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OPINION | Wednesday, 7 May 2008 Sir Anthony Reno Borg It is not very common for a person to live 100 years less eight months. Sir Anthony Mamo died at the venerable age of 99. Born in 1909, Sir Anthony lived two World Wars and witnessed the major events in Malta’s political and constitutional history. At the age of ten, Malta’s first president could live the eventful days of the Sette Giugno and the ensuing 1921 Constitution which was a step forward towards self-government. The Maltese political class had an uphill struggle to achieve Independence. Sir Anthony witnessed it all and was an integral part of it. In 1974 he was anointed Malta’s first President after having had a brilliant career as Professor of Criminal Law and a legal adviser to four Prime Ministers.
I heard the name of Sir Anthony much before joining the law course. In the streets of Birkirkara, his birthplace, the older generation of farmers saw Sir Anthony as the defender of their rights. In all their troubles they approached him believing that he had a solution to each and every one of them. Hailing from one of Malta’s largest towns, Sir Anthony left his doors open to everyone and never forgot his humble origins. His brothers and sisters (the Ta’ Karla family) ran a good grocer’s shop in one of Birkirkara’s most populated regions. I remember my grandma buying from their shop, sometimes having to wait for a couple of hours. In those days groceries were burdened with the system of rationing, a system that subsidised staple foods like pasta, sugar and flour. ‘Ir-raxin’, as it was popularly known, was granted to all families according to the size of the family. Each family had a small booklet and the grocer ticked the monthly entitlement so that no one would be tempted into getting subsidised food twice. The President’s two sisters that used to serve in the grocer were ‘Foli’ (I presume Filomena) and if I recall correctly, Maria. Then there were Gorg and Ganni. If Sir Anthony was a man of service and a gentleman, his brothers and sisters were a good example of honesty and kindness. They lived a humble life and never for a moment lost touch with reality and the common folk. Sir Anthony visited his brothers and sisters regularly and perhaps that’s why Sir Anthony’s contemporaries never lost touch with him. When I joined the law course, students in the second year of the course quickly enlightened us that to study Criminal Law there was an easy and professional way… buy ‘Mamo Notes’. I took the advice and went to Miss Strati (a polite, old spinster) whose job was to sell University publications (the few that there were) and obviously, Mamo’s notes. These notes were professionally created by Sir Anthony Mamo and are still in circulation till this date. We still quote them in our daily work at the law courts. Sir Anthony did a fine job and was a familiar name with law students even if they qualified as his ‘grandsons’. His son, Professor John Mamo, another gentleman, lectured me in Commercial Law with an emphasis on insurance legislation. His lessons were practical and he treated each and every one of us with respect. I have always felt that my teachers and lecturers (especially those who really deserve it) were my greatest benefactors. Persons like Sir Anthony are a rarity in the history of a nation not only because of their longevity but also because of the intrinsic part they play in the same historical process. Sir Anthony attracted the respect of everyone simply because he was a man of substance and integrity. If there ever was a person occupying the post of President who really symbolised the unity of the Nation, that person was Sir Anthony. Perhaps the time has come to have as President someone who can really unite the country. The first step in this direction is an agreement between the two major political parties on a person who like Sir Anthony can denote the absence of political pique and hatred. Sir Anthony was also a dedicated Karkariz, attending each year the religious ceremony in honour of Birkirkara’s patron saint in the village Basilica. Up to two years ago, I saw him myself participating fully in the ceremony in spite of his old age. So, it was only appropriate that Sir Anthony’s body was taken to the Basilica he so loved before his family handed him to eternity. Sir Anthony was a prominent public person. He earned respect, and his love for others was the key to success. Now, only his deeds speak for himself and he will be remembered as a key figure in Malta’s academic, judicial and political history. Only time will tell whether this country will ever produce someone else the likes of Sir Anthony. Any comments? |
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Managing editor Saviour Balzan | Tel. ++356 21382741 | Fax: ++356 21385075 | Email
Managing editor Saviour Balzan | Tel. ++356 21382741 | Fax: ++356 21385075 | Email