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Sergio Grech: It-Tabib Sandy – Bijografia ta’ Alexander Cachia Zammit. Kite Group, 2013. 300 pp.

This is the second of Sergio Grech’s biographies – the first was about the life of Fr Felician Bilocca some time ago. Now he presents to the public the life story of Dr Alexander Cachia Zammit.

Both these personalities lived during the most controversial period in Maltese political history: the 1960s and their aftermath, showing, perhaps, that this is Grech’s favourite period, or rather the period that inspires him most, for the most varied of reasons.

The author must have put more heart into this work, maybe because Cachia Zammit, who is still with us and very active, hails from Żejtun, where Grech spent his childhood and youth.

The people of Żejtun are, and always were, a close-knit community, who lived very intensely the years of conflicts and controversies of the 1960s and ever since.

It seems that every family and every individual, by choice or by circumstances, was involved in the goings-on, while events unfurled during the politico-religious conflict that destabilised most of Malta on the way to Independence and beyond, onto the proclamation of the Republic of Malta, the end of military presence on our territory and becoming an EU member.

All the sacrifices of the Maltese, all the animosity the people nurtured – not only against the foreigner, but also against those who embraced different ideologies and who followed different leaders – are stressed upon in Grech’s account of Cachia Zammit’s life.

This village doctor, turned politician in the very first years of the historical period in question, not only lived through the events, but was one of the chief protagonists in many of them.

This is a very well-researched life story, and the author left no stone unturned so that truth is told. Grech leafed through every document he could lay his hands on and interviewed every person who shared even a fleeting moment with the personality himself.

The author even went down Cachia Zammit’s family tree, which goes back to the Napoleonic era, to show that the protagonist’s destiny was delineated much before he was born.

A very well-researched life story, in which the author left no stone unturned

His family was involved in politics and in social life for decades, and throughout the years it was one of the chief families representative of Żejtun. One of his ancestors was one of the founders of the Partit Nazzjonalista.

The author tackles the life story of the doctor under three headings: as a family doctor, as a politician and as president of the Beland Band Club of Żejtun for more than 50 years.

President Emeritus Ugo Mifsud Bonnici, who was a contemporary, in his very erudite introductory words, writes that Cachia Zammit was a man of concrete ways, a moderate Nationalist, diligent, attentive and hard-working, loyal and a great contributor to the advancement of social and health services. Throughout his account, Grech succeeds in highlighting all these qualities in Cachia Zammit’s character.

While writing about Cachia Zammit’s life, the author also traces such topics as the progression and the strengthening of the Maltese language. He gives a somewhat detailed account of the Maltese education system before and immediately after World War II. He also writes about the very important role of the Young Christian Workers’ Society (Żgħażagħ Ħaddiema Nsara) in alleviating poverty and helping the underprivileged.

However, very aptly, the largest part of the book is dedicated to the doctor’s political career. Here, the reader finds a more or less detailed account of what Malta and the Maltese went through until Independence was achieved, and while Malta was building its future, led by people who nurtured a very good vision for our islands, among these Cachia Zammit himself.

Cachia Zammit’s successes are all traced in this book. During his political career, he served as Emigration, Labour and Social Welfare Minister. Later on, he was appointed Health Minister. At one time, he also took over as Education Minister, when the incumbent had an accident and had to stay away for a long period.

When, in 1987, he failed to get elected to Parliament, the doctor was chosen to serve the country as the Maltese Ambassador to the Holy See, during which office he successfully made the necessary arrangements for Pope John Paul II’s first visit in Malta.

Being a man of strong principles, Cachia Zammit believes that honesty, loyalty and a united front always showed the way to the future.

These three evergreen values always guided him throughout his private, social and political life, and helped him reap success in whichever endeavour he initiated or participated in.

He always heard what everybody had to say; he always allowed everyone to express themselves in the way they felt comfortable in; and he never failed to support any initiative that benefitted society.