When local news outlets appealed to police for information about a missing man on Monday, many expressed hatred and ignorance on social media, with some even enjoying the fact that there was now “one less of them. formerly ”.

Because, you see, the missing man was not Maltese. He was a Somali citizen.

The vitriol that was spread on platforms like Facebook was just surreal. And mind you, this happened a few hours after Malta donated € 5.8 million during the annual fundraising telethon to Istrina. The contrast could not have been sharper.

Obviously we are not attributing this hate speech to the whole Maltese nation, far from it. But it is safe to assume that at least a few of those who liked the man’s disappearance had donated to the charity.

A few hours later, the whole story came out. Ahmed Adawe Diriye was not absent. He was lying in the mortuary of Mater Dei. A few days earlier, he had been involved in an accident at work in Marsa. He was rushed to hospital with serious injuries after falling on 22 December.

MaltaToday reported that the medical staff who treated the man could not identify him and referred to him as ‘Mr X.’ Unfortunately, the man died a few days after the hospital and was identified only by the same nurses who had treated him after the police released the report of the missing person and the photo that was with him.

This story is terrible on more than one level. First, because this seems to be another case of exploitation of foreigners by local industry. How could a man who worked in a Maltese factory be completely anonymous? How could the people who hired him not know his name?

Second, it shows how migrants and refugees are ‘lost’ to the system and are simply unknown – nameless people.

Third, this story has shown how cold-hearted some people can be. According to reports, Diriye was working in Malta to be able to send some money to his family abroad. He used to contact his relatives every day, but all communication stopped on the day of the accident and his family did not know why. Now they have been given the terrible news that their loved one has died. To make matters worse, no one knew who he was when he succumbed to his injuries. He died without a name.

Do people who have commented in such a hateful way on social media feel any remorse now? Don’t they feel bad for this man who died so lonely, with no one visiting, without his relatives even knowing he was in the hospital?

Unfortunately, this is the same kind of behavior shown towards rescued migrants at sea. Over the past few days, NGOs have rescued various groups of migrants in the Mediterranean and these people have been stranded at sea for days, with no country ready to take them. ‘No room in the tavern.’

Responses to NGO requests for assistance were similar. ‘Send them back. We don’t want them. ‘

Is this the Christian charity we are so proud of? Is this the solidarity we preach?

Shame on those who are the first to declare that they have disinterestedly donated to Istrina to help the Maltese in need, and then turn their backs on our brothers of different skin colors.