most dangerous form of plastic surgery because we had one death in every 3,000 cases…”

“SOME PATIENTS ASK US FOR STRANGE THINGS, SUCH AS THE KIM KARDASHIAN LOOK. BUT THIS IS AN EXTREME CARICATURE” “As I said, this procedure is stable; the body shape will not change. These fat cells are moved here forever; they continue to live with the new blood vessels. The body shape may change with diet and so on, but it will not return to its previous frame,” Dr Hamza stresses.

Despite an impressive recovery time – usually one week, not on bed rest, but just being careful not to do much – worrying statistics on fatalities still need to be considered, especially following the international outcry after this year’s case of the infamous ‘Dr Bum Bum’, who allegedly performed fatal bum lifts on his patients in his kitchen with the assistance of his untrained girlfriend.

Now, a specific level of training is required for a doctor to perform this procedure, and also, patients must only see a doctor who is trained to this level.

There are even limits on how dramatic the surgery can be: if a patient asks for an extremely big buttock, the fat compression may be too much; it may go through a vessel and this could be lethal, he explains.

“What has happened is that the demand is growing faster and faster, and if one doctor says no, women may fly to other countries, to an untrained doctor, and just get it done there instead.

One researcher found 10 cases of deaths in one hospital, where obviously there was no training.”

Pink October 2018 ∫ 67

BEAUTYPARLOUR Dr Hamza’s searing honesty sheds light on some scary home truths, but is no doubt reassuring for prospective patients.

No one wants a doctor to gloss over the nasty bits and make light of their situation, or, indeed, their life.

“We need to teach patients,” he explains. “We must teach them where to go, to do their research and not to take this lightly. If a patient wants a very extreme look, we try to explain to her that she may need two to three sessions, and if we say no, she may go to see someone else, but it’s her choice. We will tell her what the consequences could be.

“If I am concerned about a patient’s state of mind, I will tell her that I cannot give her the shape she is expecting; if she is very thin and she wants an extremely big bum, I will explain that it is not possible.”

The conversation switches to the extreme perfectionism that women are pursuing more and more.

“Women are not just looking for ‘alterations’ anymore; they want a more feminine, contoured look. That is what is all over social media, and all their role models look like that.

“We also live longer,” Dr Hamza continues, “and we want to live in a good condition. So, people are moving away from implants and face lifts, and prefer to use injectables and fat transfers to avoid facing complications and implant replacements in the future.”

Speaking of implant replacements, the discussion has primarily been focused on the lower half. But there have been claims that anonymous A-list celebrities have been using the fat-transfer method so that their surgery looks so natural it is entirely undetectable. And they’ve been using it not only in their buttocks and contouring, but in their breasts too.

Dr Hamza skilfully dodges any hint at operating on A-list celebrities. “We can also use this procedure to replace breast implants,” he agrees, “by transferring unwanted fat from another area in the body to the breast.

“The only thing is that you cannot make the breasts look that large as there is only a certain amount of fat you can take from the unwanted area. However, it gives a very natural look. It also feels very soft, like a natural breast.

“There are still things we are developing, and we need to select the patients carefully as we can’t do it for everybody. We have 68 ∫ Pink October 2018

Dr Foued Hamza

“WE MUST TEACH THEM WHERE TO GO, TO DO THEIR RESEARCH AND NOT TO TAKE THIS LIGHTLY” some concerns we are working on, such a breast screening. For example, we select the fat that is less dense. Then on an X-ray, it is good for breast screening. The problem is that, sometimes, when we add the fat, there is a lump that causes confusion in these tests. It becomes difficult when trying to work out if it is a tumour, or just a fat lump,” Dr Hamza points out.

“Now we have the training and the machines, and we can distinguish between a lump of fat and a tumour. Women over 60 have a slightly higher risk of developing cancer, so we try not to perform these procedures on them as it may confuse the breast screening. The ages between 22 and 40 are the most successful.”

Dr Hamza also has other areas of interest he would like to pursue in the future, including fat grafts, as well as different methods of removing fat for breast reduction to reduce scarring, which tends to be quite big.

As he flicks through more before and after images, the scarring after one year is pretty much non-existent. He even displays images of surgery he has performed around the nipple, so that the scar follows the line of the areola. You cannot see any scarring at all at the twoyear ‘after’ shot – let alone on his patients of 15 years ago.

The fat-transfer method can also be used for some skin conditions, and to treat cancer patients after a mastectomy.

“We expand the skin and add the extra fat afterwards. For some patients, it works, but if they don’t have enough fat, or if the skin is completely destroyed, it won’t. It is still a new field.”

In Malta, Dr Hamza mostly focuses on body contouring. He started with one patient and now has plenty. Word of mouth is strong…

Millennials, in their 20s and 30s, are also chasing the Instagram-filter effect. They want a very small change to achieve that level of perfection. People are looking for the tightened jaw line and higher cheekbones.

Moreover, there is a large number of transgender patients here and many of the clients request gender-changing surgery – a procedure Dr Hamza is well-known for in France.

“I am very specialised in facial feminisation surgery. Look at this photo.

Can you see an Adam’s apple? No. And see here? Her cheekbones? We remove the scalp and I work from the bone. I learnt all this from this famous facial surgeon.

For transgender patients, the recovery time is three weeks, but they tend not to care about that.”

It’s easy to dismiss cosmetic surgeons as money-making businessmen, distracted from the call to save lives to charge extraordinary amounts making girls pretty.

Yet as Dr Hamza scrolls through his many before and after shots, two things are apparent. Firstly, that he has a genuine fascination with reconstructing the body for the better; and secondly, that making girls pretty is only one slice of the whole pie.

I make one last-ditch attempt to get a celebrity name-drop from him by asking about the paparazzi who make a habit of waiting around Harley Street to see which A-listers will be snuck out the back door.

Ever the professional, of course, he does not say a word.

PINKPROMO

A NEW CELEBRATORY BEER Farsons launches Gold Label Pale Ale to mark 90 years of brewing in Malta.

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arsons Brewery has launched a new celebratory beer, Farsons Gold Label Pale Ale, to mark its 90 years of brewing in Malta. Appropriately named Gold Label, this beer commemorates the launch of Farsons’ first ever beer, Farsons Pale Ale, in 1928.

The latest addition to the Farsons Classic Brews range, Gold Label Pale Ale is an all-malt beer, brewed with two types of Pale Ale malt, with a golden amber colour and an alcoholic strength of 4.7 per cent. The beer is fermented with top fermenting ale yeast, also used to brew other highly reputed Farsons ales.

“A huge effort has gone into the selection process of the choicest hop varieties and, ultimately, we settled for a special blend of five different hops that together give this beer its characteristic and unique hoppy flavour profile,” explained Eugenio Caruana, chief brewer at Farsons Brewery.

“GOLD LABEL PALE ALE IS A TRIBUTE TO ALL THE FARSONS EMPLOYEES WHO HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO THE COMPANY’S SUCCESSFUL 90-YEAR JOURNEY” “Unlike many other beers, Gold Label Pale Ale is hopped twice during the four- to five-week-long brewing process; in the brewhouse and later in the fermentation tank during the maturation stage, where special aroma hops are added to give this beer its distinct flavour and aroma. This late hop addition process is referred to as dry hopping in the brewing industry.”

The overall result is an innovative combination of the hoppy basic notes with exclusively fruity characteristics. Dominant hints of apricot, passion fruit and red berries, coupled with a touch of grapefruit, complement a very pleasant malt character with hints of biscuit flavour in the after taste.

“We are extremely proud of this new worthy addition to the Classic Brews range, as well as the team work that has gone into creating a beer with a perfect pale ale taste and with unique and distinguishable characteristics that make it stand out from other ales on the market,” said Karl Bondin, Brand Manager – Beers.

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“Gold Label Pale Ale is a tribute to all the Farsons employees who have contributed to the company’s successful 90-year journey,” concluded Mr Caruana.

Farsons Gold Label Pale Ale is packaged in 330ml bespoke one-way amber glass bottles.

The Farsons Classic Brews range also includes Blue Label Amber Ale, Double Red Strong Ale and India Pale Ale.

SNAPSHOT

ON STAGE WITH MOZART

we were all quite impressed! This only shows commitment and professionalism, which, of course, people should expect from Amadeus.

You’ve been working in theatre for a number of years now. How has the scene changed in Malta since you got started? I believe people take theatre a bit more seriously now than they did when I was younger. The introduction of dance and theatre courses at university may have paved the way for this mentality, but it is not enough. People still think of theatre as a hobby… as something to do at the end of the day, rather than a career. In my opinion, that is completely wrong.

Jasmine Farrugia may still be young, but she is already forging a successful acting career, not least in her upcoming role as Katherina Cavallieri in Amadeus at Teatru Manoel this month. Here she chats about her life’s passion: being on stage.

S

ome people are lucky enough to find their passion early on in life, and Jasmine Farrugia is one of them. Having started at the School of Performing Arts when she was just a little girl, she soon discovered a love for singing, acting and dancing, and she received training in all three, including under the guidance of top tutors Gillian Zammit and Denise Mulholland.

Fast-forward a few years and Jasmine is gaining a reputation as one of the leading local actresses of her age. Recent highlights include The Prime of Ms Jean Brodie as Sandy Stranger and, earlier this year, a nomination for Youth Artist of the Year by the Malta Arts Council.

Now, Jasmine is taking one of the coveted roles in Masquerade’s play-withmusic Amadeus, which will be held between October 19-21 and 26-28.

What was your journey to becoming an actress? My mother sent me to drama school when I was very young, which paved the way for me to become an actress. I still recall the excitement building up to the end of the week when I would have my drama lesson. I remember receiving a new drama pack every term and looking through it eagerly to see what songs I would be singing, or which roles I would be taking on.

One of my main highlights as an actor was playing the role of Alice in Masquerade’s Christmas pantomime, Alice in Wonderland.

It was also wonderful to win Best Production for The Prime of Ms Jean Brodie, directed by Chiara Hyzler, at the first Malta 74 ∫ Pink October 2018

Arts Awards last year. That has definitely been a highlight of my career so far.

When you look back, what was your favourite role? That would have to be Sandy Stranger in MADC’s The Prime of Ms Jean Brodie. Playing Sandy, Scottish accent and all, was a challenge that I thoroughly enjoyed and learnt from. Playing alongside Julia Calvert and Jonathan Dunn was a wonderful opportunity.

You’ll soon be taking on a role in Amadeus. How does it feel to be working with Masquerade on this show? I am so looking forward to it! The script by Peter Shaffer and direction by Stephen Oliver is excellent and the casting fits very well. I have no doubt it will be one of the highlights of the season. Although it’s not a musical as such, but a play with music, I am lucky enough to be singing in my role – and I am looking forward to that, especially as the show will be at Teatru Manoel. I also cannot wait to wear all the lavish costumes and wigs from the period.

Amadeus is known to be a brilliant show to work on. What have rehearsals been like? We are not a very big cast, so rehearsals run smooth. Thanks to Stephen, who always comes prepared, we get things done swiftly and always have time to polish.

I must mention Manuel Cauchi, who plays one of the lead roles as Salieri, and was off script very early into the rehearsals.

Considering his role and Salieri’s material,

What do you do when you’re not acting, and how do you balance both aspects of your life? If I’m not acting, I am either working, or studying. I decided to take a gap year this term to focus on myself. Fortunately, I began working at Masquerade as a drama tutor. I absolutely love teaching Masquerade students. It reminds me of how I was one of them not long ago. Of course, I am still very busy and there is a lot to balance, so I manage that by planning… a lot!

What’s something people would never assume about you? That I’m really good with circus skills; I can juggle and do tricks with a diabolo. No one really knows that.

What’s next for you? I will be finishing my gap year and heading back to school to study business, which is another interest of mine. At the moment, I’m just enjoying the end of summer with Amadeus rehearsals on the side. I cannot wait to be back at the beautiful Manoel Theatre, especially with such an incredible show to present. I also filmed my first feature film for Valletta 2018 last year, so I am looking forward to the premiere this autumn, and I’m eager to travel again at the end of the year.

Other than theatre, what is something you are passionate about?

I would say I’m really excited about starting university again, and learning something completely different that I enjoy studying. Nothing compares to my passion for theatre, though; it will always be very close to my heart.