Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1476751
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 21 AUGUST 2022 9 INTERVIEW we can't take freedom for granted northwards, towards central Europe, and you'll see… it's happening again. One aspect that is often high- lighted about Operation Ped- estal (and wartime Malta, in general) is, in fact, the resil- ience of the Maltese people. It's what we were ultimately awarded the George Cross for: 'Gallantry'… which implies not just 'bravery', but also stoical forbearance: the sort of quali- ty that the British, at the time, used to call 'pluck'. Do you feel that part of that wartime 'spir- it', so the speak, has been lost? If you ask me what was the biggest element that helped keep the people united… and that has been lost, today… I would say it was their faith in God, and religion in general. The role of the Catholic Church, in World War II – and also the religious fervour of the people of Malta: their fear of God; and their respect for the fundamentals of Catholicism – was, to my mind, the most singular factor that rational- ised their situation; and helped them 'plod on', in the face of emptiness and despair. Because the situation real- ly was desperate. There was, quite frankly, nothing left… not even food. By August 1942, the Council of Government was debating the mass-slaughter of poultry, and farmyard animals - including horses and cows – to provide sustenance to an island that was already living beyond its means: because it needed to import so much more, than it could grow organically here. It was the people's religious sentiment, at the time, that helped them endure all that hardship. And I would say that sentiment has been lost, today. Most Maltese people are now a-religious. Shortly, we can ex- pect our Parliament to begin to debate removing Catholi- cism, as our national religion. And I think that – whether one agrees, or not – it is a fact that there is no single religion that represents more than 50% of the population… I wasn't expecting to go in this direction: but that only raises the question of whether Nation States should even have such things as 'an official State re- ligion' to begin with… Should they? I would say, defi- nitely not. Because what is a State? It's the representative of its elements; its people. And if you have people who are a-re- ligious… the State represents them, too. So you can't impose religion, on people who are not religious. However, you did ask me if I felt that 'something was lost'. And yes, I think that something has been lost. Today, there is no sense of communal 'brother- hood'; of people coming togeth- er, or rallying around a central cause. It doesn't really happen, anymore. People have become very self-centred. Even in governance: we hear many stories, of people in au- thority who are basically look- ing out for themselves, and for their pockets. It's all over the country: in every aspect of our daily lives… I see your point, but isn't there also the danger that we may be over-romanticising the past? You recently published details of 'looting' that had taken place during the war, for instance… including pilferage of some of the supplies deliv- ered by Operation Pedestal itself. Doesn't this undermine the argument that 'things were different, back then'? Good observation. But when we speak about the looting that took place at that time… we are also talking about people who were literally 'at their wits' end'. And what was this 'mass-crim- inality' in pursuit of, anyway? Did those people loot 'gold'? Or 'silver'? No. We didn't have people breaking into banks, or jewellery shops, to steal valua- bles for themselves. What those people stole was… .. food, mostly. Or anything that could help them acquire food: through barter, or by any other means. But people didn't buy 'diamonds'. They might have paid the same price, for a 'carton of eggs' - which was worth its weight in gold, dur- ing the war – but whatever they bought, or stole: it was out of necessity. And even today, we still hear of occasional cases, where peo- ple end up stealing because they can't afford to buy food. The law-courts adopt a policy of leniency, in all such cases… because they recognise that it's not the same thing, as 'stealing out of greed'… No doubt; but it also casts a dif- ferent light on Anglo-Maltese relations during the war. Some people argue – even in com- ments – that part of the reason for the looting was that the Colonial Government used to reserve most of the imported food for high-ranking officers (and other VIPs). How much truth is there to such claims? Were relations between the British and Maltese less 'rosy', than history books make them appear? I have biased views, because I am lucky enough to have talked with many of the protagonists who sailed on Operation Pedes- tal. But what I can say is that, in 166 years of British rule in Mal- ta – and I should really say 'oc- cupation'; because the British were never invited here to take possession of the islands. They were only asked to provide mil- itary protection to its inhabit- ants, as Malta governed its own affairs… … but of all those 166 years of British presence here, those three of World War II turned out to be the 'Golden Years' of British-Maltese relations. Throughout the rest of the pe- riod, however, there were con- sistent tensions… which broke out into open violence both before WWII – in June 1919 – and also soon afterwards: in 1956-58. Even during those 'Golden Years', however, those tensions had never really faded away en- tirely. Today, for instance, you can easily spin Operation Ped- estal as 'that mission where the British saved the besieged is- landers of Malta'. But I know – because I spoke to the protagonists – that Brit- ain already had a plan to aban- don Malta, in the event that Operation Pedestal failed. It involved keeping a submarine, in the south of Malta, at the ready to take on board a token number of VIPs: in the process, abandoning not just Malta… but also thousands of members of the Malta garrison, including mostly English soldiers… So if the British were ready to abandon 30,000 of their own soldiers; my guess is that it wouldn't have been such a big deal, for them to also abandon 160,000 Maltese… Lastly, there is a local level at which Operation Pedestal may also have been distorted. It is only here in Malta, for in- stance, that we refer to it the 'Santa Marija Convoy' – some- times going a step further, and attributing the success of the operation to Our Lady herself. As a historian, how do you feel about these embellishments? Ultimately, what people 'think Operation Pedestal was', or 'what it is today', all depends on how superficial their knowledge of the subject is. I've gone very deeply into the subject, myself. So I can under- stand the goose-flesh, and the tears, of the older generation of Maltese people who still re- membered the convoy com- ing into harbour, on August 15 1942: and spoke, in the first person, about what it meant to them. And they were right: it really was the 'salvation' they thought it was, for Malta. So I under- stand how they also sometimes speak about it in terms of a 'miracle'… the intervention of the 'Madonna', and all that… But it wasn't a 'miracle', exact- ly. It was a highly complex, me- ticulously-planned military op- eration: which was intended not just to 'save Malta'… but also to turn the tide of the entire war. And if there's any reason to continue commemorating its success, 80 years later: it is also because it reminds us that the 'War against Fascism' did not really end, with the Allied vic- tory in 1945. It's happening again, today: and Operation Pedestal re- minds us of the need to be vig- ilant. PHOTO: JAMES BIANCHI / MALTATODAY