Qatt ma qabad ajruplan qabel ma għalaq tmienja u sittin sena u issa ried jiġi f’pajjiżna, il-post fejn għandu għeruq qawwija anki jekk ma twelidx Malta u mhux ċittadin Malti.
Gabriele Scicluna huwa Ingliż bin koppja Maltija li kienet tgħix f’Lixandra, l-Eġittu.
Scicluna li permezz ta’ ġinekologu sab l-għeruq tal-familja Scicluna jmorru lura għas-seklu sbatax jispjega kif ta’ sitt snin għadda minn trawma hekk kif familtu kellha titlaq b’ta’ fuqha senduqha mill-Eġittu.
Kien żmien tal-biża’ kif jispjega, meta l-kriżi politika imlaqqma ta’ Swejz rat lil President Nasser tal-Eġittu u l-Gvern Ingliż jieħduha qatta’ bla ħabel kontra xulxin.
“Curfews in 1956-1957. I remember my father used to come home from work and he used to say; all the lights off, nobody put the lights on, the curtains would be drawn, and then we could hear the bombing outside, the bombs drop in and we had to sit down with our backs to the wall, just incase the walls fell into the house and it was frightening times.”
Waqt mawra f’pajjiżna, Scicluna jgħid kif ħafna Maltin emigranti fl-Eġittu tkeċċew għax kellhom passaport Ingliż u kienu għodhom se jegħrqu fuq vapur li wassalhom lejn l-Ingilterra.
“We’re put on a ship, I didn’t know where we were going, I didn’t know where this place England was. We couldn’t speak English, I didn’t know where England was.” “Which language you spoke?” “I spoke Italiano.”
Bl-għeruq Maltin il-ħin kollu f’moħħu, anki jekk ma jitkellimx bil-Malti, Gabriele jgħidilna li bħala refuġjati spiċċaw jgħixu għal sena sħiħa f’kampijiet tas-suldati fl-Ingilterra.
“But the next, we were all taken coaches upon coaches upon coaches of refugees were taken to Peppard in South Oxfordshire in England where we were given barracks as our homes.”
Intant jispjegalna kif l-għeruq Maltin tiegħu spiċċaw fl-Eġittu lejn nofs is-seklu dsatax.
Dik il-ħabta bosta Maltin kienu qed jemigraw lejn l-Eġittu iżda żammew it-tradizzjonijiet Maltin f’qalbhom.
Tant li anki Gabriele sal-lum għadu Kattoliku prattikanti u mhux Protestant, bħal biċċa l-kbira tal-Ingliżi.
“His name was, I believe it was Fortunato, Fortunato Scicluna. He married Carmela Felice and he married Carmela Felice on the 12th of January 1862 in Alexandria, Egypt.”
Fuq kollox Gabriele Scicluna, Ingliż iżda b’għeruq Maltin, jesprimi l-imħabba lejn dik l-art li fuqha twieldu dawk li ġew qablu u sawwruh f’li hu llum.
“I imagined Malta to be as nice as it is.”
