The Flag of the Maltese -- Il-Bandiera tal-Maltin

The Flag of the Maltese

 

The Maltese translation of the title (Il-Bandiera tal-Maltin) was the title of a 19th century publication, by Manwel Dimech between 1898 and 1914.  Through it, fearless and with unique, even heroic courage, Dimech used to represent and look after the interests of the Maltese people, in front of the civil and religious authorities of the time - the British Empire and the Catholic church.1

 

In general, a flag has the characteristic that with a visible symbol, whether flapping in the wind or appearing in an image, is able to immediately convey a cultural, social, political and religious identity.

 

In these past few weeks, we've encountered several flag-related stories.  The most recently came from New Zealand, whose Prime Minister John Key has been leading a campaign to change his country's flag.  From his perspective, the problem is that the flag contains the Union Jack, which is the symbol of British rule, and does not have indigenous symbols.  Next month a referendum should be held such that the people can decide one flag out of the four that had been selected by a committee set up for that purpose.  Subsequently next year will see another referendum to decide whether to retain the existing flag or change to the one selected.

 

It seems there is some apathy to this change, even opposition.2  One reason might be that the debate there is happening independently to whether the country should become a republic.

 

The Australian flag is similar to the New Zealand one, so much that they are often confused.  Many flags have been proclaimed, perhaps the better known are those for the aboriginals and another for Torres Strait Islanders.

 

I remember being astonished listening to the ex Prime Minister Julia Gillard state that Australians love the official flag,3 without acknowledging what aboriginals feel about the subject.  I think it was an insensitive comment, when one remembers that aboriginals still refer to the advent of white fellas in this country, who ended up dominating it, as a catastrophe!

 

A bit before, there was a controversy in the United States, where it was decided that the Confederate flag would no longer fly on official buildings in South Carolina.  This happened after Dylann Roof, a white supremacist, had killed nine black people in a Charleston church, and was found to have posed with this flag, that many still consider it a symbol of institutional racism against black people in the United States.

 

Another flag that has and still makes waves, is the black flag of the Islamic State, which has the words in Arabic 'There is no God but God'.  For those not forming part of this apocalyptic group, the flag has become a symbol of murder, rape, beheadings and recently, extreme vandalism against the cultural heritage of mankind.

 

Let's turn to the Maltese flag.  Tradition says that this was given to Malta by Count Roger in 1090, who tore out a piece of his own flag, to become a standard for those Maltese joining him in wars against his enemies.

 

This tradition is denied by the historian Prof. Godfrey Wettinger, who argues that being assigned the national colours then was impossible.  He maintains that this tradition was invented by a Dr Gaetano Laferla in the nineteenth century.4

 

During the 2nd World War, King George of the United Kingdom gave the highest acknowledgement, the George Cross, to the Maltese Islands, for the valour shown during the war.  Indeed we do need to acknowledge the suffering of the Maltese, with so many deaths, destruction of property, hunger and shortages that led the Maltese to the brink of collapse, if not for the miracle of the convoy referred to as Operation Pedestall, that the Maltese people still remember during the feast of St Mary on the 15th of August as divine intervention.

 

The Maltese so rejoiced in this acknowledgement that it was added to the country's flag.  I remember that for a long time, the Maltese used to add the abbreviation 'GC' after the name of the country, when writing their full address, a practice which is on decline.

 

Today there is a discussion on whether the George Cross should be removed from the flag.  Comments I have heard are that this is a commemoration of colonial rule and that the cross is Protestant and not Catholic.  There are pages on Facebook both for and against its removal.  As you would expect, opinions abound!

 

To say the truth, although the British showed utter disrespect to the Maltese, crystallised for me with the use of Filfla for target practice by the military, which resulted in that rock losing half its land area, as well as the events of Sette Giugno, I say that the medal reminds us more of the characteristic courage by the Maltese rather than the then British rule.  Therefore, from my perspective, I don't see the need for this change.

 

What do you think?

 

 

Il-Bandiera tal-Maltin

 

Dan kien it-titlu ta' pubblikazzjoni tas-seklu dsatax, ippubblikata minn Manwel Dimech bejn l-1898 u l-1914.  Fiha, mingħajr biża' u b'kuraġġ uniku w anke erojku, Dimech kien jirrappreżenta u jaqbeż għall-interessi tal-poplu Malti, quddiem l-awtoritajiet ċivili u reliġjużi ta' dak iż-żmien - l-Imperu Ingliż, u l-Knisja Kattolika.1

 

B'mod ġenerali, bandiera għandha l-karatteristika li f'simbolu visiv, kemm jekk qed tperper mar-riħ, kif ukoll jekk tidher fi stampa, kapaċi li immedjatament tistqarr identità kulturali, soċjali, politika u reliġjuża.

 

Dawn l-aħħar ġimgħat, iltqajna ma diversi stejjer marbutin ma' bnadar.  L-iktar riċenti ġiet minn New Zealand, fejn il-Prim Ministru t'hemmhekk John Key qed imexxi kampanja biex jibdel il-bandiera tal-pajjiż.  Il-problema, kif jarahu hu, hi li l-bandiera fiha l-Union Jack, li huwa simbolu tal-ħakma Ingliża, u ma fihiex simboli indiġeni.  Ix-xahar id-dieħel għandu jsir referendum sabiex il-poplu jagħżel il-bandiera waħda minn erbgħa li ġew magħżula minn kumitat maħtur apposta.  Imbagħad is-sena ta' wara jsir referendum ieħor ħalli ssir deċiżjoni jekk tinzammx il-bandiera eżistenti jew tinbidilx b'dik magħżula qabel.

Jidher li hemm pjuttost apatija għal din il-bidla, u anke opposizzjoni.2  Forsi raġuni għal dan hi li d-dibattitu hemmhekk qed isir independentement minn ieħor dwar jekk il-pajjiż għandux isir repubblika.

 

Il-bandiera tal-Awstralja hija simili għal dik ta' New Zealand, tant li ta' pajjiż wieħed ġieli tiġi mifxula ma' tal-ieħor.  Hemm bnadar oħra li huma pproklamati, forsi l-iktar magħrufa huma waħda tal-aboriġeni u l-oħra għan-nies minn Torres Strait Islands.  

 

Niftakarni nibqa' mbellaħ nisma' lill-eks Prim Ministru Julia Gillard tistqarr li l-Awstraljani jħobbu lill-bandiera uffiċjali,3 mingħajr ma tirrikonoxxi dak li jħossu l-aboriġeni fuq is-suġġett.   Naħseb li kien kumment insensittiv, meta wieħed jiftakar li l-aboriġeni għadhom jirreferu għall-miġja tal-bojod f'dan il-pajjiż, li spiċċaw biex iddominawh, bħala katastrofi!

 

Ftit qabel kien hemm kontroversja fl-Istati Uniti, fejn ġie deċiż li l-bandiera tal-Konfederati ma' tibqax tittajjar fuq bini uffiċjali tal-istat ta' South Carolina.  Dan ġara wara li Dylann Roof, bniedem li jien jistqarr is-supremazija tal-bojod, kien qatel disa' persuni suwed ġo knisja f'Charleston, u nstab li kien ippoża ma' din il-bandiera, li ħafna għadhom iqisuha bħala simbolu tar-razziżmu istituzzjonalizzat kontra s-suwed fl-Istati Uniti.

 

Bandiera oħra li għamlet u għadha tagħmel isem, hija dik sewda tal-Istat Islamiku, li għandu miktub bl-Għarbi 'M'hemmx Alla ħlief Alla'.  Għal min ma jiffurmax parti minn dan il-grupp apokalittiku, il-bandiera saret simbolu ta' qtil, stupru, qtugħ l-irjus u dan l-aħħar, vandaliżmu estrem kontra l-wirt kulturali tal-bniedem.

 

Niġu lura għall-bandiera Maltija.  It-tradizzjoni tgħid li din ingħatat lill-Maltin mill-Konti Ruġġieru fl-1090, li qatta' parti mill-bandiera ta' pajjiżu, biex tintuża bħala standard minn dawk il-Maltin li kienu se jingħaqdu miegħu fil-ġlied kontra l-għadu.

 

Din it-tradizzjoni hija miċħuda mill-istoriku Prof. Godfrey Wettinger, li jgħid li l-għotja tal-kuluri nazzjonali dakinhar kien impossibbli.  Jgħid ukoll li din it-tradizzjoni kienet ivvintati minn Dr Gaetano Laferla fis-seklu dsatax.4

 

Waqt it-tieni gwerra dinjija, ir-Re Ġorġ tal-Ingilterra ta l-akbar rikonoxximent ta' pajjiżu, is-Salib ta' Ġorġ (George Cross), lill-gżejjer Maltin, għall-qlubija li wrew matul il-gwerra.  U tassew irridu nirrikonoxxu li l-Maltin batew fuq li batew, b'ħafna imwiet, distruzzjoni ta' proprjetà, ġuħ u skarsezzi li kważi wasslu 'l Maltin għall-kollass kieku ma' kienx il-miraklu tal-konvoj fl-Operazzoni Pedestall, li l-poplu għadu jfakkar sal-ġurnata tal-lum waqt il-festa ta' Santa Marija fil-ħmistax t'Awwissu bħala intervent divin.

 

Il-Maltin tant ferħu b'dan ir-rikonoxximent li żieduh mal-bandiera tal-pajjiż.  Jien niftakar ukoll li għal ħafna żmien, il-Maltin kienu jżidu l-abbrevjazzjoni 'GC' wara l-isem tal-pajjiż, meta jiktbu l-indirizz sħiħ tagħhom, prattika li qed tmajna llum.

 

Illum hemm diskussjoni jekk is-Salib ta' Ġorġ għandux jitneħħa mill-bandiera.  Kummenti li qrajt jinkludu li dan huwa tifkira taż-żmien kolonjali u li s-salib huwa Protestant u mhux Kattoliku.  Hemm paġna fuq Facebook kemm favur kif ukoll kontra li jitneħħa.  Bħal ma tistenna, mitt bniedem mitt fehma!

 

Biex ngħid id-dritt, għalkemm l-Ingliżi kienu jqisu lill-Maltin b'disprezz, għalija kkonkretizzata mill-użu ta' Filfla bħala bersall biex jipprattikaw l-isparar tal-armata, li wassal lil dik il-blata titlef nofs artha, kif ukoll l-avvenimenti tas-Sette Giugno, jien ngħid li l-midalja hija iktar tifkira tal-karatteristika qalbiena tal-Maltin milli tal-Ingliżi li kienu jaħkmuha.  Għalhekk, ngħid għalija, ma narax il-bżonn ta' din il-bidla.

 

Intom x'taħsbu?

 

120th Century Philosophy in Malta, Mark Montebello, 2009, Agius & Agius

2http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/aug/11/new-zealands-prime-minister-john-key-wants-a-new-flag-does-anybody-else, retrieved 9/9/2015

3http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-01-26/gillard-abbott-dismiss-flag-change/1919048, retrieved 9/9/2015

4The Norman Heritage of Malta, Godfrey Wettinger, Treasures of Malta, 1995, Vol. I, No. 3, p. 34