George Cross a symbol of the mouse that roared (1)

It smacks of sheer arrogance for Paul Calleja (July 29, August 4) to insist on the elimination of the George Cross from our flag. The only way that such an honour can be removed is for our Parliament, with an absolute majority, to vote and return the actual distinction back to Britain. I have no idea of his age, but I am tempted to believe that he did not endure the hardships of the Luftwaffe blitz. To me it smacks of some personal phobia.

The Cross per se is not the issue. Putting any other symbol will be irrelevant. Let us not widen the debate. The George Cross was won by heroism and sheer determination. He can ignore it, after all he doesn't live in Malta, but we old timers have a right to display our famous decoration.

The George Cross is not a symbol of colonialism. It is an honour, plain and simple. The international ridicule hinted at, would be to refute the heroism of a nation and be arrogant by not accepting an honour.

There were no strings attached. It was not imposed but was freely accepted. Our national flag is, after all, reminiscent of our feudal past and deep down there is nothing to be proud about its imposition. There are far worse colonial symbols in Malta, including the eight-pointed Cross. The Knights of St John were imposed on Malta by the King and the Pope. The average Maltese was considered to be a serf. Without repeating points from a previous letter, before refuting an honour, let us first and foremost declare what is truly Maltese and what had been imposed on us. Probably we would finish completely bare. There is hardly anything in Malta which is truly Maltese.

So please, Mr Calleja, desist from telling us what to do. I, and many others, have a right to defend what is ours and which had been gained by sweat and blood. We fought the Nazis and the Fascists so much so that they were afraid to invade our islands even though they had a great superiority in weapons and arms. We had the stamina and perseverance and no latter day saint will ever reduce one single iota from our merits. Malta was the mouse that roared and defied the dinosaurs and mammoths!