Perhaps nothing is more effective in portraying what independence achieved for Malta and the Maltese than going back in time to 1964. Those who, like me, are nearing 60, can appreciate this much more than younger people who did not live in those times. Indeed, so much progress has been achieved in Malta since those now distant days that I sometimes feel privileged to have lived to see the day when many of the things we hardly dared dream about then have become a reality.

All this has been achieved because of the vision of statesmen like George Borg Olivier and Dom Mintoff and the hard work of the ordinary Maltese workers and their families. Fifty years of sustained efforts on the part of all Maltese have ensured a standard of living unimaginable in pre-1964 Malta. All this has been made possible through one unique event: independence.

So what was Malta like in 1964?

First of all, one has to realise that, back then, the country was still rife with ignorance and superstition. One need only mention the incredible events of the 1962 election in the height of the politico-religious dispute to see how much this was true. Remember that, in those days, education was quite limited in Malta. Compulsory elementary education had only been introduced in 1946 and secondary education for all would only become a reality in 1970, several years after independence. This meant that, in 1964, there was still a substantial part of the population who only had a basic level of education while several people were even illiterate.

I can still remember the worried look on the face of an old woman when she dropped a small mirror and broke it. That meant seven years of bad luck, she told me.

Industrialisation and tourism were still in their infancy in those days of independence. Indeed, one of the biggest worries of most people was the belief that we could not survive as an independent country.

During colonial times, our economic survival always depended on British military spending in Malta and the great merit of Borg Olivier and Mintoff lies in the fact that, through the agreements they negotiated with the British government, they ensured a basis for the economic transition to a diversified economy that would include agriculture, industry, tourism and other services. Not only did we survive as an independent nation, eventually we even prospered.

In 1964, many Maltese still did not believe in their own capabilities. Centuries of foreign dominance had dulled the fact that we Maltese are as capable as any other nation and even better, in some cases. Take sports. It’s true that today we have not become world beaters in many disciplines we practise but our athletes have managed to secure some very creditable results through the years.

Most important of all, this is the result of a change in our mentality and approach. In 1964, we still spoke in awe of foreign teams who visited our shores. I can still recall my late father taking me to the old Empire Stadium, in Gżira and when a local football team was heavily beaten by a foreign one, the local supporters used to console themselves that we lost “against foreigners”, spoken in a tone that indicated the inherent superiority of the latter compared to the Maltese.

Women were also treated as inferior to men in 1964. Independence made it possible for the Maltese governments that came later to enact legislation which vastly improved women’s position in society. In 1964, many Maltese still thought that the place of a woman was in the home and that she should not work.

Female workers were paid less than male counterparts doing the same job and this was perfectly legal at the time. It was also still seen as something ‘natural’ that the man should be the head of the family and dictate matters to his wife and children.

Independence made it possible to build the Malta we have today

The Catholic Church was the dominant social entity in Malta in those days. The parish priest was the most important person in every town and village. Separation between Church and State was non-existent and became one of the important issues in the negotiations leading to independence. Mintoff was all out in favour of the separation of Church and State in independent Malta but it would be many years before this desire of his would be fulfilled.

In 1964, Malta was still greatly hampered by its insularity. The constraints of being an island were magnified by the fact that we were also a colony. This meant that, for a long time, the world beyond our shores meant mostly Great Britain and, perhaps, the British Empire.

After 1964, we set our sights further afield and, as we became part of the United Nations Organisation, we initiated contacts with many countries instead of having Great Britain representing us in all negotiations with other countries.

The development of tourism and our own airline, later on, meant that the Maltese substantially increased their contacts with foreign cultures and broadened their perception of life accordingly. That was Malta in 1964. Independence made it possible to build the Malta we have today.

We should never forget those Maltese giants who made independence possible: Mikiel Anton Vassalli, Manwel Dimech, Sir Ugo Mifsud, Borg Olivier and Mintoff.

Above all, the ordinary Maltese who, since time immemorial, have worked to build a better future for their beloved country.

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