A question of pride

Sometimes I wonder how our indecisiveness on the designation of a National Day will be interpreted many years down the line by those who study the history of Malta.

Elsewhere, I had opined that although I would prefer Independence Day as the National Day of Malta, I think past events have jeopardized this possibility. How can Labour supporters view Independence Day as a significant day in our history when past Labour Leaders and the party media used to stress, day in day out, that Independence was simply a 'farce'?

Thank God, gone are the days when Nationalist supporters had to endure tear gas simply for joining party celebrations of Independence Day. On the other hand, for Nationalist supporters, and I suspect also for genuine and level-headed Labourites, Freedom Day was simply an opportunity for Dom Mintoff to tie his name to a some historical landmark prior to retiring from active politics.

That is why I think Victory Day is a second-best option. We cannot opt for a National Day which does not unite the country. Historically, Victory Day marks two important victories for our nation: the victory over the Turks and our Island's perseverance in the face of the continuous bombardment by the axis forces in World War II.

The day also marks a very important religious feast - the birth of Mary, mother of Jesus. Even though some find it hard to accept, religion has played, and still play, an important part in the lives of many of our citizens. I am sure that our people's belief in the 'Hand of God' helped in instilling in our people courage and perseverance, two ingredients necessary for any victory to come by.

I truly believe Victory Day can also mark other victories achieved throughout our history - our Island managed to survive a string of rulers, some more despotic than others, by and large we managed to retain our language and our national identity, despite the limited opportunities on the Island, employment opportunities abound so that our standard of living has always remained at acceptable levels.

I still think that as a nation we lack a sense of national pride. I am not sure where the roots of this problem lie. It may be that a colonial mentality is still engrained somewhere in our psyche.

As if this country belongs to someone else! Perhaps that's why the state of cleanliness of the Islands leaves much to be desired; or why for 60 whole years we left the Royal Opera House in ruins; or why we never seem to bother anymore when our national sport teams suffer humiliating defeats. But it's never too late to realize that national pride should not be alien to us, and should be as important as it is to other nations, big and small.

We may be small but we are definitely not insignificant. Our accession to the European Union is just one example of how we can still play an important role in international affairs, as we did in the past, but this time we are our on our own. There is no grandmaster and no queen. Our Prime Minister sits at the same table with 26 other prime ministers and his voice has the same weight as that of the others. His voice is our voice. His country is our country.

Perhaps we should take some time out to rediscover ourselves, what we have, who we are and what we can achieve. Then, maybe, we will realize how lucky we have been and still are, to belong to this country. Then, perhaps, we will agree that celebrating one National Day in unison is not such a bad idea after all. Victory Day may not signify just one (important) step in our long history, but may be the ideal symbol of what we have achieved throughout the years. I feel the time is ripe to take the first step. If not to ourselves, we owe this to the future generations.