Yesterday,December 8, the town of Bormla celebrated its annual feast, that of the Immaculate Conception. Beyond any religious meaning that this activity entails, the Church is the only institution in this locality thathas consistently and without failcontinued to believe in this town. It is still succeeding in instilling some form of decorum through the feast of the Immaculate Conception. It is a feast that has kept its religious characteristics but at the same time, also succeeds in uniting the other main cultural stakeholders, in particular the local Band Club, with its glorious history, reminding all and sundry through its music of bygone days that are no more.
Unfortunately, the stories that we normally hear in the news, more often than not, mar the name of Bormla. Recently, a free for all fight became a newsitem when special police forces were brought in to re-establish public order. The world of cyber space was full of derogative comments with regards to this poor town.Thanks to politics, Bormla has now been relegated to caricatures. The Local Council also ended up in the news thanks to the rather bizarre way a tender was allocated following the legal advice of the Council's lawyer Dr. Luciano Busuttil. A subsequent court case established, (and here I am quoting TMI) that Dr. Luciano Busuttil has 'serious conflict ofinterest' in the way a tender was adjudicated, to the extent thatan inquiry is being requested. This week, the locality was again in the news, this time for a 40-year prison sentence inflicted on a man for the murder of his ex-partner's mother.
The State,on the other hand,still under evaluates the historical importance of Bormla while the main stream of our local historiography fares no better. It ignores the importance of this locality to the history of Malta.
A few weeks ago, the National Archives presented St.Margarita College, Verdala Boys School, with a book about World War I entitled The Salter Album - Encounters in Malta's Prisoner of War Camps 1914-1920.This publication is a breeze of fresh air. The event was a huge success and I wish to congratulate the National Archives for this initiative. The book covers the personal recollections of George Salter, an English soldier who was stationed at Verdala Barracks in Bormla between 1914 and 1920, during which time, these barracks, together with other barracks in the area, were converted into prison camps to hold enemy soldiers of World War I. The book is about the love story between this English military officer, George Salter and a Maltese woman from Gozo, Mary Tabone, who was one of the few women, who got a job at the camp. It was the period, when women in Malta started to find work outside the domestic chores and Bormla was on the forefront, in offering job opportunities to women, from tobacco and cigar makersto laundry and domestic cleaners.
The college and the surrounding barracks continue to be a tangible testimony of Bormla's contribution to World War I.The book is illustrated with amazing photographs;a vivid history of this prison camp. While Bormla had already its established photographers by then, at the camp there were prisoners, who because of rank and social position, could afford cameras and were allowed to take photos. One such prisoner was GeoFürst. After the First WorldWar, Fürst,who must have fallen in love with Bormla's environment,was instrumental in photographing many spots in Bormla to the extent that not only did it become one of his favoured localities but thanks to him, Bormla became one of themaintowns to be included in a tourist guide-book published in France by André Maurois in 1935.Maurois had the acumen to appreciate Fürst's photography and the unique heritage of this city.
Despite thefact that these photographs attest to the importance of Bormlaand Verdala Barracksthen, the name Bormla was only mentioned once in the entire presentation of this book. I would have definitely preferred to hear all the speakers speak more in terms ofBormla rather than theCottonera. The latter term comprises the Three Cities. I sincerely wish that there are other occasions where the historical importance of Bormlais highlighted.Bormla has a place both in local as well as international Mediterranean history. Till now, most of the cultural activitieshave served only to obfuscate Bormla's importance, with the result that Bormla's history is being lost in parochial rhetoric.
The lack of specific references and mentioning of the town reveals how Bormla is absent in the public's mind. Can one speak about the Berlin Wall without speaking about Berlin? Or about Fort Saint Angelo without speaking ofBirgu? But one can speak about VerdalaBarracks without speaking ofBormla. This reflects, in my opinion, awarpedsocial and historical consciousness about this locality.
I must confess that I have a soft spot forBormla. Therefore, I am not happy when areas in Bormlathat have a certain bearing in history are always referred to as Cottonera. But then, the bad pointsof Cottonera are always blamed onBormla. This only goes to show that a micro-approach to our towns and village histories is still lacking.
In part, this is also the result that this locality had to pay first for being on the forefront in showing resistance to colonial rule. This was demonstrated both passively and actively and was already well pronounced in the 19th century. The hub against colonial resistance was the Parish Church. The English Anglican Missionary, George Percy Badger (1815-1888) became so furious when the missionary society, of which he was a member, tasted what passive and active resistance means in Bormla, that he could not hide his feelings and had only disparaging words towards this locality and its church, when he came to describe Bormla and its parish church in his bookDescription of Malta and Gozo(1838).
Unfortunately, Bormla was heavily bombarded during World War II, while the reconstruction of the city did no justice to its historical importance, as many of its historical buildings, which could have been saved, were "bulldozed" by architect Dom Mintoff to make way for tasteless blocks of flats albeit for social housing. At the time, the Minister for Public Works, Mintoff succeeded in destroying Cospicua's historic past beyond recovery. Thus its history too lies in the preservation of the memory of its glorious past.Bormla should thank the above-mentioned, First World War prisoner, Geo Fürst, for takinga number of photos,as at least, we have a vivid record of areas in this locality as they stood prior toWorld War II.
The Salter diary shows how, during World War I, Bormla served as a centre for different ethnic groups who were imprisoned in Verdala and the surrounding barracks. There were Germans, Austrians, Egyptians and Turks among others. Verdala Barracks at Bormla saw NerikMizzi being put on trial in World War I. Despite the fact that Italy was an ally of the British in this war, Mizzi's support for Italy made him a non-desirable subject.Tension between prisoners was not lacking. A murder occurred in a fight between Egyptian prisoners of war. Bormlaexperienced the challenges of massive multi-identity presence. But it also gained,for besides being the town to be assiduously photographed by these Germans and other soldiers; it continued to build its own identity. Unlike other localities, Bormla is not an artificial construct. It has a strong identity, and despite all the cultural adversities resulting from the changes brought about by World War II, such identity battles on to remain strong and kicking.