2014 November 09 | Fiona Vella

Archive for November 9th, 2014

Iċ-Ċiniż li baqa’ Malta

Il-Ħadd li għadda bosta minna erħejnilha lejn iċ-ċimiterji ta’ madwar il-gżejjer tagħna sabiex insellmu lil qrabatna jew lil xi ħbieb li m’għadhomx magħna.

Ħafna kienu dawk li ħadu magħhom bukketti sbieħ ta’ fjuri kkuluriti u jfuħu sabiex jitpoġġew fuq l-oqbra safrana tal-ġebla kiesħa tal-franka jew fuq l-irħam samm abjad karti jew iswed daqs il-lejl. Ġest li apparti t-turija ta’ rispett u mħabba, donnu jipprova wkoll jagħti l-ħajja fejn jidher li m’hemmx.

Oħrajn ħadu ħsieb ukoll inaddfu l-oqbra billi naqqew xi ħaxix ħażin li kiber maż-żmien jew bidlu xi ritratt li jkun sfar bis-snin.

Eluf ta’ xemgħat ħomor inxtiegħlu sabiex bil-fjamma tagħhom kiebja jakkumpanjaw it-talb impespes jew fil-qalb li ntqal għall-bżonnijiet tal-erwieħ.

Id-dmugħ ġelben fuq ħaddejn bosta individwi. Anki fuq ta’ dawk li qrabathom ilhom snin li ħallewhom imma li l-firda baqgħet tqanqalhom.

Insibhom interessanti wisq dawn ir-ritwali tas-soċjetà tagħna li tibqa’ tgħożż lil dawk li ħabbet anki wara mewthom; kultant anki billi tibqa’ titrattahom daqs li kieku għadhom ħajjin.

Miexja matul it-trejqat taċ-ċimiterju tal-Addolorata, stajt ninnota dawn il-ġesti kollha. Qalbi ngħafset għal dawk l-oqbra li baqgħu għera għax donnu ħadd ma mar iżurhom. Imma mbagħad ċertu dati li qrajt fuqhom tawni x’naħseb li forsi dik il-familja ntemmet u b’hekk, ma fadalx aktar min iżurha.

L-oqbra ta’ Xu Huizhong u Gu Yanzhao

Wasalt quddiem l-oqbra li mort inżur jien: dak ta’ Xu Huizhong u ta’ Gu Yanzhao, iż-żewġ inġiniera Ċiniżi li mietu f’pajjiżna waqt li kienu qed jaħdmu fuq il-Baċir Numru 6. Filwaqt li Xu kien miet mewta traġika, Gu kien ħalliena minħabba kawża ta’ mard.

Ir-ritratti tagħhom ħarsu lejja u jiena sellimtilhom f’isem pajjiżhom u f’isem pajjiżi. B’turija ta’ rispett, poġġejt bukkett kriżantemi bojod u sofor li skont l-użanza Ċiniża jissimbolizzaw in-niket u s-swied il-qalb. Imbagħad skont il-kultura tiegħi, tlabt lil Alla biex jagħtihom il-mistrieħ ta’ dejjem.

Niftakar li meta staqsejt lil xi individwi Ċiniżi, l-għala dawn iż-żewġ persuni ndifnu hawn Malta u ma ttieħdux lura f’pajjiżhom, huma kienu nfurmawni illi kienu l-familjari tagħhom stess li għażlu hekk. Skont il-kultura Ċiniża, dawn kellhom jindifnu fil-pajjiż li ħadmu għalih għax hekk biss setgħu jistrieħu fil-paċi ta’ dejjem: billi meta jitlesta l-proġett li kienu ġew biex jaħdmu fuqu, huma jkunu għadhom ‘preżenti’ fuq l-istess art. Barra minn hekk, il-familjari xtaqu wkoll li permezz ta’ din id-deċiżjoni, dawn l-għeżież tagħhom jibqgħu jiġu miftakra b’rispett mill-poplu li huma kienu marru biex jagħtuh daqqa t’id.

Xorta waħda, tħassibt dwar x’iħossu llum il-familjari ta’ dawn l-individwi li kellhom iħallu lil min ħabbew daqstant il-bogħod minn arthom.

Midalja tal-Qadi tar-Repubblika għall-inġinier Xu Huizhong

Dal-ħsieb ma ħallinix bi kwieti u għalhekk iddeċidejt li nitkellem mal-ex-Ministru Laburista, Reno Calleja, li fl-1979, kien intbagħat mill-Prim Ministru Duminku Mintoff sabiex jagħti l-Midalja tal-Qadi tar-Repubblika lill-familjari tal-inġinier Xu Huizhong peress li huwa tilef ħajtu traġikament fis-16 ta’ Marzu 1979 waqt li kien qed jaqdi dmiru fil-bini tal-baċir.

“Dik hija ġurnata li jiena ma ninsa qatt!” stqarr mill-ewwel Calleja hekk kif bdejna nitkellmu. “Anzi, nista’ ngħid li personalment ngħodd dak il-mument bħala l-akbar wieħed fil-karriera politika tiegħi. Napprezzah tant għax dakinhar ħassejt li jien kont parti mill-istorja ta’ pajjiżi fejn Malta kienet qed tagħti ġieħ kbir lil ħaddiem barrani wara mewtu, minħabba li hu miet waqt li kien qed jgħin lil pajjiżna.”

Il-ftehim ta’ għajnuna bejn Malta u ċ-Ċina

Calleja jiftakar sewwa ż-żmien meta kien qiegħed isir il-ftehim maċ-Ċina sabiex din tgħin lil pajjiżna jiġi fuq saqajh.

“F’dawk is-snin anki ċ-Ċina kienet relattivament fqira iżda xorta tat daqqa t’id lil Malta. U huwa f’ġesti bħal dawn li tara l-veru ħbiberija ta’ pajjiż: meta jgħinek f’mumenti meta lanqas hu ma jkun jiflaħ wisq,” sostna Calleja.

“Il-pass għaqli li kien għamel Mintoff, meta xahar wara Nixon, fl-1972, tela’ ma’ delegazzjoni Maltija sabiex jiltaqa’ ma’ Mao Zedong, kien ġie apprezzat wisq. U grazzi għal din id-deċiżjoni, għadna ngawdu l-frott ta’ ħbiberija kbira ma’ dan il-pajjiż li llum stagħna sewwa.”

Għadd ta’ ħaddiema Ċiniżi jgħinu fil-bini tal-Baċir Nru. 6

“Apparti li kienu tawna għajnuna finanzjarja, iċ-Ċiniżi għenuna ħafna billi bagħtu fostna għadd ta’ ħaddiema tekniċi sabiex iwettqu numru ta’ proġetti kbar f’pajjiżna, fosthom il-Baċir Numru 6,” kompla jispjegali Calleja.

“Dawn il-ħaddiema Ċiniżi ħadmu spalla ma’ spalla mal-Maltin u niesna stagħnaw fil-prinċipji ta’ kif wieħed għandu jaħdem fuq xogħolu hekk kif bdew jinnutaw il-kultura tagħhom. Kultura ta’ nies li għandhom umiltà kbira, bżulija liema bħalha u sens ta’ dover qawwi lejn pajjiżhom. L-entużjażmu li l-Maltin raw fost il-ħaddiema Ċiniżi, huma u jaħdmu bi preċiżjoni u b’għaqal, anki jekk kienu qed jagħmlu dan għall-pajjiż ieħor, ispirathom biex anki huma jagħmlu bħalhom. U jekk il-ħaddiema Ċiniżi kienu qed jaħdmu b’tant dedikazzjoni biex jagħmlu lil pajjiżhom kburi bihom, anki l-ħaddiema Maltin kienu qed jistinkaw daqshom biex pajjiżhom ikun jafulhom,” qalli Calleja.

“Meta l-Baċir Numru 6 tlesta u saret iċ-ċerimonja tal-ftuħ, jien kont hemm u naħlef li rajt lil uħud mill-ħaddiema jibku meta raw wiċċ Mintoff jixgħel b’sodisfazzjon għax-xogħol li kien twettaq minnhom kollha.”

Reno Calleja jitla’ ċ-Ċina biex iwassal il-Midalja

Iżda dan ir-rakkont kellu wkoll il-lat ikraħ tiegħu, fosthom din it-traġedja fejn ħalla ħajtu l-inġinier Xu.

“Fl-1979 ġejt mistieden biex nitla’ ċ-Ċina sabiex nirrappreżenta l-Għaqda ta’ Ħbiberija bejn Malta u ċ-Ċina u kif kien mistenni, infurmajt lil Prim Ministru b’dan. Huwa qalli biex nitla’ f’April minħabba li kellu xi ħaġa f’moħħu,” ftakar Calleja.

“Wara xi ħmistax, reġa’ sejjaħli fejn infurmani li hu kien iddeċieda li jagħti l-Midalja Għall-Qadi tar-Repubblika, fuq bażi onorarja wara mewtu, lill-inġinier Xu Huizhong, u jien kelli ntellagħha miegħi. Ftit wara, saret ċerimonja fejn il-President Anton Buttigieg għadda din il-midalja lill-Ambaxxatur taċ-Ċina f’Malta bħala rappreżentant tal-Gvern Ċiniż. Imbagħad din il-midalja ngħatat lili u jien tlajt biha ċ-Ċina.”
Hawnhekk, Calleja ħareġ xi ritratti li kienu jfakkru dawn il-mumenti distinti.

“Sabiex issir din l-għotja lill-familjari tal-inġinier Xu, ġiet organizzata ċerimonja kbira fis-Sala tal-Kungress ta’ Shanghai. Għal din l-okkażżjoni, jien ippreparajt id-diskors tiegħi bil-Malti u student Malti kien traduċieha għaċ-Ċiniż. Dan l-istudent kien Clifford Borg-Marks li llum huwa l-Ambaxxatur ta’ Malta fiċ-Ċina.”

“Intant, waqt din iċ-ċerimonja kelli l-privileġġ li niltaqa’ ma’ mart l-inġinier Xu u ma’ wliedu, li kollha apprezzaw ferm dan il-ġest ta’ unur li għaddielhom pajjiżna. Madanakollu, ma nista’ ninsa qatt dak il-wiċċ sogħbien ta’ martu li rringrazzjatni u ma qalet xejn aktar.”

Huwa għadu f’kuntatt magħhom sal-ġurnata ta’ llum.

“Sfortunatament, sena wara li ltqajt magħha, mart Xu mietet bil-għali. Iżda wliedha żammew kuntatt miegħi u ġieli ġew Malta jżuru l-qabar ta’ missierhom. Issa bint Xu għandha tifla li nfurmatni li meta tikber tixtieq issir inġinier bħan-nannu.”

It-tradizzjonijiet taċ-Ċiniżi

Fatt interessanti huwa illi ċ-Ċiniżi ma jiċċelebrawx ir-ritwali tal-mejtin fl-istess żmien tagħna. Barra minn hekk, għandhom aktar minn ċerimonja waħda li tfakkar lil dawk li ħallewna.

Il-Festival Qingming

Fosthom hemm il-Festival Qingming, jew kif inhu wkoll magħruf bħala Il-Ġurnata tat-Tindif tal-Oqbra. Din il-ġurnata taħbat bejn ir-4 jew il-5 t’April, skont il-kalendarju tradizzjonali lunari.

Waqt dan il-festival, in-nies jiftakru u jonoraw lill-antenati tagħhom permezz tat-talb, billi jnaddfu l-oqbra, billi jiżbgħu l-kalligrafija li tkun iċċarat biż-żmien, billi jaħarqu l-inċens u billi joffru ikel, te, xorb u aċċessorji oħra fuq l-oqbra. F’din il-ġurnata, xi nies għandhom ħabta jġorru magħhom zokk taż-żavżava sabiex iżommu lura l-ispirti ħżiena li jkunu qegħdin iduru matul iċ-Qingming.

Peress li ċ-Qingming jibda mal-istaġun tar-Rebbiegħa, in-nies tiċċelebra wkoll dan il-jum billi tmur għal ħarġiet fil-kampanja u ttajjar il-manuċċi. Xi bdiewa jaħartu l-art proprju f’din il-ġurnata.

Il-Festival tal-Erwieħ

Waqt dan il-festival li jsir f’Awwissu jintwera rispett lejn il-mejtin kollha ta’ kull età. Bejn wieħed u ieħor isiru l-istess attivitajiet li jiġu ċċelebrati waqt iċ-Qingming.

Madanakollu, hemm ukoll drawwiet oħra: bħat-tluq ta’ dgħajjes żgħar tal-karti u lanterni fuq l-ilma. Dan ir-ritwal hu maħsub biex jagħti d-direzzjoni lill-erwieħ li jiġu jżuru lill-ħajjin waqt din il-ġurnata, sabiex isibu mill-ġdid il-mistrieħ ta’ dejjem.

(Dan l-artiklu ġie ppubblikat fis-sensiela KOBOR IL-MALTI (25 parti) fit-Torċa tad-9 ta’ Novembru 2014)

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2014.11.09 / no responses / Category: Torca - Features & Articles
The Chinese who remained in Malta

Last Sunday, many of us went to visit the cemeteries which are located around our islands in order to pay our respects to our dead relatives and friends.

Many of us took with them a beautiful bunch of coloured and fragrant flowers which we left on the cold tombs made of yellowish stone or of icy white or dark black marble. Apart from showing love and respect, this gesture seemed to try to inject life where there was not.

Others have also dedicated some time to clean the tombs by removing the weeds or by changing an old photograph with a new one.

Thousands of red candles were lit so that their humble flame might accompany the soft prayers that were said for the deads’ souls.

Many people had tears in their eyes. Even those whom their relatives had died a long time ago but still feel emotional at this loss.

I find these death rituals very interesting, particularly when I observe how society continues to keep dear to its heart those who have died; sometimes even by continuing to treat them as if they were still alive.

Whilst I walked along the paths of the Addolorata cemetery, I could notice all these customs. A pang of sadness crept into my heart when I noticed some bare tombs whom no one seemed to have visited. However, a closer look at the dates written on these tombs indicated that probably those particular families had ended and therefore nobody remained to visit.

The tombs of Xu Huizhong and Gu Yanzhao

I arrived in front of the tombs which I went to visit: those of Xu Huizhong and Gu Yanzhao; two Chinese engineers who died in our country whilst they were working on Dock Number 6 in Malta. Xu had died accidentally whilst Gu was deceased due to an illness.

Their photos looked at me and I greeted them in name of their country and in name of mine. As a sign of respect, I put a bunch of white and yellow chrysanthemums on their tombs according to Chinese tradition which symbolizes sadness and grief. Then, according to my culture, I prayed to God to give them eternal rest.

I remember that when I asked some Chinese individuals regarding why these two persons had been buried in Malta and were not taken back to their country, they informed me that this had been their relatives’ decision. This is because, according to Chinese culture, these individuals had to be buried in the country for which they were working because that was the only way how they could rest in peace: for they had to be present on the same land when the project on which they were working was successfully finished.

Notwithstanding this, I still wondered what these persons’ relatives might have felt when they had to allow those whom they had loved, to be buried in a foreign country, and so far away.

An honorary medal of the Republic of Malta for engineer Xu Huizhong

I continued to think about this and so I decided to talk to ex-Labour Minister, Reno Calleja, who in 1979 was sent by Malta Prime Minister, Duminku Mintoff in order to present an Honorary Award of the Republic of Malta to the family of engineer Xu Huizhong. This honour was given to this man after he died tragically on 16th March 1979 whilst he was working at the construction of a new dock in our country.

“That was a day which I will never forget!” revealed Calleja as soon as we started to discuss this matter. “More than that, I must say that personally, I consider that moment as the most salient one in my political career. I cherish it that much because on that day, I felt that I was becoming part of my country’s history; where Malta was presenting a very significant award to a foreign worker after his death, because he had lost his life whilst he was helping our country.”

An agreement between Malta and China

Calleja remembers clearly that period when China had agreed to help our country to regain its economic strength.

“In those years, even China was a relatively poor country but it chose to help Malta all the same. It is during such moments that one can see the true friendship of a country: when it helps you in times when it is not so strong itself,” insisted Calleja.

“The wise decision that Mintoff had made, when in 1972 he visited China with a Maltese delegation in order to meet Mao Zedong, after Nixon had did so too about a month before, was very much appreciated. And thanks to this choice, the Maltese people are still enjoying the benefit of this friendship, now that China has become a very rich country.”

Many Chinese workers help in the construction of Dock Number 6

“Apart from giving us financial support, the Chinese people helped us a lot by sending us many technical workers in order to attend to various important projects in Malta, including the construction of Dock Number 6,” Calleja continued to explain.

“These Chinese workers have worked along with the Maltese labourers and our people got enriched in the principles of work as they learnt about the Chinese culture from these people. It was a culture of a people of great humility with vast enterprise together with a devotional sense of duty towards their own country. The enthusiasm shown by the Chinese workers as they worked with quality and precision, even when they were doing this for another country, inspired the Maltese to behave like them. And if the Chinese labourers were working with much dedication in order to make their country proud, the Maltese labourers were getting busy so that their country would be thankful to them,” Calleja said.

“When Dock Number 6 was ready, I attended to the opening ceremony and I swear that I noticed many workers cry when they saw Mintoff’s face alight with satisfaction for the good job that everyone had made.”

Reno Calleja goes to China in order to present the Medal

Unfortunately, this fantastic narrative has also its negative side; including the instance of the death of engineer Xu.

“In 1979, I was invited to visit China in order to represent the Malta-China Friendship Society. When I advised the Prime Minister about this, he requested me to go to China in April because he had something in mind,” remembered Calleja.

“After a fortnight, Mintoff informed me that he had decided to give a Medal of the Republic of Malta on an honorary basis after his death to engineer Xu Huizhong and I was recommended to take it with me on my visit to China. Soon ex-President of Malta, Anton Buttigieg, organized a ceremony wherein he invited the ex-Ambassador of China in Malta, as a representative of the Government of the People’s Republic of China in order to present him with this medal. Then this medal was handed to me and I took it with me to China.”

Here, Calleja showed me some photographs of those distinguished moments.

“A very big ceremony was organized at the great Congress Hall in Shanghai in order to present this medal to engineer Xu’s family. For this event, I prepared a speech in Maltese which was translated in Chinese by a Maltese student. This student was Clifford Borg-Marks whom today is the Ambassador of Malta in China.”

“During this ceremony, I had the privilege to meet engineer Xu’s widow and his children who all appreciated very much this honourable award that our country had given them. However, I can never forget the sad face of his widow who thanked me respectfully and said nothing more.”

From then on, Calleja has kept in contact with Xu’s family.

“Regrettably, a year after I met her, Xu’s widow died of grief. Yet her children kept in contact with me and they came to Malta in order to visit their father’s grave. Now, Xu’s grand-daughter has informed me that when she grows up, she would like to become an engineer like her grandpa.”

Chinese traditions

An interesting fact is that the Chinese people do not celebrate the death rituals during our same period. Furthermore, they have more than one ceremony related to paying respect to their dead.

Qingming Festival

Among these traditions, there is the Qingming Festival or Tomb Sweeping Day. This festival takes place on the 4th or the 5th April, according to the traditional lunar calendar.

During this festival, the people remember and honour their ancestors by praying, cleaning tombs, re-painting calligraphy on tombs, burning incense or offering food, tea, drinks and other accessories on the tombs. Moreover, on this day, some people may carry willow branches with them or hang them on their doors in order to ward off the evil spirits which may roam around on Qingming.

Since the Qingming takes place with the beginning of the Spring season, these celebrations usually include also family outings and kite flying. Some farmers start ploughing their fields on this day.

The Ghost Festival

During this festival which takes place in August, people will pay respects to all deceased whether young or old. Some of the activities which take place during the Qingming are also undertaken throughout the Ghost Festival; including the offering of food and the burning of incense.

Other celebrations could include the releasing of miniature paper boats and lanterns on water. This ritual is intended to direct the lost ghosts and spirits to their resting places as some people believe that on this day, the deceased will visit the living.

(This article is a translation of the Maltese original version which was published in the series KOBOR IL-MALTI (Part 25) in Torċa dated 9th November 2014)

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2014.11.09 / no responses / Category: Torca - Features & Articles