Maltese books in Australia -- Kotba Maltin fl-Awstralja

 

Recently, during the Easter break and the ANZAC remembrance, by chance I was reading the book by Ġużè Ellul Mercer – Taħt in-Nar, Djarju tal-ewwel sena tal-Gwerra (Under Fire – A diary of the War’s first year).  This was about the horrible experiences in the Maltese islands during the second world war between 1940 and 1941.

 

It was a book that deal with a period much before my birth, but still brought back plenty of memories of discussions with my grandparents on the war period.  Some stories were almost word by word what had been told to me.  For example, one was about the impression that Italian bomber aircraft seemed to be fearful of the military defence systems in Malta, and had the tendency to fly high in the air, drop their bombs with little precision and make an about-turn back to where they came from.

 

The writer many times made the distinction from the German air force which were much more effective and deadly than the Italian one.

 

Ellul Mercer went into considerable detail on the damage caused, lives lost, miracle stories bringing tears to the reader about people being extracted underneath multiple collapsed floors that one might never have imagined would have any life left, descriptions of apocalyptic attacks some of which witnessed first hand in the Grand Harbour, shortages in basic life needs, the arrival of ships with provisions to the Maltese archipelago like the proverbial manna from heaven etc.

 

He also mentioned the many shelters hewn out of rock for the people to take refuge in during air attacks.  I remember well these shelters being referred to as xejters.  I had also read about them as a boy in the classic by Nicholas Montserrat ‘The Kappillan of Malta’, an English writer whose partner I remember well living in the small Gozitan village of San Lawrenz passing in front of my grandparents’ home, occasionally stopping for a chat with my family.

 

One piece of information I found interesting was the figure of 80,000 people who had become internal refugees during the war.  This happened when Maltese families living close to the main targets of the enemy, like for example the Maltese dry docks and the military facilities of the British, went to live with other families living further away in locations considered relatively safer.  The latter families opened up their homes and hearts for these refugees, nevertheless the tension undoubtedly created when living under the same roof was also cited.

 

When remembering that the population of Malta in the forties was around 300,000, this means that around a fourth of the population consisted of refugees, and this is quite a high proportion.  It would be good for us Maltese to reflect on our own experiences as a people when hearing about the millions of Syrian refugees in Jordan and surrounding countries, or in other conflict zones.

 

One other piece of information of interest to me was that the Maltese diaspora in Egypt had made a collection of money which was dispatched to the home country to enable provisions to be purchased for the Maltese.  This means that until the forties at least, the connection of the Egyptian Maltese with their origin country and that of their forebears was still quite strong.  I still wish to learn more about the Maltese communities around the Mediterranean, like those in Egypt and Tunisia, which represents generations of economic migrants before the mass emigration after the Second World War in the allied countries – England, Australia, the United States and Canada.

 

This book is just one example of the resources in the Maltese language that exist here in NSW.  In this state of Australia, one can simply go to the closest local library and ask for Maltese books to be lent from a collection held centrally in the State Library of NSW in Sydney.  Generally after some 2 or 3 weeks, these arrive in the local library which would then inform you of their arrival, for you to then select and borrow.  This service is free of charge, except if you ask for some specific book, for which there would be a small fee.  I use this service often, as I find material useful for students of the Maltese language I would have or for my own personal reference, and this was the way I discovered the book by Ellul Mercer.

 

There are also some private Maltese collections which are not well known, such as that at the Maltese Community Council of NSW in Parramatta.

 

There are also some book stores from which one can purchase Maltese books.

 

One of the problems to the Maltese diaspora is maintaining contact with their language.  Naturally, the language continues to be spoken (always at a declining rate) in the Maltese family and community.  Nevertheless, as we know, the means of communications are in their great majority conducted in the language of their British colonisers.  Therefore the situation of being surrounded by your mother tongue, through radio, television, newspapers, books and magazines, is absent.  Transmissions in Maltese on SBS and some local radio stations, so searched for by the Maltese community, are limited.

 

Therefore these resources in the Maltese language are worth their weight in gold.  There could be other resources, including in states other than NSW, that I am unaware of.  If there is anyone having relevant information, I extend my invitation to write to me on my blog or to the editors of The Voice of the Maltese and so-doing inform the Maltese diaspora.

 

To my readers, I encourage you to make use of the little resources we have in this land.  The relevant authorities will not be ready to invest in this minority language of the country unless they can see some demand.

 

---------------------------

 

Dan l-aħħar, tul il-btajjel tal-Għid u t-tifkira tal-ANZAC, kont qiegħed naqra b’kumbinazzjoni il-ktieb ta’ Ġużè Ellul Mercer – Taħt in-Nar, Djarju tal-ewwel sena tal-Gwerra.  Dan kien jittratta l-esperjenzi koroh tal-gżejjer Maltin matul it-tieni gwerra dinjija bejn l-1940 u l-1941.

 

Kien ktieb li ttratta perjodu li seħħ ħafna qabel ma twelidt, imma xorta qajjimli ħafna memorji ta’ diversi taħdidiet li kelli man-nanniet tiegħi fuq il-perjodi tal-gwerra.  Ċerti affarijiet kienu kważi kelma b’kelma dak li kont smajt irrakkuntat lili.  Waħda minnhom kienet l-impressjoni li l-ajruplani ta’ bumbardjament Taljani kienu qishom jibżgħu mis-sistemi militari tad-difiża f’Malta, u kellhom it-tendenza li jibqgħu fl-ogħli ħafna fl-ajru, jitfgħu l-bombi li jkollhom bi ftit preċiżjoni u jdawru dembhom lura.

 

Il-kittieb għal ħafna drabi għamel id-distinzjoni mill-forzi tal-ajru tal-Ġermaniżi li kienu bil-wisq iktar effettivi u qliel minn dawk Taljani.

 

Ellul Mercer daħal f’dettall konsiderevoli fuq il-ħsara li saret, il-ħajjiet li ntilfu, stejjer li jġibulek id-dmugħ f’għajnejk ta’ mirakli fejn nies inħarġu minn taħt sulari mwaqqgħin li wieħed qatt ma basar li għad hemm xi ħajja, deskrizzjonijiet ta’ attakki apokalittiċi li kien xhud tagħhom huwa stess fil-Port il-Kbir, nuqqasijiet fl-affarijiet bażiċi ta’ kuljum, id-dħul ta’ vapuri bi provvisti li waslu fl-arċipelgu Malti qishom il-manna taqa’ mis-sema eċċ eċċ.

Semma wkoll il-ħafna xelters li kienu tħaffru fil-blat biex jistkenn l-poplu fihom waqt l-attakki mill-ajru.  Dawn ix-xelters niftakarhom jissemmew meta kont żgħir bħala ‘xejters’.  Kont ukoll qrajt fuq dawn ix-xelters meta kont iżgħar f’dak il-ktieb klassiku ta’ Nicholas Montserrat The Kappillan of Malta, kittieb Ingliż li għadni niftakar lis-sieħba tiegħu toqgħod fir-raħal Għawdxi ta’ San Lawrenz għaddejja minn quddiem dar in-nanniet tiegħi u kultant tieqaf tgħid kelmtejn mal-familjari tiegħi.

 

Informazzjoni li sibtha interessanti kienet il-figura ta’ 80,000 ruħ li kienu rifuġjati interni waqt il-gwerra.  Dan sar meta familji Maltin fil-postijiet li kienu jgħixu l-eqreb tal-miri prinċipali tal-għadu, bħal per eżempju t-tarzna ta’ Malta u l-faċilitajiet militari tal-Ingliżi, marru joqgħodu għand familji li kienu joqogħdu f’postijiet meqjusin relattivament iktar fiż-żgur.  Dawn il-familji tal-aħħar fetħu darhom u qalbhom għal dawn ir-rifuġjati, madankollu ssemma wkoll li tensjoni bla dubju tinħoloq meta qed tgħix taħt saqaf wieħed ma’ nies li ma tafx.

 

Meta wieħed jiftakar li l-popolazzjoni ta’ Malta fl-erbgħinijiet kienet ta’ madwar 300,000, dan ifisser li bejn wieħed u ieħor kwart tal-popolazzjoni kienu rifuġjati, u dan huwa persentaġġ qawwi mhux ħażin.  Forsi tajjeb li aħna l-Maltin nirriflettu fuq l-esperjenza tal-poplu tagħna stess meta nisimgħu bil-miljuni ta’ rifuġjati Sirjani fil-Ġordan u l-pajjiżi ta’ madwar, jew f’żoni ta’ kunflitti oħra.

 

Biċċa informazzjoni oħra li interessatni kienet li d-dijaspora Maltija fl-Eġittu kienu għamlu ġabra ta’ flus u kienu bagħtuha biex jinxtraw provvisti għall-Maltin.  Dan ifisser li sal-erbgħinijiet talinqas, ir-rabta tal-Maltin fl-Eġittu ma’ art twelidhom u art twelid missirijiethom kienet għadha pjuttost qawwiji.  Jien għadni bix-xewqa li nitgħallem iktar fuq dawn il-komunitajiet tal-Maltin tal-Mediterran, bħal dawk tal-Eġittu u tat-Tuneżija, li kienu jirrappreżentaw ġenerazzjoni ta’ emigranti ekonomiċi qabel l-emigrazzjoni ta’ wara t-Tieni Gwerra Dinjija fil-pajjiżi tal-allejati – l-Ingilterra, l-Awstralja, l-Istati Uniti u l-Kanada.

 

Dan il-ktieb huwa eżempju wieħed tar-riżorsi tal-kitba Maltija li jinsabu hawn f’NSW.  F’dan l-istat fl-Awstralja, wieħed jista’ jmur fl-eqreb librerija lokali tiegħu u jistaqsi għal kotba Maltin li jiġu mislufa minn kollezzjoni li tinżamm fil-librerija statali ta’ NSW ġewwa Sydney.  Ġeneralment wara xi ħmistax jew tliet ġimgħat, dawn jitwasslu fil-librerija lokali li imbagħad jinfurmawk li jkunu waslu biex tmur tagħżel minnhom.  Dan is-servizz huwa mingħajr ħlas, sakemm ma tistaqsix għal xi ktieb partikulari, li għalih ikun hemm miżata żgħira.  Jien is-servizz nużah spiss, għax insib materjal utli għall-istudenti tal-Malti li jkolli jew għar-riferenza personali tiegħi, u minnu skoprejt il-ktieb ta’ Ellul Mercer.

 

Hemm ukoll xi kollezzjonijiet privati Maltin li mhumiex wisq magħrufa, bħal dik fiċ-ċentru tal-Maltese Community Council of NSW ġewwa Parramatta.

 

Hemm ukoll xi ħwienet li minnhom jistgħu jinxtraw kotba Maltin.

 

Waħda mill-problemi għad-dijaspora Maltija hija li jżommu kuntatt mal-lingwa tagħhom.  Naturalment, il-lingwa tibqa mitkellma (b’rata dejjem tonqos) fil-familji u fil-komunitajiet Maltin.  Madankollu, il-mezzi tal-komunikazzjoni, bħal ma nafu, fil-parti l-kbira tagħhom huma bil-lingwa tal-kolonizzaturi Brittanniċi.  Allura dik il-ħaġa li tkun imdawwar bil-lingwa tiegħek, bejn radju, televiżjoni, gazzetti, kotba u rivisti, hija nieqsa.  It-trasmissjonijiet bil-Malti fuq l-SBS u r-radjijiet lokali, tant imfittxija mill-komunità Maltija, huma limitati.

 

Għalhekk dawn ir-riżorsi fil-lingwa Maltija miktuba nqishom mitqlu deheb.  Jista’ jkun hemm riżorsi oħra, inklużi fi stati oħra apparti ta’ NSW, li ma nafx bihom.  Jekk hemm min għandu informazzjoni relevanti, nistiednu biex jikteb lili fuq il-blogg tiegħi jew lill-edituri ta’ The Voice of the Maltese u jgħarraf lid-dijaspora Maltija bihom.

 

Lill-qarrejja kollha, inħeġġiġhom li jagħmlu użu mill-ftit riżorsi li għandna f’din l-art.  L-awtoritajiet mhux se jkunu lesti li jinvestu f’riżorsi f’din il-lingwa ta’ minoranza għall-pajjiż sakemm ma jarawx domanda.

 

Ex Pontifex

 

In the Roman Empire, the term Pontifex used to refer to all members of the priestly council.  In the Roman Catholic Church, it was used for bishops including the one considered to be the highest (the Pope), and today generally is used in reference to the latter.1

 

The word signifies ‘bridge builder’, and to tell you the truth I did not note any attempt to build bridges, literally or figuratively, in the latest intervention by the preceding Pope to Francis, that is Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, Joseph Ratzinger.2

 

He has penned a piece on the subject of clerical abuse of minors, to give his own thoughts as to why these scandalous acts occurred.  I had been expecting him to do something similar at some point, after all he had been the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the successor of the infamous Inquisition, from 1981 until his appointment as Pope, the highest Church authority, in 2005 until his resignation in 2013.

 

He wrote that the start of everything happened with the sex education of children and youth, and then the screening in cinema halls of films with sexual and pornographic content which pulled large crowds, even leading to violence.  What?

 

He continued that the sexual revolution of 1968 resulted in paedofilia becoming “allowed and appropriate”.  I would love to learn by whom and how representative they are of people around the world.

 

As the primary theologian of the Church for so many years, he also made a number of points of a theological nature, some conclusions of which I will draw attention.

 

One of these was the Vatican Council II had decided to change the basis for moral theology from natural law (the concept that rights are part of the nature of man, a gift from God and can be understood through reason) to one based completely on the Bible.  He wrote that this led to a crisis until it was resolved by the encyclical Veritatis Splendor by Pope John Paul II in 1993, which reverted the basis back to natural law.  It is clear from Benedict’s writing his disdain for this aspect of Vatican Council II.

 

Another point made that apart from being competent for the faith, the Church should also have competence for morality, at least that part tied to the faith.  As does the Church, Benedict maintains that competence means infallibility.

 

My comment is that being competent does not mean being infallible.  Einstein was more than competent in physics, and we’re still confirming how right he was in his predictions based on theoretical physics and  mathematics, more than half a century after his death.  Nevertheless, even he made mistakes, like when he declared that the size of the universe was static, which we know now is not the case.

 

I accept that God is perfect, however I don’t accept either that the Church is nor that its interpretation of God’s will is or can ever be perfect or infallible.  I would accept Benedict’s declaration on the competence of the Church as long as it is not tied to infallibility.

 

He also mentioned problems in priestly formation in seminaries in the sixties, which he described as containing cliques of gay people as well as seminarians for the priesthood and lay positions, the latter sometimes accompanied by their wives or girlfriends, which did not create a proper environment for vocation.  He further grumbled that his books were not able to be read in several seminaries.

 

It is clear that the reforms of Vatican Council II, which had the tendency of moving away from tradition towards a new and open relationship with the world, represented quite a personal irritant to the Pope Emeritus.

 

On paedofilia in the Church, he blamed the difficulty of bishops in taking action against wrongdoers again on conciliar thinking, as the accused now also needed to have their rights protected.  Does this necessarily mean that those accused of sexual abuse would be rotated from place to another where they could resume their criminal and immoral activities without constraint?

 

He asked why has paedofilia increased, especially in the Church.  He answered that society has lost the sense of God, and that Christians and priests don’t talk about God.  This latter part I really don’t understand.  Am I alone in not noticing that the Church had stopped talking about God?  So what do Sunday sermons, encyclicals issued and public pronouncements by the Pope and bishops on various subjects refer to?

 

Finally he stated that sin and evil exist in the Church, but also that there are many who are humble, suffer and love, through whom the true God is visible.  In this I do believe wholeheartedly.

 

Although ending on a positive note, I did not find Pope Emeritus’ intervention fully convincing.  He is basically blaming the roots of the paedofile scandal in the Church firstly on libertinage and sex education outside the Church, and secondly on the consequences of reforms coming on Vatican Council II.  In other words, there is nothing wrong with the Church perfect in itself.

 

So why is the rate of paedofilia in the Catholic clergy in Australia higher than that estimated in the general population?3

 

---------------------------------

 

It-terminu Pontifex fl-Imperu Ruman kien jirreferi għal kull membru tal-kunsill tal-qassisin.  Fil-Knisja Kattolika Rumana, kien jintuża għall-isqfijiet inkluż dak meqjus l-ogħla wieħed (il-Papa), u llum ġeneralment jirreferi biss għal dan tal-aħħar.1

 

Il-kelma tfisser ‘bennej tal-pontijiet’, u biex ngħidilkom il-verità ma’ ninnota l-ebda attentat biex jinbena xi pont, la litterali u lanqas figurattiv, fl-aħħar intervent tal-Papa ta’ qabel Franġisku, jiġifieri l-Papa Emeritus Benedittu XVI, Joseph Ratzinger.2

 

Dan kiteb saġġ fuq is-suġġett tal-abbuż klerikali tal-minuri, biex jagħti l-ħsibijiet tiegħu fuq ir-raġunijiet għalfejn dawn l-atti skandalużi twettqu.  Kont nistenna li kien se jagħmel xi ħaġa simili xi darba, wara kollox kien il-Prefett tal-Kongregazzjoni għad-Duttrina tal-Fidi, is-suċċessur tal-famuża Inkwiżizzjoni, mill-1981 sa meta laħaq Papa, l-ogħla awtorità tal-Knisja, fl-2005 sa meta rriżenja fl-2013.

 

Kiteb li l-bidu ta’ kollox kien l-edukazzjoni sesswali tat-tfal u ż-żagħżagħ, imbagħad il-wiri fis-swali taċ-ċinema ta’ films b’tema sesswali jew pornografika li ġibdu folol kbar, u li kienu jwasslu għall-vjolenza.  X’inhu?

 

Kompla li r-rivoluzzjoni sesswali tal-1968 wasslet biex il-pedofilija tkun aċċettata u xierqa.  Nixtieq inkun naf minn min u kemm huma rappreżentattivi tal-popli madwar id-dinja.

 

Bħala t-teologu prinċipali tal-Knisja għal tant snin, għamel ukoll diversi punti ta’ natura teoloġika li niġbed l-attenzjoni fuq xi konklużjonijiet li għamel.  

 

Waħda kienet li l-Kunċilju tal-Vatikan II kien iddeċieda li jibdel il-bażi tat-teoloġija morali mil-liġi naturali (il-kunċett li d-drittijiet huma parti min-natura tal-bniedem, don t’Alla u li jistgħu jinftiehmu bir-raġuni) għal waħda bbażata kompletament fuq il-Bibbja.  Kiteb li din wasslet għal kriżi sakemm issolviet bl-enċiklika Veritatis Splendor tal-Papa Ġwanni Pawlu II fl-1993, li reġgħet lura għal-liġi naturali.  Huwa ċar mill-kitba l-antipatija ta’ Benedittu għal dan l-aspett tal-Kunċilju tal-Vatikan II.

 

Oħra kienet li apparti kompetenza fuq il-fidi, il-Knisja għandu jkollha kompetenza fuq il-moralità, talinqas dik marbuta mal-prinċipji tal-fidi.  Bħal ma tagħmel il-Knisja, Benedittu jisħaq li l-kompetenza tfisser infallibiltà.

 

Il-kumment tiegħi hu li billi wieħed ikun kompetenti ma jfissirx li hu infallibbli.  Einstein kien altru milli kompetenti fil-fiżika, u għadna sal-lum niskopru kemm kellu raġun fit-tbassir tiegħu bbażati fuq teoriji tal-fiżika u l-matematika, iktar minn nofs seklu wara mewtu.  Madankollu anke hu kellu żbalji, bħal meta stqarr li l-kobor tal-univers kien statiku, li nafu li mhux il-każ.  

 

Jien naċċetta li Alla huwa perfett, imma ma naċċettax la li l-Knisja u lanqas li l-interpretazzjonijiet tagħha tar-rieda t’Alla huma jew jistgħu ikunu perfetti u għalhekk infallibbli.  L-istqarrija ta’ Benedittu fuq il-kompetenza tal-Knisja naċċettaha basta ma tkunx marbuta mal-infallibiltà.

 

Semma wkoll problemi ta’ formazzjoni tal-kleru fis-seminarji li kien hemm fis-sittinijiet, li identifikahom bħala klikek ta’ persuni omosesswali u anke każijiet ta’ seminaristi għall-qassisin u pożizzjonijiet lajċi, dawn tal-aħħar akkumpanjati man-nisa jew l-għarajjes tagħhom, ma kinux joħolqu klima tajba għall-vokazzjoni.  Gerger li l-kotba tiegħi ma setgħux jinqraw f’diversi seminarji.  

 

Huwa ċar li r-riformi tal-Kunċilju tal-Vatikan II, li kellhom it-tendenza li jitbiegħdu mit-tradizzjoni u jkun hemm relazzjoni ġdida u miftuħa lejn id-dinja, kien jirrappreżenta għoqda fuq l-istonku personali mhux ħażin għall-Papa Emeritus.

 

Fuq il-pedofilija fil-Knisja, id-diffikultà biex isqfijiet li jieħdu azzjoni fuq min għamel il-ħażin waħħalha għal darb’oħra fuq il-ħsieb kunċiljari, għax l-akkużat ukoll irid ikollu d-drittijiet tiegħu imħarsa.  Dan neċessarjament ifisser li min ikun akkużat b’abbuż sesswali jiddawwar minn post għall-ieħor fejn ikun jista’ jissokta l-azzjonijiet kriminali u mmorali tiegħu mingħajr xkiel?

 

Staqsa għaliex il-pedofilija kiber, speċjalment fil-Knisja.  Wieġeb li s-soċjetà tilfet is-sens t’Alla, u li l-insara u l-qassisin ma jitkellmux fuq Alla.  Din tal-aħħar ma nafx x’irid jgħid biha.  Jien waħdi li ma ndunajtx li l-Knisja waqfet titkellem fuq Alla?  Mela l-priedki ta’ nhar ta’ Ħadd, l-enċikliki li joħorġu u l-istqarrijiet pubbliċi tal-papa u l-isqfijiet fuq suġġetti varji lejn xiex jirreferu?

 

Fl-aħħar spiċċa li hemm dnub u ħażen fil-Knisja, imma wkoll ħafna nies li huma umli, isofru u jħobbu, li fihom u bihom jidher Alla veru.  Dan nemmnu bis-sħiħ.

 

Għalkemm spiċċa fuq nota tajba, dan l-intervent tal-Papa Emeritus mhux għal kollox konvinċenti għalija.  Qiegħed jgħid li l-għeruq tal-iskandlu tal-pedofilija fil-Knisja ġejjin l-ewwel minn libertinaġġ u edukazzjoni sesswali barra l-Knisja u t-tieni minn konsegwenzi ta’ riformi li ġew mill-Konċilju.  Fi kliem ieħor, m’hemm xejn ħażin fil-Knisja perfetta fiha nnifisha.  

 

Allura għaliex ir-rata ta’ pedofilija fil-kleru Kattoliku fl-Awstralja huwa iktar għoli minn dak stmat fil-popolazzjoni ġenerali?3

 

 

 

1https://www.britannica.com/topic/pontifex, retrieved 16/4/2019

2https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/full-text-of-benedict-xvi-the-church-and-the-scandal-of-sexual-abuse-59639, retrieved 16/4/2019

3Perspettiva - Mistoqsija lill-Monsinjuri, The Voice of the Maltese, No. 148, February 2017, p. 10

1https://www.britannica.com/topic/pontifex, retrieved 16/4/2019

2https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/full-text-of-benedict-xvi-the-church-and-the-scandal-of-sexual-abuse-59639, retrieved 16/4/2019

3Perspettiva - Mistoqsija lill-Monsinjuri, The Voice of the Maltese, No. 148, February 2017, p. 10