The good thing about yesterday, as the song puts it, is that all our troubles seemed so far away. They certainly seemed so at the start of this week as we moved into our 51th year of independence.

Much has been made of the fact that this year Malta has had several anniversaries to mark, such as the 50th year of independence itself. And there were other anniversaries, those concerning individuals, which are best mentioned only now that they are past.

In my case, and that of a few others, there were several of them, however, perhaps I beat the lot.

I have been married for as long as Malta has been independent. I also celebrate my own birthday with the country’s independence. In my case, as it happens, I was the only interdicted MP married while I was in Parliament. I don’t believe that record was rung up by any other former MP.

I’m not saying that it is a record to be proud of, I’m just registering a fact which, in the hullabaloo of the national anniversary, passed unnoticed.

Perhaps it is a good thing that not a great deal was made of it. The important thing is that for the few of us who have survived, the 50th independence anniversary imprint is a positive record.

There were too many bad moments in those years for memory to linger. And, still, linger this far it will, in the lives of Ċensu Moran, Joe Micallef Stafrace, Alfred Bonnici and myself.

Having made that point, I think that now it is a case of saying goodbye to all that and to stop visiting such old pastures. The important thing is that the lessons from the politico-religious disputes have been learnt and that they will become a reference point but no longer a point to be celebrated.

We shall continue to have our differences but we shall also try to solve them with a positive commitment

To say that you have to learn from them is not to imply that you have to keep dredging them up. The important thing is to learn. I do believe that all that was said during the celebrations suggests that we have indeed learnt our lessons. It is a question of the present generation saying “there for the grace of God go I” and to close the chapter with a goodbye to all of that.

May those times never come back to haunt us again. They really should not, as all that was said and done in the celebration has gone to prove.

Ignoring is not forgetting. It is deeply tactical and necessary. We are lucky to be passing through a period in which we can now look forward from a different angle. We can thank God that we have survived. And that the 50th year of independence found us convinced that the way ahead should be governed by looking forward.

We shall continue to have our differences but we shall also try to solve them with a positive commitment. That is what I wish for and that is what we should all be hoping for. It is high time we turned over a new leaf.

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