Relevance of the June 7, 1919 riots

Today, Malta celebrates the Sette Giugno riots of 1919. It is a day immortalised in Maltese history and justly so because it was the beginning of the long road towards Malta’s Independence in 1964. This day deserves to be annually commemorated because of the values that inspired our ancestors to fight for their rights against colonial oppression: the quest for self-determination and the right to lead a dignified existence.

The relevance of the Sette Giugno events today lies in the fact that it was one of the occasions when the Maltese showed they are always ready to forget their differences and unite when the national interest demands this. This is something that should make us proud. In 1919, the Maltese united together to fight against the price of bread and food shortages, the infamous 1903 Constitution with which Malta was still burdened at the time, the discharges from the Dockyard following the end of World War I, unpopular amendments to University regulations and British colonial oppression in general.

To the credit of the Maltese nation, Sette Giugno was the first but not the last episode in Maltese history when all Maltese united together to achieve something that might have seemed beyond their reach. That event was followed by the granting of the 1921 Constitution, which gave Malta responsible government for the first time. It also led to the subsidising of the price of bread and dealing with other grievances, which were making the life of most Maltese a misery.

When the Maltese nation asked for other united efforts, the Maltese were not found lacking. During World War II (1939-45), the Maltese again presented a united front and some even laid down their lives in the fight to preserve democracy and fight Nazism and Fascism. Coming forward to contemporary Maltese history, on December 30, 1957, both the Labour government and the Nationalist opposition united to present the historic “Break with Britain resolution” in the face of British arrogance when a substantial number of Maltese workers were being threatened with redundancy by the colonial administration without a guarantee of the provision of alternative employment.

In our own times, one remembers with pride the agreement reached between the Labour Party and the Nationalist Party by which, on January 27, 1987, the Constitution of Malta was amended so that the political party obtaining an absolute majority of valid, first-preference votes at a general election would be the one to govern the country. This effectively marked the beginning of the end of the political polarisation and violence that had plagued the country for a number of years.

It is, therefore, essential to ensure that our younger generation is made cognisant of the fact that the progress achieved to date has come at a cost, sometimes a heavy one, and that we need to consolidate and improve upon what our ancestors have built before us. That we all have different political opinions is something positive, which we should celebrate as it is the manifest sign of a healthy democracy. However, we should also continue the trend, found in modern Maltese history, of forgetting our differences and uniting in times of national crisis.

History is one of our greatest teachers. This means that it is unacceptable that today we have a good number of youngsters who have little knowledge of Maltese history. I find it worrying that if you ask Maltese youths what Sette Giugno was about, several will not get past answering that it is a national holiday but do not have the slightest idea of the details of the historical event being commemorated.

We need to give more importance to the teaching of history in our schools. We need to give more importance to historical documentaries in our national broadcasting agenda. We need to provide more funds and support to local researchers of Maltese history whose output to date has been of a very high standard. A nation without an adequate knowledge of its own history is a nation deficient in its sense of national identity. We have not reached that point yet. However, we have to ensure that we do not start approaching it.

Our Maltese heroes deserve to live on in the collective memory of the Maltese nation. The fallen of Sette Giugno sacrificed their today for a better tomorrow, not for themselves but for their descendants, in other words, for us. Lest we forget!