One morning in December, about 15 years ago, postman Edwin Abdilla delivered a letter to the door of an elderly woman who lived on his beat and, as usual, she asked him to read it out to her.
“As I read, she started crying. It was the letter she had been telling me she was hoping for. It was a Christmas card from her son, whom she had not heard from in 15 years, informing her he was returning home from Australia in January,” recalls Mr Abdilla, 48, who is now Malta Post’s head of Mail Services.
He became a postman at the age of 18 and, during the past 30 years, he has seen the postal system evolve.
“Things were different then. The amount of cards and letters sent out during the Christmas period has decreased, but the packages have increased,” he says.
His colleague Noel Borg, 42, agrees. He too became a postman at 18. “I always knew I wanted to be a postman. I remember, when I was a boy, waiting for the postman to come and looking forward to receiving Christmas cards,” he recalls.
The job was everything he expected – and more. He formed part of a team of postmen who were like family and soon started getting to know the people who lived on his beat. He soon realised that being a postman was much more than about delivering mail.
Things changed. Most people are not home in the morning and barely know what their postman looks like
“People knew me and I knew them. They trusted me,” he said recalling instances when people asked for his help to change gas cylinders, read letters and even – on one occasion – climb onto a balcony to open for a woman who was locked out of her house. “Things changed. Most people are not home in the morning and barely know what their postman looks like… Before we’d even recognise the hand-writing of the people writing to them. Even the nature of the job changed. Before we used to sort out the mail manually after having studied the routes and roads,” says Mr Borg.
Mr Abdilla nods and adds: “Now we sort the mail in racks with individual slots for each address. Before we knew houses by the surname. For example, if there was an incomplete address, we’d make sure the letter gets there by the name on the envelope. Today this is not possible as one family will have members with different surnames. In fact, our postmen and women are instructed to go by address.” Apart from people getting busier, technology replaced cards with group text messages and social media greetings.
Both Mr Abdilla and Mr Borg no longer deliver mail and miss the bond they had with the people. They’ve seen generations evolve – businesses closing and others opening, elderly people pass away and others being born.
Even though a lot has changed over the years, one thing remains the same – the postman will always deliver mail, come rain or shine. And, their experience has taught them that while sending a Christmas card or package will surely be appreciated, turning up in person to visit a loved one will always remain priceless.