In an article in The Times (June 28), Henry Frendo, director of the Institute of Maltese Studies at the University of Malta, treats the subject of what it means being Maltese and puts these pertinent questions:

Who are the Maltese?

What is it to be Maltese?

Is it just an accident of birth?

How and why (is one) to relate to one's country?

These questions are not particular to being Maltese but apply to every person irrespective of the nationality that s/he may claim.

Speaking of nationality, one should not overlook the debate that surrounded the name to be given to the organisation which is now known as the United Nations. In a misguided post-war chauvinistic spirit, United Nations was translated into the Maltese language as Ġnus Magħquda, which really means United Peoples.

Peoples and nations are not the same. Nor are races and cultures. Yet, the interplay between one and the other cannot be denied. The end product, in our case being Maltese, must be an amalgam of all these factors, which have exerted a stronger or a weaker influence, from time to time, depending mainly on historical and economic factors. In the end, and in terms of international acceptance, it must have a political face.

Malta as a nation-country is a well-defined land unit (making allowances for any claims by Gozo). Therefore, geographical considerations are fundamental, though not exclusive, to the Maltese identity. However, it is the people who inhabit a country, and not the land, that are relevant when speaking of a national identity. Today, in Malta, we experience a way of life, a culture, which must have been influenced by that of the generations that came before us. It is, essentially, the live manifestation of our identity.

Over the centuries, indeed the millennia, this identity has existed, and evolved, reacting to influences that came its way. In the last century these influences extended to contacts well beyond our immediate Mediterranean neigh-bourhood and now it has gathered a momentum never experienced before, mainly due to quicker and more affordable and efficient means of communication with the rest of the world. This is the phenomenon which faces us today and gives rise to doubts about our true Maltese identity.

The question in one's mind, which few dare to pronounce, is: Should we resist, once we cannot stop them altogether, these alien influences that could obliterate our traditional native identity to a point where we would be lost in another overwhemling super-identity? King Canute did not stop the seaside tide. We are more helpless in the face of the global tsunami surrounding us.

What we can, and should, do is to understand ourselves better, and to exercise a measure of protective control over the process of assimilation, both by us of foreign elements and ourselves in foreign identities. This does not mean that we can reverse the tide. The Institute of Maltese Studies at the University of Malta could be influential in promoting this attitude.

A studied answer to the several questions raised in Prof.Frendo's aticles can hardly be a simple "yes" or "no".

The Maltese language is definitely an important element of the Maltese identity, especially since it has survived millennia of neglect. It does not follow that a person who learns the Maltese language, at home or at school, automatically becomes Maltese. Conversely, a person does not lose a claim to being Maltese simply because s/he does not speak the language.

And when Maltese people leave their country to live abroad, they do not cease being Maltese once the ship, or aircraft, leaves the island's territorial limits. Nor are there limits of time, distance or generations which invoke such a loss. The real break comes when the individual abandons his cultural ties with Malta in exchange for those of his new homeland. The same ar-gument, in reverse, would apply to non-native Maltese who settle in Malta.

Above all, being Maltese involves a way of life, which, in turn, is influenced by what most of the people believe in, and follow, in their daily life.

The organisation of a society is basic to any human culture and the identification of nationhood must address itself to this aspect. In this respect, religion, even if imperfectly practised, or neglected, plays a very important role since its values greatly influence relations among members of a society.

A practical point raised in the article is the teaching of Maltese history in our schools. Let there be no doubt. Awareness of the nation's history is essential for a true appreciation of one's national identity. I do not pretend to know enough about the schools' curricula to pass judgment on the present situation in our educational es-tablishments. What I believe, and here I rely heavily on my long years' experience in education, is that any useful curriculum of the history of Malta should be backed by well-thought-out and attractive text-books that deal with Malta's history within a Mediterranean and, where appropriate, a European context. Malta's achievement of indep-endence, republican status and membership of the European Union should be included.

At university level much more could be achieved but this has to be based on good foundations so that the main scope could be one of research.

One final thought. Malta being so small, and historical places/monuments being so numerous, I find it next to impossible for any educational establishment worthy of the name to fail to turn out students who do not know well, and love passionately, their country's history, the pageant which colours our national identity.