It’s that time of year when we swing from the usual saying how useless and incurable Malta is (‘only in Malta’, plus ça change, ‘abbandinxipp’, and such), to saying how great and good we are as a nation. The triggers are L-Istrina and its relatives, this time in winning tandem with a high ranking (19th) on the World Giving Index (www.cafonline.org).

The size of the island means it’s relatively easy for organised charity initiatives to catch on- Mark-Anthony Falzon

If I can be pardoned a mood swing of my own I’d like to take a break from all the glory and to assume, just for a few minutes of madness, that we are no greater or better than the rest. That is to say, that the millions of goodness euros and the trump ranking have nothing to do with a national nobility of spirit. The search is on therefore for some other explanation.

Let’s eliminate the usual suspect. The obvious logic is that Christian values are about giving, Malta is Christian, therefore Malta isespecially generous. Only the argument doesn’t work, for at least fourreasons.

First, because Christianity has no monopoly whatsoever over notions of charity. Some of the most impressive charitable works I’ve seen were set up and run by Hindus in India – Ayurvedic clinics, free meals, retirement homes for cows even. ‘Zakat’, the giving of alms, is one of the five pillars of Islam. And so on.

Second, because the World Giving Index shows that the link between Christianity and generosity is fuzzy at its clearest. Spain and Poland for example, both of which are as chest-thumpingly Catholic as we are, rank 83rd and 74th respectively. Thailand, where about 95 per cent of the population is Buddhist, ranks ninth. Morocco, 12th, is as Muslim as it gets. The country which is neck and neck with Malta at number 19 is actually Qatar, where less than one in 10 are Christian.

Third, because there are Christian (if we must) values other than charity that seem to be rather thin on Maltese ground. To turn the other cheek is one of them but most people I know will explain that it ought to be taken in context.

Jesus also told us that if someone should sue us and take our tunic, we should let them have our cloak as well. Repeat that to a Maltese Christian waiting outside the court inValletta and they may be inclined to change the subject.

I won’t bore readers with the details of the fourth reason. In brief, it is not terribly useful to look at aspects of society and put them down to religious ‘values’. Values cannot ‘cause’ anything to happen, in a straightforward and one-sided way. That’s simply a circularsociological self-indulgence, a bit like a psychologist saying that the reason for compulsive stealing is kleptomania.

I’m not about to deny that Maltese people are givers. It really seems that at least as far as organised giving goes, we’re up there with the holiest. By ‘organised’ I mean L-Istrina and the various other formal (and usually televised) initiatives.

It’s probably also true that the average Maltese person is more likely to reach out for their wallet in less structured, more quotidian ways. To my mind, this has to do with two things.

First, the organisation itself. Giving and especially the spectacle of doing so have become an established cultural genre – rather like hysterical mourning in North Korea for example. Television has a good bit to do with it. It’s surely relevant that Xarabank and L-Istrina have developed pari passu. One is the most popular talk show and the other the most popular charity telethon; both owe their success to a fixed formula established and developed by Peppi Azzopardi.

Although the formula is by no means entirely homegrown it’s well steeped in local patterns and meanings. The size of the island means it’s relatively easy for organised charity initiatives to catch on. Hardly a single shop counter lacks its L-Istrina piggy bank or a letter box its Dar tal-Providenza diary.

There really is no shortage of chances to give. In Malta it’s Red Nose Day every day of the year.

As we half-complain even as we reach into our pockets, ‘hawn Malta kulħadd jiġbor’ (‘in Malta it’s one endless round of charity’). In other words I’d put practice above values any day. And no, the first doesn’t necessarily follow from the second – it can survive quite happily in its own company.

There’s a ritualistic aspect too, in the sense that giving doubles as a spectacle of national unity and solidarity. Little wonder that the President so comes into his own at charity events. It’s a chance for him to levitate in an aura of benevolence, telling us about ‘il-qlub ġenerużi tal-Maltin’ (‘Malta’s hearts of gold’). The idea apparently is that charity transcends party politics. If ever we should decide on a single national day, that should be L-Istrina.

The second reason is the usual suspect in altered form. Put simply, the Catholic Church and giving are never too distant from one another.

That does not mean that we give because we love that institution. Emphatically not in fact, if the drastic drop in donations to the Church itself means anything.

Rather, it means a way of thinking that roots a number of services (medical, care, and so on) in notions of charity and portrays a number of groups as ‘imsieken’ (‘miserables’) deserving of alms. Peppi Azzopardi’s ‘kif tista’ ma ċċempilx?’ (‘how can you not phone?) makes the point remarkably well.

A great many caring services are run by the Church. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong about that. I am saying that these services will therefore be seen as charities that depend on people’s generosity for their survival. We might want to keep in mind that the Church was historically opposed to income tax on the grounds that it would tax wealth and undermine charity. That is to say, the word ‘charity’ in Malta has a very broad meaning and includes a range of services.

Are we therefore not an especially kind nation? That’s a question I don’t care about. My point is that if giving is a cultural form, the key to it is in the form rather than in some hidden values or goodness.

Which doesn’t really change anything for the many people who ultimately benefit from the money.

mafalzon@hotmail.com

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