In the past week, I was struck by the death of two individuals from extremely different backgrounds. The demise of Albert Mizzi brought both political parties to issue eulogies in memory of this businessman. In itself, this is extremely positive. At the same time, the statements issued by the main political parties explain why, the newly elected PN Secretary Rosette Thake, has stated that Maltese citizens are losing faith in Maltese politicians. Albert Mizzi succeeded in making headway both under the Nationalist and Labour Administrations. He was a “uomo di fiducia” or a trusted person both with Dom Mintoff and Eddie Fenech Adami. The resulting perception amongst the electorate is that this is the way forward to make money. Interestingly, Albert Mizzi will remain famous for saying that “the least honest people he ever met in life were the local politicians.” This speaks volumes about business and politics in Malta. The same politicians ended up describing him as the most successful businessman on the island. The natural question would be: at what price? I trust that with his demise, Manoel Island will be spared from being turned into another eyesore by Midi.
A few days later, a person I knew also passed away. His demise did not hit the media despite the fact that he was the longest surviving footballer of Valletta F.C., for whom he played between the two Great Wars.
Looking at how these two events were assessed by us common mortals, one concludes that society has different scales with which to commemorate death. Death is graded and ranked on the perception of the historical contribution made by the deceased to contemporary society. The general perception is that the man in the street does not make history. However, contemporary historical studies are showing that it is the work of these individuals – considered by official and elitist historical narrative as individuals without history - who truly make history.
Last Monday, the community of Birgu paid its last respects to Joseph Mifsud who died at the venerable age of 96. He had one of the most common names in Malta. Yet, when one looks at his life, one realizes that he contributed, despite any limitations, to strengthening the values of our island. Like many others of his generation, he was an unsung protagonist of our local history.
Over the years, I have become increasingly interested in the lives of individuals and have published a number of papers dealing with their personal development, based on how they were perceived by contemporary society. Mifsud was one of my sources. Through his grandson , he gave me information about Valletta and life in the capital at the turn of the twentieth century.
Mifsud was born in an area of Valletta, known as is-Sur tal-Franċiżi (The Bastion of the French) at the lower end of the capital city. He was part of an extended family. In his younger days, he lived in a street which still carries its ancient name, albeit now in English. He would still refer to this street by its Italian name Strada San Giuseppe. Today, only the name remains, as this area was demolished in the 1970s in what was considered, at the time, a slum clearance exercise.
He represented the mentality of his age, a dedicated serviceman in the British Navy. He worked both for the military and the merchant navy. He saw service during the Second World War and he continued to foster fond memories of his service period up to his dying day.
In 1987, when the Nationalist came to power, the Government stopped taking care of the Monument of il-Ħelsien in Birgu and Labour had to look for volunteers. By then, Mifsud was a pensioner and with the same naval dedication and military precision, he took it upon himself to hoist the Maltese flag at sunrise and lower it at sunset. He did this job uninterruptedly for 15 years.
Even more remarkable, and this was quite apparent during the funeral service, he also dedicated his life to others, members of his family and lesser mortals. His sense of duty towards the family came first and foremost. Family was not only understood as the immediate siblings but extended to his nephews. At a time when Malta lacked social services, those members of the family who had a good job, (and working in the British navy was a very good occupation at the time), were expected to continue to sustain the family even after getting married, in particular if there were orphans. The role of the grandmother meant that she was expected to take care of any children of her deceased married daughters. It was a time when sailors were away from home on the open seas for months on end.
Nonetheless, Mifsud also had a social life. As already stated, he was the most senior surviving player of the Valletta football team but his life had also other interesting aspects. He is part of Malta’s dance history and till late in life, he was a dance teacher, teaching tango! He taught it at the Morning Star, a famous bar in Strait Street, but also at other venues. This detail contradicts certain information appearing in the press regarding Strada Stretta as a den of iniquity where those who wanted to evade control of the Catholic Church could conglomerate. More importantly, there were not only prostitutes, pimps and cross-dressers. There were also many honest people working there to earn extra money while keeping strong to their faith.
The only individuals who did commemorate Mifsud were the Dominican Community of Birgu who, during the funeral, remembered him for his cheerful outlook on life. More importantly, the friar emphasized that Mifsud was proud of his humble origins saying that he hailed from Valletta, more exactly id-Duo balli – an area also part of the Dominican parish of Porto Salvo. Rightly so, the Dominican community ended the funeral service by playing the festive hymn in honour of St. Dominic, known as il-Kalaroga.
In conclusion, I hope that with the death of Albert Mizzi, Manoel Island will be spared further plunder, while academics and researchers will take more interest in the life-stories of individuals like Joseph Mifsud. It is the common man in the street who holds the true history of Malta.