Gozo after 1551

With reference to Frans Said’s letter entitled ‘The Tarhuna Gozitans’ (July 25) and the influx of Egyptian Copts, readers who are seriously interest­ed in the repopulation of Gozo after 1551 can read Stanley Fiorini’s article in Melita Historica (n. 9, 1986).

Fiorini presents detailed lists gleaned from parish registers and notarial archives that show that a considerable number of male Gozitans escaped the tragic depopulation of 1551 and that the people who moved in were either ransomed Gozitans or immigrants from Malta and Sicily. He also quotes Godfrey Wettinger who established that the majority of the Gozitan captives manned the Ottoman galleys or were moved to Constantinople.

As to the Gozitans’ “language brought by their ancestors some 470 years ago”, readers may consult J. Aquilina and B.S.J. Isserlin’s A Survey of Contemporary Dialectal Maltese – Gozo (Leeds, 1981) and read a compact, up-to-date sketch by Antoinette Camilleri Grima in The Gozo Observer (n. 41, 2020).

Despite the phonetic/ phonological and morphological distinctions and peculiar word choices, the lexical stratification of the Gozitan local varieties is that of standard Maltese (medieval Maghreb Arabic, Sicilian, Italian and English).

Joseph M. Brincat – St Julian’s

The missing question

In the latest survey commissioned by the Times of Malta it was reported that 57 per cent of the electorate would vote for the Labour Party should an election take place imminently.  When analysing the priorities of those who back the Labour Party it is stated that only 3.6 per cent have the environment as one of their priorities, whereas among Nationalists the percentage rises to seven per cent.

Other factors worth considering are the priori­ties listed by the parties’ supporters. Whereas for Labour supporters the economy is given great importance, as most point out that “incentives for businesses” is a valid reason to vote Labour, the Nationalists prioritise anti-corruption and are very concerned about the common good.

Knowing what we have been through and what we are still passing through since the last election, one wonders why 57 per cent of the electorate still insist on keeping the status quo even though, we, as a nation, have been humiliated and accused of corruption and money laundering.

Shouldn’t those surveyed have been asked whether they agreed with what Desmond Zammit Marmarà, a Labour activist, stated in the Times of Malta (July 15) when he affirmed that Joseph Muscat betrayed the confidence Labour supporters placed in him and that Robert Abela has to, once and for all, dissociate himself from his predecessor.

I consider this question important because the only way to come out of this mess, as a nation, is to admit our failure – the government’s failure. After passing through such hard times due to the pandemic, to keep on insisting that the economy is the ‘do or die’ of our nation is to ignore more important values. The economy alone cannot give us health and neither can it replace those values needed for us to live as a mature and prosperous society.

The state our nation is in today, through its greylisting and being put on the high-risk list for money laundering and terrorist financing by the UK, is enough reason for us to grab the bull by the horns, go beyond partisan politics, and start a new page. Unfortunately, the survey shows that we are not ready to make the necessary changes. Let Labour win, if need be, but let it change its ways.

Ray Azzopardi – Xemxija

Hotel quarantine

I have nothing against quarantine, which is necessary in today’s circumstances. However, previous measures of organising this in one’s own residence worked relatively well, though not perfectly.

Who had the brilliant idea of creating this quarantine hotel innovation?

Indeed, I see a number of disadvantages in this latest measure.

Very little discussion and consultation was done before, unless I missed most of the media allotted to sufficient widespread consultation.

The imposition of €1,400 over a two-week period is much more business-friendly than citizen-friendly. Thus, there is here a clear exception to the loud call on all occasions of the prime minister that he is close to the people. Perhaps he could contemplate on closeness to people as meaning closeness to their sentiments.

While most people realise that the pandemic situation has created stress on many people, are we now going to add to this stress by placing people in a hotel room for 14 days, day and night, in isolation, with breakfast only, and no easy facilities for laundry?

My conviction is that this added stress can harm the health and tranquillity of mind of the ‘invited’ residents to this innovation.

I appeal to the prime minister to show political maturity and dismantle this profound innovation or, at least, give it a complete overhaul.

Anthony Licari – Swieqi

Tradition?

When are the authorities going to put a stop to this 8am fireworks jolt with no respect for anyone and no enjoyment at all, except for those who, like our hunters, enjoy making noise?

They say it is a tradition. It is a sick tradition that has no respect for the sick and the vulnerable. There’s also the tradition of firing the noisy petards at noon even though the sick are still sick and the vulnerable still vulnerable but that’s tradition, right?

It’s so ironic that the government is enacting policies that take better care of our cats and dogs and a lot of other things and that’s very commendable. However, sick traditions like this are left alone.

Enjoy the festa!

Victor Formosa – Mosta

Terror on wheels

Urgent, immediate enforcement action needs to be taken to stop the ongoing, illegal use of e-scooters on the Sliema promenade, pavements and other pedestrian areas.

Currently, at any given time, e-scooters are being driven relentlessly on this promenade at high risk to pedestrians, most especially the elderly and young children; there have already been eyewitness accounts of direct impact.

In the absence of any enforcement officers in sight, e-scooter riders ‘feel free’ to transgress any regulations and simply hurl verbal abuse at and ignore any pedestrian who dares to ask them to stop. It is very clear that proper enforcement is required immediately. Police officers and/or wardens need to be regularly on the beat in these areas of ongoing offence. The installation of cameras, illuminated warning signs and heavier fines would also serve as a deterrent.

Left unchecked, this clear and present danger is risking very serious, high-speed injury of pedestrians or, worse still, a fatality, as has already happened very recently in Paris.

Edward Despott – Sliema

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