Erin Tanti took Lisa Zahra to his Valletta flat
On 19 February, exactly a month before she died, Lisa Zahra uploaded on her Facebook page this photograph of herself taken at Erin Tanti’s flat. Given that he would have been the only other person there, Tanti must have been the one who took it.
The darkest period on Lisa Zahra’s tumblr blog is the last four months before her death. That’s as long as Erin Tanti had been living in his Valletta flat after leaving the family home when his parents split up.
On 19 February, exactly a month before she died, Lisa uploaded on her Facebook page – which is not in her real name but listed as Lisa Abadeer – a photograph of herself taken at her “boyfriend’s” flat.
His moving into a place of his own seems to have made things worse for her – not only because it gave him scope to work on her in his own private space, but also because, despite calling him her boyfriend, she couldn’t socialise with him normally or have a normal relationship.
Even grown women who are embroiled in the subterfuge of a clandestine affair cannot cope with the stress of a relationship that is not a proper relationship because it has to be secret, let alone a girl of 15. The mind-games become intolerable and they spend most of the day and night imagining the worst possible scenarios of what their secret boyfriend is up to.
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That looks like the old market opposite.
I agree with you completely here. I wonder if the cutting was a result of her relationship with Tanti.
She seems to be wearing his jacket.
I don’t think so. If it were his jacket it would come down to his knees. It’s already longish on Lisa, who doesn’t seem short.
The building opposite does look like the old market (is-suq tal-Belt).
What a snake, taking her, an underage pupil, to his flat – unbelievable.
I would even hesitate giving a lift to one of my pupils.
Abadeer is the ‘surname’ of a ‘half-demon/vampire’ character, ‘Marceline Abadeer’, in an American animated television series.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marceline_the_Vampire_Queen
It seems that like most teenagers her age, Lisa was ‘into’ vampires and the supernatural, made famous by ‘Twilight’ and ‘The Vampire Diaries’.
Children that age might get easily influenced and obsessed with certain things. It doesn’t necessarily mean that they harbour dark or suicidal thoughts.
I have actually watched that animated series (Adventure Time) with some younger relatives I was babysitting, and it’s quite a sweet, innocent show with positive messages about friendship and so on.
Children and young teens are drawn to it because of its quirky sense of humour and 60s style animation. From what I remember Marceline was the only ‘dark’ supernatural character.
It doesn’t surprise me that Lisa would take to the character of Marceline because from what I gather from her Facebook page she seemed to have been that sort of teenage girl who was into the Gothic and the macabre.
Speaking as someone who was once 15 and who is now teaching 15-year-olds, there is a girl like that in every generation: who listens to grunge music, likes to dress in black and idolises Kurt Cobain.
In fact, a common joke amongst people my age is asking whether a pupil or sibling of ours is going through their ‘Nirvana phase’.
It doesn’t necessarily mean that there is anything wrong with them – these teens tend to be more sensitive and introspective than their peers, and often yearn to stand out from the crowd in some way.
Most of them get over it by the end of their first or second year of sixth form. And they do often tend to be far more vulnerable than the rest, even for their age – something that Erin Tanti clearly took advantage of.
What was more worrying was the self-harm and cutting, though as Daphne and others have pointed out, it is not suicidal behaviour. It is seen as a cry for help and a way of distracting oneself from emotional pain with physical pain.
Reports have said that Lisa Zahra had seen a psychologist – I’m guessing probably to try and deal with this particular problem.
This sleaze is unfortunately part of growing up in Malta. Being called ‘hawn gisem/seks/gilda(?)’ was run of the mill in my teenage years during the 90s.
My blood used to boil (still does) at such mating calls, and not from arousal but from being objectified in such a manner. I soon learned how to deal with it.
I really feel sorry for Lisa, at having lost her life because of some wanker who should have been responsible for her well-being and guiding her to succeed in life. Instead he ended her life.
I can relate to Lisa because I remember how isolated I felt when I was a teen, and the months of sadness I used to pass through, the need to escape and rebel. I was lucky enough I never met an adult who abused of his/her role.
I am angry and frustrated at the “adults” who keep on saying “miskin” and who are also blaming Lisa for her death, because she was “troubled”.
As if teenagers can be assessed from the same perspective, like a 23-year-old teacher.
Granted, not everyone reaches the same level of maturity at the same time, not everyone experiences the same things and not everyone has the same capacity to understand situations and grow from them.
However adults, especially those that have a direct role in the well-being of teenagers, have a specific role to safeguard their well-being, guide them and let them grow to reach adulthood. They do not have the right to abuse of their role.
What strikes me is that, the so called feminists have not uttered a single word about this. I do not think it is because of the sub judice (albeit a fallacy) but because the wanker accused of murdering Lisa, his pupil aged 15, is known in the arts circle, wiehed minna, hence the silence.
They don’t look at Lisa as a girl who was controlled and objectified and who lost her life/was murdered because of his control and objectification.
What appalls me in all of this is that this is an extreme example of the chauvinistic mentality that women, in these islands, have to face each and every day. Most of the Maltese men view women as objects, complimenting us on aesthetic qualities rather then our achievements.
Then I read this story:
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20140414/local/man-breaks-down-door-of-girlfriends-apartment.514945
“Inspector Robert Said Sareo, prosecuting, said imprisonment would not help the situation and he agreed that the accused needed guidance in life.”
How long till we hear of another victim? How many women have to suffer till we realize that no, we are not treated equally but are still being treated sub-humanly? I’m not the kind to go burning my bra, but Maltese women need to start thinking.
1984 —- 2014. The subtle role media could have had on one of our younger generation. What about that ?
That is the old market in Valletta so that could be either Felix Street, Old Theatre Str. or St Paul’s Street.