Daphne Caruana Galizia is being remembered on what would have been her 62nd birthday, with activist Alessandra Dee Crespo paying tribute to the journalist’s life, personality and enduring legacy.In a post marking the occasion, Crespo reflected not only on Caruana Galizia’s work as a journalist, editor and publisher, but on the person behind the headlines, a woman who loved travelling, cooking, entertaining, fashion, flowers and the details that made life beautiful.“Nothing about her was beige,” Crespo wrote, describing colour as something that ran through Caruana Galizia’s clothes, statement earrings, home, magazines, food and writing.Born just 26 days before Malta gained independence in 1964, Crespo said there was something fitting about the timing, given that “independence of mind” would become one of the defining characteristics of her life.The tribute traces Caruana Galizia’s career through Maltese journalism, from pioneering newspaper columns published under her own name and helping found The Malta Independent, to her work as an editor, publisher and eventually the creator of one of Malta’s most influential blogs.Her blog, Crespo wrote, became a newsroom in its own right, allowing Caruana Galizia to publish independently and pursue stories without having her words softened or uncomfortable discoveries buried.But the tribute also focuses heavily on the life and family moments Caruana Galizia was denied following her assassination in October 2017.“There should have been more birthdays. More journeys and more laughter around the family table,” Crespo wrote.She pointed to the birthdays and milestones of Caruana Galizia’s husband, sons, parents, sisters, nieces and grandchildren she never had the opportunity to meet.“That is the measure of what was stolen, not only the years Daphne was denied, but the ordinary joys her family was denied with her.”Crespo noted that the anniversary comes as court proceedings connected to Caruana Galizia’s assassination continue, but stressed that her birthday should be about remembering Daphne herself rather than the trial.Quoting the late journalist, she recalled one of the principles that drove her work: “I cannot bear the thought of injustice, still less the reality of it.”Crespo said Caruana Galizia remains at the centre of the activism that followed her assassination, with the pursuit of truth and justice continuing almost nine years after her death.“Her assassination ended her life, but it did not bury the truths she uncovered, extinguish the questions she asked or silence the demand for justice,” she wrote.“Happy birthday, Daphne. You are missed beyond words.”•