Swieqi was a locality in St Andrew’s. It lay from Wied il-Kbir (the valley leading to Spinola Bay) up Triq Pedidalwett, leading to Madliena and along the road to Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq.
Swieqi’s main street used to be Swieqi Valley, St Andrew’s, until a few years ago. St Andrew’s is Swieqi. Our locality borders St Julian’s, Pembroke, Għargħur and San Ġwann. All this was known as St Andrew’s. The first residents of our locality lived in St Andrew’s.
The locality lacks a sense of identity and residents feel they do not belong. Some families have lived in St Andrew’s for 60 to 70 years. With the birth of local councils somebody decided to obliterate St Andrew’s from the map.
This was a huge mistake. One only has to visit the old families in our locality to find out how hurt they are that their origins were eradicated. They compare thesituation to visualising Valletta without reference to De Valette and Rabat without any mention of L’Isle Adam.
The perception is that the Swieqi council was responsible for this debacle.
The Swieqi coat-of-arms is a combination of symbols of a mountain, a valley and irrigation canals, all of them bound by a dominating St Andrew’s cross, yet there is now no mention of St Andrew’s.
In the 1970s Regional Road was built to join St Julian’s to Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq; the road is still called St Andrew’s Road.
Many residents possess letters, official documents and other mail all addressed Swieqi, St Andrew’s and not the other way.
A national landmark to identify our locality is the famous St Andrew’s Jessie Bar. The state school is called St Andrew’s (see photo). The first bank was HSBC St Andrew’s.
There is still great resentment among residents. I had the opportunity to spend some time with a person who knows everything there is to know about St Andrew’s, Peter Bezzina. He has vivid recollections of people and places and one should interview him andothers before the historical knowledge is lost.
Today we still have important traffic signs leading to St Andrew’s. Many foreigners are confused seeing traffic signs leading nowhere.
I propose that the new local council should again raise the matter with the authorities. One of the founders of the St Andrew’s Residents Association recently took me to task on this sensitive issue. It is not too late to put St Andrew’s back on the map. It just takes some goodwill.
Give us back our origins.