In Malta, poverty is an endemic problem. The editor of this newspaper also doubted whether poverty will ever be eradicated (January 22).

Those born in the late 1920s and early 1930s were born in poverty and lived in poverty. There was no shame then. Those times dictated their social condition. They strove to rise from the nadir of despair but they worked for a pittance.

Their families were numerous. Parents made do with the little they earned.

Their aspirations were never high. Their stable diet was bread, oil and tomatoes with a better fare on Sunday. They carried the roast to the public oven paying a penny for the service.

The dire poor visited the Capuchins Friary for a plate of minestrone. It was a hard life but many survived.

Their poverty made them aware of the worth of money.

They laboured for long hours to sustain a growing family, pay rent, clothe their children well. They were quite happy to have the necessities of life.

Mothers were early risers. They washed clothes by hand; then carried the load of washing to the roof. They hackled over prices at the open market. They never aspired to own luxuries and wealth. Their fortune rested on a three-penny lotto draw on Saturdays.

The 1940s were their ruin. Some lost their homes; then moved to far-flung villages. Others hibernated in communal shelters or in the Floriana railway tunnel (photo). Many fathers suffered unemployment. The mothers brought out gold trinkets to buy necessities on the black market. And so it went on.

The change came in 1947 with the birth of self-government. Yet, poverty had carried its advantages and wartime reinforced them. Poverty nurtured a spirit of resilience.

Heroically, they withstood the atrocities of the times. Dauntlessly they fought back. Poverty gave them strong qualities of character. Many survived, are still alive and well educated. Those habitually stubborn who think that Malta owes them a living still wallow in poverty. No matter what, their families can never afford the luxury of a holiday.