Racist backlash against Maltese model uncalled for

A young black Maltese model, Martha Attard who will be participating in Miss World Malta beauty pageant contest has hit back at the racist comments made on Facebook claiming that she is not fit to participate in a Miss World Malta pageant.

Martha is one of the 25 participants in this year’s edition of the Miss World Malta pageant. As many fellow participants had done, she also set up her own Facebook page appealing to the public to support her through tele-voting.

The young model faced racist abuse on social media as people questioned her participation in a local beauty pageant. Someone argued, “It is not fair to the real Maltese to send (Martha Attard) abroad to represent us.” Then later, that one particular user made a comment in which he said in all-caps, that “NT MALTESE BREED”

Attard is a Maltese national, and in a defiant response to the offensive comments levelled against her, she declared herself “Maltese and proud.” She also mentioned, “Together I believe we can eliminate racism,” calling on her Facebook friends to share the post for better awareness on the issue.

The post was met by a flurry of criticism, amassing almost 100 comments since it was posted. Shortly after, she was joined by dozens of commenters calling out the original poster’s racism. Later, the comment was deleted after wave of support for black model Martha Attard.

Incredibly, even though the original comment made against the young model had attempted to damage her campaign, but it backfired, gathering her more support and votes than ever before. However, she was grateful for all the people who didn’t know her yet still stood up for her on social media.