Posts Tagged ‘Max Farrugia’

  • NEVER FORGOTTEN

    From left - Max Farrugia and James Baldacchino - Photo by Fiona Vella (2)Recently, Max Farrugia has donated a collection of 10,500 memorial cards to the National Archives of Malta. I was curious to learn why someone would wish to have such a collection and what was its value to the national archives.

    “Initially, I started this collection in order to pray for the souls of the dead,” revealed Max. “I would separate the memorial cards into sets according to the village or town they came from. Then, each week, my family and I would choose a set, spread the memorial cards on a table and pray for their souls.”

    “We were aware that among those individuals, there were elders who had no one to pray for them and so we did. We also believe that prayers can be passed on to other souls if the person we are praying for is already in heaven. Flowers wither, tears dry out but a prayer is always beneficial.”

    Max succeeded to gather such a huge collection, mostly by word of mouth, and also a touch of luck, here and there.

    004b“I am 73 now and I have been collecting memorial cards for many years. When people learn that you have such an interest, they would generally help you out. I still receive packs of memorial cards in my letter box. Facebook is another great tool for such things. Whenever I post a request for memorial cards, someone will always respond,” he said as he smiled.

    Then there are moments of serendipity.

    “One day, I was attending mass at the chapel of Fort St Angelo and I noticed a memorial card in the sacristan’s hand. I approached him and asked him whether I could have it since I was a collector. He gave it to me eagerly and told me to return within an hour so that he could bring me more. There were 400 memorial cards waiting for me when I returned!”

    Some of the memorial cards in this collection go back more than 100 years. One of the oldest ones was discovered accidentally.

    003a“I was at the DOI office to get some documents and while I waited, I started to talk with one of the officials. Soon I learnt that he lived in Birżebbuġa and when he continued to elaborate, I realised that he had purchased my great grandfather’s house. When I told him that, he informed me that he had found two old memorial cards in a piece of old furniture in that house. We met later on and he gave them to me. The memorial cards were of my great grandfather dating to 1897 and his brother.”

    As he opened some of the boxes brimming with memorial cards, Max selected a number of them to explain their research value to me.

    “These memorial cards are rich with information for researchers. For example, they can be very significant to genealogists when they are tracing people to build a family tree. From the date of the demise of a person, one can research for further information at the Public Registry, where one would then obtain the date of birth. From the birth certificate, one can then identify the parents, and can continue to trace back the grandparents and so on.”

    009bThe images of the saints on memorial cards, which are generally patron saints, will reveal the location which the deceased came from.

    “From this information, a researcher can then look for more details in the particular parish archives. Look at this memorial card,” he said as he chose one of them. “On the left side, there is an image of Christ the King which is the patron saint of Paola and on the right, there is the image of the Immaculate Conception which is Cospicua’s patron. This means that this person was born in Paola and then he moved to Cospicua.”

    The National Archives hold a vast collection of passports and from them, researchers manage to find photos of people and other details. Yet, this collection does not cover those persons who were never abroad. This lacuna can be filled through the collection of memorial cards. Interestingly, from this collection, one can also trace Maltese people who emigrated and died in Australia and in other countries, since their Maltese relatives tend to organise a mass in Malta to pray for their souls and give out memorial cards to those who attend.

    002“As you can see, memorial cards can serve to tell a social and a cultural narrative. They also have a historical and an anthropological value. For example, when one compares memorial cards of different periods, one can notice the development of printing. One can also observe the use of different languages in various villages and towns, with some using the English language while others prefering Italian. As time passes, one can then follow the introduction of Maltese and the evolution of the language’s spelling as years go by.”

    “Originally, memorial cards were meant to be placed in a Missal in order to pray for the souls during mass. However, modern memorial cards tend to be bigger in size, making this practice difficult.”

    Max Farrugia is one of the founders of the NGO ‘Friends of the National Archives’. The main objective of this NGO is to raise public awareness of the work of the National Archives, and the importance of preserving documents of historical value. It also offers assistance and support to the National Archives by various means, including fundraising and the promotion of a volunteers’ scheme.

    “This collection of memorial cards will now form part of the project MEMORJA,” explained James Baldacchino, the administrator of the MEMORJA Project at the National Archives of Malta.

    001 - Copyright - National Archives of MaltaMEMORJA is an oral, sound and visual archive. Its main objective is to employ cutting edge research, methodologies, theoretical and archival approaches and techniques to collect, record, transcribe, preserve and make available and retrievable all the deposited material detailing the islands’ history.

    “Initially, we started out with four themes, namely the Second World War, the British expatriates in Malta, public administration, and the Lampedusa-Malta connection. Then, we added two others – the Malta buses and transport and the bell-ringers. However, our country is blessed with so much history that you continue to expand as people approach you with different valuable memories. In this case, Max Farrugia has introduced the death theme with all its significant meanings.”

    MEMORJA - Copyright -National Archives of Malta“Through this project, we found a huge amount of data which existed only in the minds of people and in their photos. Many individuals were enthusiastic to make their voice heard in order to help out with the shaping of the public’s narrative which up to now was not formally recorded for posterity. They were also very generous in donating or allowing us to copy hundreds of personal family photos from which we can identify various themes such as social life, fashion, local landscape, celebrations, food and much more.”

    Gathering records for MEMORJA is all about reciprocal patience and trust. James spends several hours over a period of time, visiting people who are interested to be interviewed until they are ready to give out the formal experience on record. He showed me several photos which were handed to him. All this information will soon be available on a website which the National Archives is currently working on.

    Max Farrugia can be contacted on maxfarrugia46@gmail.com

    If you are interested to contribute to the MEMORJA Project, you are invited to contact James Baldacchino on james.baldacchino@gov.mt  or call 21459863.

    The National Archives is located at ‘Santo Spirito’, Hospital Street, Rabat, Malta.

    (Note – This article was published in SENIOR TIMES – November 2019 issued with The Times of Malta on Friday 15th November 2019)

    2019.11.15 / no responses / Category: Times of Malta

  • L-ESPERJENZA TAL-ANZJANI HIJA IMPREZZABBLI

    Max Farrugia flimkien mas-Sindku tal-Hamrun, Christian Sammut“Minħabba li ġejt nominat għall-Premju Anzjanità Attiva, flimkien ma’ għadd ta’ anzjani oħra, dan l-aħħar attendejt għall-preżentazzjoni tal-premijiet. Wieħed wara l-ieħor, ir-rebbieħa bdew jiġu msejjħa biex jitilgħu fuq il-palk ħalli jirċievu l-premju. Ismi kien l-aħħar wieħed li ġie mħabbar, bħala r-rebbieħ tas-sezzjoni akkademika. Meta ndunajt li rbaħt, lanqas naf x’ħassejt. Niftakar biss li qomt emozzjonat u ħarist lura nfittex lis-Sindku tal-Ħamrun, Christian Sammut, li kien innominani,” stqarr Max Farrugia, anzjan ta’ 72 sena.

    CertifikatDin is-sena, bħas-snin ta qabel, is-Segretarjat Parlamentari Għal Persuni b’Diżabilità u Anzjanità Attiva organizza dan l-avveniment taħt il-Patroċinju tal-Eċċellenza Tagħha, il-President ta’ Malta, Marie Louise Coleiro. Kif stqarr is-Segretarju Parlamentari, Anthony Agius Decelis, l-għan tal-Premju Anzjanità Attiva huwa li tiġi rikonoxxuta l-ħidma varja tal-anzjani fil-komunità. Anki għal dis-sena, kien hemm konkorrenza qawwija mingħand diversi persuni li ġew nominati minn għaqdiet u NGOs differenti biex juru l-abbiltajiet tagħhom. Bord indipendenti għażel u immerita lill-individwi partikolari li kienu ‘role models’ fis-soċjetà tagħna.

    “Meta s-Sindku tal-Ħamrun għarraffni li kien innominani għal dan il-premju, kont diġà kuntent ferm. Il-fatt li jinnominak Sindku juri li dan japprezza x-xogħol li tagħmel int fir-raħal,” lissen b’emozzjoni Farrugia.

    Max Farrugia beda jaħdem fil-volontarjat mill-età ta’ 16 il-sena, meta kien imsieħeb maż-Żgħażagħ Ħaddiema Nsara, u hemm kien jgħin fit-tagħlim u fl-organizzazzjoni tal-attivitajiet.

    “Wara li temmejt l-edukazzjoni tiegħi, applikajt bħala night reporter mat-Times of Malta u ntagħżilt. Kien xogħol interessanti ferm li kompla saħħaħli kitbieti. Hemmhekk kelli l-opportunità li naħdem mill-qrib ma’ Mabel Strickland. Mhux darba u tnejn li akkumpanjajtha l-Parlament sabiex nagħmlilha traduzzjoni. Spiċċajt naħdem ma’ dan il-ġurnal fl-1968, imma bqajt nirrispetta lil Stricklandsa mewtha għax dejjem ġid rajt minnha. Kienet waħda li tagħtik parir u li tinkoraġġik. Kienet tasal tirrabja miegħek jekk tiżbalja, però mbagħad ma kienetx tiddejjaq tfaħħrek jekk tagħmel xi ħaġa tajba.”

    Minn hemm, Farrugia kompla bl-istudji tiegħu fejn kiseb Diploma mal-British Institute u speċjalizza fil-ġurnaliżmu fit-turiżmu. Għalkemm il-ħsieb tiegħu kien li jidħol jaħdem fil-qasam tat-turiżmu, ma rnexxielux, u eventwalment applika biex jidħol maċ-Ċivil.

    “Dħalt mal-Malta Electricity Board li aktar tard saret magħrufa bħala l-Enemalta. Bdejt fl-istores bħala skrivan u minn hemm bdejt navvanza. Finalment, fl-1996 sibt ruħi responsabbli mit-twaqqif tal-arkivju u l-librerija tal-Enemalta. Kelli nibda kollox mill-bidu għax ma kien hemm xejn ħlief kamra kbira b’400 kaxxa ippakkjati bid-dokumenti. Tlabt xi mwejjed u persuni biex jagħtuni daqqa t’id u wara xogħol qatiegħ u bla waqfien, ġibna kollox kif kellu jkun. Biss biss, ikklassifikajna iktar minn 4000 ritratt li kienu juru l-kostruzzjoni tal-power stations f’Malta. Kien hemm ukoll għadd ta’ pjanti antiki u disinji relatati ma’ dan il-qasam li kienu interessanti ħafna.”

    Waqt li kien qiegħed jagħmel dax-xogħol, huwa ġie rakkommandat biex isaħħaħ l-istudji tiegħu, u din l-opportunità fetħitlu bibien oħra.

    Qoxra tal-ktieb - L-Internament-u-l-Eżilju-Matul-l-aħħar-Gwerra“Kelli 55 sena meta ggradwajt b’Diploma in Library and Information Studies. Bħala parti mill-kors kelli nipparteċipa f’ħidma ta’ 100 siegħa f’xi arkivju jew librerija, u jien għażilt l-Arkivju Nazzjonali. Hemmhekk laqgħani l-Arkivist Nazzjonali, Charles Farrugia, u dan stedinni biex nagħmel il-klassifikazzjoni u l-indiċjar ta’ għadd ta’ dokumenti tal-ħabs li kienu għadhom kif waslu fl-arkivji. Aċċettajt u bdejt inqassam kollox għalih.”

    “Ma domtx ma nnutajt anomalija u mort niddiskuti mal-arkivist dwarha. Filwaqt li l-parti l-kbira tal-volumi kienu mqassma rġiel u nisa għalihom u ma kienu akkumpanjati bl-ebda ritratti, żewġ volumi minnhom kienu juru rġiel u nisa mħalltin u kien hemm anki r-ritratti tagħhom! L-arkivist infurmani li dawk kienu l-individwi li kienu ġew internati f’Malta u aktar tard fl-Afrika, minħabba li ġew meqjusa b’fehma kontra l-Imperu Ingliż.”

    “Bdejt nifli dawn id-dokumenti b’interess u ħaġa ġġib lill-oħra. Bqajt skantat meta ġurnata minnhom jitfaċċa f’idejja r-ritratt taz-ziju t’omm marti, ħu San Ġorġ Preca. Imbagħad sibt ukoll ritratt ta’ qassis li kien jiġi minn missieri. Minn hemm, kibirli l-interess f’dan is-suġġett, sakemm finalment ħriġt il-ktieb L-internament u l-eżilju matul l-aħħar gwerra.”

    Bħala parti mir-riċerka għal dan il-ktieb, huwa saħansitra mar il-Palestina peress li hemm kienu jinsabu xi Maltin miżżewġin Taljani li kienu ġew internati f’dan il-post.

    “Inħobb nikteb ħafna dwar il-Perjodu Brittaniku peress li jagħmel parti mill-Istorja riċenti ta’ pajjiżna, u huwa żmien li jien għext u għadni niftakar sewwa. Barra minn hekk, għad hemm affarijiet ta’ dak il-perjodu li tista’ tara u tmiss b’idejk.”

    Qoxra tal-ktieb - Enrico DandriaInfatti, anki l-ktieb l-ieħor tiegħu Enrico Dandria – Qassis, Politiku u Patrijott jitratta dan il-perjodu.

    “Kelli diġà ‘l fuq minn 60 sena meta ġejt rakkommandat biex nistħarreġ il-ħajja ta’ dan il-Monsinjur li ħadd ma kien għad kiteb dwaru. Kien l-ewwel Ministru tal-Edukazzjoni f’Malta fl-1921. Għex żmien politiku mqalleb u kellu sehem importanti f’għadd ta’ avvenimenti sinifikanti, fosthom: it-twaqqif tal-Assemblea Nazzjonali, l-irvellijiet tas-Sette Giugno, it-twaqqif tal-partiti politiċi, l-ewwel elezzjonijiet parlamentari fl-1921, l-ewwel Self Government u t-tilwima politiko-reliġjuża bejn il-Partit ta’ Strickland u l-Knisja.”

    “Ħajjet Dandria ma kinetx nieqsa mill-kontroversji. Bejnu u bejn l-Ordni Franġiskan Konventwali kienet qamet kwistjoni dwar twaqqigħ ta’ parti mill-knisja ta’ San Franġisk fi Strada Reale fil-Belt Valletta. Dan il-każ spiċċa l-Qorti u wara kienu saru liġijiet ġodda dwar il-kultura u l-antikitajiet. Huwa miet f’qasir il-għomor fl-età ta’ 40 sena.”

    Biex saret ir-riċerka għal dan il-ktieb, Farrugia ngħata għajnuna sinifikanti mill-Arċisqof Pawlu Cremona li fetaħlu l-bieb tal-arkivji tal-Knisja f’Malta u saħansitra rranġalu permess biex juża l-arkivji tal-Vatikan f’Ruma. Huwa għamel ukoll stħarriġ fil-British Archives.

    “Meta niddeċiedi li nagħmel xi ħaġa, nidħol b’ruħi u ġismi għaliha. Nemmen li jekk trid tagħmel xi ħaġa, trid tagħmilha sew!”

    Meta rtira bil-pensjoni, Farrugia deherlu li kellu jsaħħaħ is-sehem tiegħu fil-volontarjat.

    “Fost xogħol ieħor, bdejt intella’ programm ta’ siegħa bl-isem 20:30 fuq l-istazzjon televiżiv lokali Xejk. Kien programm kollu kemm hu ddedikat lill-patrimonju kulturali u fih kont ninkludi bosta intervisti mas-Sindki tal-Kunsilli Lokali. Aktar tard, dan il-programm mexa għal fuq l-istazzjon F Living Channel.”

    Max Farrugia (Photo - Fiona Vella)Għalkemm Farrugia hu mill-Ħamrun, huwa dejjem kellu interess fl-irħula u l-ibliet kollha tal-gżejjer tagħna, partikolarment fir-reġjun tan-Nofsinhar ta’ Malta. Dan wasslu biex jagħti sehem f’diversi għaqdiet.

    “Meta kont qed nattendi għall-kors tad-Diploma in Library and Information Studies, flimkien mal-lekċerer tagħna Hella Jean Bartolo, waqqafna l-NGO Friends of the National Archives. Wara li Bartolo ħallietna, jien sirt il-President ta’ din l-Għaqda u għadni sa llum nagħti ħafna kontribut.”

    Huwa msieħeb f’għadd ta’ għaqdiet, inkluż il-Malta Railway Foundation. Kull sena, għadu jikteb diversi artikli għall-kotba tal-festi ta’ bosta rħula. Jgħin ukoll biex jitfasslu mixjiet kulturali ġewwa l-Ħamrun.

    “Nistqarr illi llum ġieli nkun okkupat iktar milli kont fiż-żmien meta kont impjegat! Fil-ħajja huwa importanti ferm li jkollok skop għax b’hekk il-ħajja tkompli. Nemmen li meta l-anzjani jirtiraw mix-xogħol, għandhom xorta waħda jibqgħu attivi f’xi ħaġa jew oħra. L-esperjenza tal-anzjani hija mitqla deheb u l-pajjiż għandu jkun għaqli biżżejjed biex jiggwadanja minnha. Min-naħa l-oħra, l-anzjani jirbħu għax jibqgħu jħossuhom involuti u utli fil-komunità. Huwa tajjeb li tibni fuq iż-żgħażagħ iżda l-esperjenza tal-anzjani hija imprezzabbli!”

    (Dan l-artiklu ġie ppubblikat fis-SENIOR TIMES – OCTOBER li ħareġ mat-Times of Malta tat-18.10.2018)

    2018.10.18 / no responses / Category: Times of Malta