MALTA
Why not give it a try!
By Joseph Vella
There is no better depository and quick reference to facts than what may be gathered from a garrulous barber. Being the source of all knowledge is nearly as essential as giving a decent haircut. So it was recently that I listened to my barber give me the benefit of his accumulated wisdom as he sheared away precious strands of hair left on my scalp for full price.Knowing I was foreign born, by my slight but perceptible English accent, which I have not managed to shed forty-six years after I set foot in Gotham City (New York) in quest of fame and fortune, he asked me what country I came from. Not certain whether my inquiring friend had initiated Prop 187 on the California ballot, or at best was an avowed enemy of all those who migrated to these fair shores on a banana boat other than what his parents or ancestors had taken, I answered with a degree of trepidation that I was born and raised on the Mediterranean island of Malta.
Quicker than a Pentium chip, the barber declared he indeed knew all about Malta and the dubious role it played in the treacherous geo- political division of post WW11 Europe between communist east and the free west early in 1945, when Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin conveniently split the devastated continent in eminent domains or spheres of political and military influence. Give the devil his due, he was correct from a historical perspective, but completely off target in geography. My misinformed friend was of course thinking of Yalta, a seaport and winter resort in the former Ukraine Soviet Socialist Republic, whose name is phonetically close to Malta. That is in fact were the similarity ends, for the two places are poles apart in not only location but culture, religion, and history. The barber had indeed stumbled on a common identification error repeated by many Americans who are at their best quoting accurate statistical data on baseball and other national sport heroes, but are blissfully unconcerned at what transpires beyond their national borders.
As a naturalized Maltese American citizen of many years I have always felt that a near total lack of awareness about Malta, has been detrimental to its long term prosperity and well being. Few people realize it rivals Hawaii in tourism. 350,000 plus visitors, a ratio of 1:1 visitor for every local citizen, mostly from northern Europe, visit Malta each summer to swim in unpolluted clear blue waters and bask on pleasant warm beaches. It is my desire to promote a closer link between my adopted country and my land of birth, simply by increasing exposure and awareness of its island charms and friendly inhabitants to the American public at large. Malta has always been one of the staunchest pro-American nations in Europe and deserves a greater American presence on its shores.
Let's take a closer look at Malta's demographics. To begin with it is the ONLY European country outside of Britain where English is lingua franca, as commonly spoken as Maltese the native tongue. Where else can an American travel to any other European destination and not be faced with frustrating language barriers. This is an important point in a nation continent where people take for granted that English is God's gift to humanity, and practically ignore learning other languages.
Malta rivals Rome and Athens as the cradle of Western civilization, by virtue of a geographical accident which placed it dead center in a region of great historical interest and significance. Remains of late Stone Age and Bronze Age men have been found there. The Phoenicians colonized Malta in about 1000 BC. Neolithic temples far older than Stonehedge in Britain, tombs, and other ancient relics of the area still stand. Greek, Carthaginian, Roman, Arab, and Norman conquerors, all have left indelible marks on the small, idyllic, sun drenched island. Countless centuries before tourism became mainstream business, the ancient Greek poet Homer wrote the great epics of Iliad and the Odyssey. Malta or more precisely Gozo a sister island, then known as Calypso (the name selected by French explorer Captain Cousteau for his oceanic research vessel), figured prominently as the enchanting archipelago where voluptuous mermaids seduced passing sailors to jump overboard and perish at sea. Hercules, a mere mortal despite his great strength, and a hopeless brute and male chauvinist by today's standards of civility, very nearly succumbed to their irresistible carnal charms which would have cheated the world of many of his later heroic episodes, including his destruction of some very expensive real estate. It is truly a tale of lust and passion authored between 800 to 700 B.C. which today's Malta Chamber of Commerce will find hard to surpass in its quest to attract American tourists, more so those hopelessly addicted to TV romantic soap operas. Saint Paul the Apostle was shipwrecked in Malta about A.D. 60 en-route to Rome for his beheading, and while there converted the pagan inhabitants to Christianity. A wiser man would have incited the natives to rebel against his Roman captors thus saving his neck and changing the eventual course of Christian evangelism. The great siege of Malta in 1565 by the Ottomans led to the destruction of the Turkish empire and stopped its encroachment towards Central Europe. Already Islamic rule had extended to present day Yugoslavia and beyond, giving root to the civil war now raging in Bosnia-Herzegovina between Christian and Muslim forces. Now as then, the unspoken real issue is the prevention of a non-Christian enclave existing in the heart of Europe. The French occupied Malta under Napoleon Bonaparte in 1798, only to be chased away by restless natives with considerable help from the British under Admiral Lord Nelson in 1800. During WW1, Malta served as a strategic naval base for allied forces and up to 1964 remained a British naval base of operation for its shrinking far flung empire. During WW11 Malta controlled the vital sea lanes between fascist Italy and North Africa. Was it not for Malta's constant interdiction of the enemy's short naval supply routes from Europe to North Africa across the Mediterranean, the outcome of the desert war and the destruction and capitulation of German/Italian forces under Field Marshal Rommel by British and American forces might have taken a different detrimental outcome. After Italy's defeat in 1943 the entire Italian fleet steamed inside the Maltese grand harbor and surrendered to the British. Malta was the only country in Europe along with Britain that in spite of enormous losses to life and limb did not capitulate to a German led offensive. In 1942 King George VI of England bestowed a battered but unbowed Malta the George Cross (equivalent to the US Medal of Honor for bravery by civilians) in recognition of outstanding courage and endurance of the Maltese people against incredible odds for survival.
Given its history small wonder that Malta is a living reflection of its rich and colorful past. Where else in all of Europe can be found a paradoxical mix of a people who are Caucasian, wholly Catholic, yet speak an Arabic language which uses Romanized script. Out of necessity the ever accommodating Maltese are multi-lingual. Most everyone speaks fluent Maltese, English, and Italian in equal measure. Many others are also conversant in Spanish and French. This linguistic capability is simply an outcome of Malta's heritage, a will to survive and prosper under a succession of foreign occupations, each in turn leaving behind an indelible, progressive mark on its people. Surely the old adage about "Join them if you cannot beat them" must have originated in Malta. How else would the island have survived and prospered as a nation vassal. Today Malta is a free and independent democracy, waiting its turn to join its cultural brethren within the European Common Market.
There are nations which pride themselves of past colonial conquests with no apology given for causing grief and suffering to their victims. Malta's claim to fame lies in the very opposite direction. Strategically placed in the Mediterranean sea ( at least before the introduction of nuclear weapons of mass destruction) it boasts of having been conquered by many aggressor nations , and being the fortunate recipient of their contrasting lifestyles and legacies. Just as the Greeks learned from the defeated Egyptians, and Rome acquired culture and science from their Greek subjects, so then has Malta willingly absorbed all that is beneficial from its masters. In retrospect Malta has played a vital role in world history, out of proportion to its physical size, a surprising fact to many who are not even aware of its existence.
It is noteworthy that Malta has the second oldest standing theater in Europe, one of its first university of higher learning, and the third largest man made dome in the world behind Saint Peter's cathedral at the Vatican. Indeed few countries in Europe have such a colorful mosaic, so many historic and architectural treasures per square inch as Malta, given its small area of 122 square miles (316Km). All of Its architectural treasures are conveniently located within an hour's drive of one another, one reason why Hertz and Avis rent a car do not compete for high mileage.
The Maltese are by far and large very fond of the United States, not because of what they can profit from the relationship, but because they admire and respect America for its defense of freedom and democracy. They like also the cordiality, informality, and warmth of the American character, which stands in sharp contrast to more formal and rigid European traits. In Malta as elsewhere, American pop culture is the norm with younger generations. Talk about the ugly American is not welcomed in Malta. The derision of American values is left to other countries with pretensions of grandeur and a pathological desire to preserve native cultures by futile government edicts.
I recognize of course that as a son of Malta my point of view is somewhat subjective. On the other hand I do not work for the Maltese Chamber of Commerce, nor am I associated with any government agencies or private business ventures. I wish only to place Malta in proper focus and let others decide if it is worth their interest to take a second look at its charms. I say to friends of Malta give the island a try, stay at top rated American ( Hilton; Holiday Inn; Club Med) and other well known international hotels, or simply book more modest lodgings. You will like the island's temperate climate, be rightly impressed by Valletta its Renaissance Capital city, designated as a world historic site. Best of all you will meet and enjoy some of the world's most gregarious and accommodating people whose hospitality towards visitors is legendary.
Malta you say, why not, give it a try!!
------------------------
JOSEPH VELLA is Maltese by birth, an American by choice. His late parents were Dr. Alfred Vella MD., Sliema Medical District Officer during WW11 and Mrs. Mary Vella nee Cuschieri. He departed Malta in 1947 for a three year resident stint in Wanstead, England. In 1950 he emigrated to the United States. He choose as his lifetime profession Computer Science, after a course of Study at the University of San Diego. He spent twenty years covering work assignments abroad in Europe, Asia and the Middle East, where he learnt to appreciate the commonality which binds people together in spite of diverse cultures and values. In 1989 he retired as Manager, Software Development, for a major American Aerospace Corporation. He resides in Claremont, CA with his wife. He is the father of two sons and two daughters and is blessed with three granddaughters, the youngest being twins like himself.
E-mail to Joseph Vella: joevella@prodigy.net