The Comic-book Journalism of

Maltese American Joe Sacco

FMLA Newsletter Issue 10 June - July 2011

JUNE - JULY 2011 Page 2

From the Editor’s Desk:

When „Comics are NOT Just for Kids

I remember the phone call I received in the late 1990s from Victor

Debattista, a friend who then was a graduate student in astrophysics at

Rutgers University. ―Did you see the New York Times Magazine article on

Joe Sacco?‖

Joe Who? I asked myself. He must be an artist, probably with a Maltese

background, as I knew Victor was very knowledgeable about Maltese art

and artists. In fact, we first met at a Maltese art exhibit held at Fordham

University in New York City.

Victor, now a fellow in the Jeremiah Horrocks Institute at the University of Central

Lancashire, Preston, UK, went on to explain that Sacco, born in Malta but living in the

United States since he was a child, was a well-known cartoonist who was a journalist.

Cartoonist and journalist in the same phrase?

Like many people, I did read comic strips and popular comics as a child and when I was a

teenager (gasp!) started looking at editorial cartoons in the daily newspaper.

But then, real ―comics‖ to me, were something that pimple-

faced teen-aged boys kept under the bed and read when no

one was around because the focus was on violence, sex, and

fantasy.

I had a lot to learn and have. Today, graphic novels, as they

often are called, are part of high school and college literature

courses.

The New York Times Magazine article Victor referred me to

was about a new book Sacco had published on Palestine;

actually, it was a series of smaller stories compiled into a

larger book.

Victor suggested that I might want to read first a graphic

piece Sacco had written about his mother‘s harrowing

experience during World War II when Malta was under siege. Because this was the time

before Internet book sales, I went to a comic book store in New York and looked for that

first story. I found it, read it, and was mesmerized. This was, indeed, a talented cartoonist

and journalist, and I would read more.

On our cover this month is Carmen M. Sacco‘s (nee‘ Farrugia) account of what happened to

her and members of her family and community during those terrible war years in Malta. It is

a story we should not forget, and as Sacco notes in our article about his work beginning on

page 5, that is what his mother kept telling him.

The stories our elders tell us about hardship, life in bomb shelters, courage, and hope that

were part of World War II in Malta should never be ignored nor forgotten.

But are young people listening? What have you done to keep the memories alive and

enlighten the younger generation about the past of their elders? Perhaps a look at Carmen

Sacco's account of her experience would be a good starting point.

Saћћa u sliem dejjem! Claudia Caruana ■

JUNE - JULY 2011 Page 3

From The President:

Linking Maltese Around the WorldOn the anniversary of the

setting up of the

Federation for Maltese

living Abroad (FMLA) it is a

good time to reflect on

what precisely has been

achieved over the past

year.

At the Convention held in Malta in March

2010, a group of interested persons met to

discuss the future of the organisation, then

known as FOMA. Discussion took place as to

what needs to be done to rejuvenate that

Federation. At that meeting election officers

were selected to conduct elections, for the

first time, to appoint a new committee.

In July 2010, elections were organised and

11 members were elected as committee

members. Subsequently, I was declared

President, Albert Vella, Secretary, and

Claudia Caruana, Editor of the newsletter,

The Maltese Link.

Perhaps the three most significant

achievements over this period of time have

been the following:

■ The setting

up of a Constitution

for the Federation.

No organisation can

function properly

without clearly

defined guidelines as

to its administration

and modus operandi.

So it is with

considerable pride

that we drafted a

constitution which,

within a few months,

was available for

discussion by all

delegates to the

Convention and

members of the

Federation.

■ The second milestone was the

publication of our newsletter: The Maltese

Link. The first issue of this newsletter

appeared in September 2010, only a couple

of months after the new FMLA came into

existence. It has been hailed as an

attractive medium for the dissemination of

information around the world. It is

distributed electronically and by mail to

approximately 3,000 individuals and

organisations. Thanks are due to the Editor,

Claudia Caruana as well as to the Secretary,

Albert Vella, for the not inconsiderable work

effort involved in the production and

distribution of The Maltese Link. ■ The third, and most recent

achievement is our new website that

provides lasting access to information about

the Federation. It is available at

www.malteseabroad.org Thanks are due to

Edwin Borg Manché of Melbourne, for this

work which has been carried out entirely on

a pro bono basis.

We can now say that within a year we have

managed to link Maltese wherever they

Home page of the FMLA website.

JUNE - JULY 2011 Page 4

happen to be around the world. Anyone can

read about the achievements of those who

left their homeland decades ago, as well as

those of their ever-flourishing progeny.

Anyone can express their views through

these media, which we believe will reduce

isolationism among countries and even

shorten distances and make communication

easier within any one of the vast countries

where Maltese have settled.

We also can say that we have opened a

portal of communication with Government

bodies that have been invited to contribute

to these new media of communication which

reach Maltese living overseas.

It will be remembered that one of the

promises made by the Minister for Foreign

Affairs at the Malta Convention last year was

the setting up of a Consultative Committee

made up of representatives from overseas

as well as from Malta itself. The aim of this

committee is to advise the Minister on issues

relating to Maltese living abroad.

In March, organisations were invited to

submit comments and recommendations to

the Minister to help him devise the best

ways of setting up such a committee.

The fact that so far no such committee has

been set up presumably relates to the

difficulty of organising such a body. It is

hard to envision how such a committee,

selected merely on recommendations from

individuals, groups, or associations and not

through an electoral process, can be

considered to be representative of a

community.

It is almost impossible to have an equitable

representation of the various communities of

Maltese living overseas when one considers

the disparities in demographic distribution of

Maltese around the world. It is possibly for

these reasons that such a consultative

committee has not yet materialised.

It is of course in the interest of all Maltese

that there should be close liaison between

our Federation and any committees set up

by the Government in Malta.

Maurice Cauchi ■

Imnarja Celebrated in London

The Maltese Cultural Movement, based in

London, sponsored a large Imnarja feast for

the Maltese community there. Imnarja is the

feast of St. Peter and St. Paul and

traditionally celebrated on June 29th.

Visitors toured Maltese stalls offerring

traditional treats such as imqaret, pastizzi,

bigilla, and hobż biż żejt, as well as Maltese

beers and soft drinks. There was also a

petting zoo for the children.

Among the special guests at the event was

Dr. Joseph Muscat M.P., leader of the

Opposition in Malta. The Maltese Cultural

Movement is headed by Bernard Scerri, a

member of the FMLA Committee. ■

Mr. Bernard Scerri, Mrs. Susan Zammit Tabona, H.E. High Commissioner Mr. Joseph Zammit Tabona, Mrs. Michelle Muscat, and the Leader of the Opposition Dr. Joseph Muscat M.P.

JUNE - JULY 2011 Page 5

Joe Sacco: Reporting about War, Conflict with Both Words and IllustrationsMost war reporters come prepared to

dangerous areas wearing flak jackets,

carrying heavy camera equipment, and in

recent years, embedded with troops. They

take notes, write articles or photograph the

misery around them and then send the

material back to their media companies.

The story of Joe Sacco, who was born in

Malta, and has covered wars from places as

diverse as Israel's Occupied Territories to

Bosnia to Malta, is a bit different. He creates

what some might call, ―word and image

narratives.‖

With the eyes of a seasoned journalist,

Sacco, now 52, often visits war fields after

the conflict, talking with survivors to get

their stories and views. He'll also talk with

officials and conduct more research.

Then, he writes what he calls a script. From

that he draws in comic book style, the story.

It is this style that has earned Sacco the

title of ―creator of war-reportage comics.‖

First Australia, then the U.S.

When he was an infant, Sacco emigrated

with his parents to Australia, but the family

soon decided to relocate to the United

States. He grew up in California and went to

the University of Oregon to earn a degree in

journalism. He also was passionate about

drawing cartoons.

Initially, there seemed little possibility of

combining the two. He had dull journalism

jobs and drew cartoons on the side.

Some of those early cartoons focused on

humor, satire, and human interest topics.

His work was being noticed.

One comic, in particular, turned out to be

especially crucial in his professional

development: ―More Women, More Children,

More Quickly‖ which is published in the

collection of his early works: Notes from a

Defeatist. This is the story of Carmen,

Sacco's mother who lived through World War

II. The story is seen through her eyes.

Sacco traveled in the Middle East in the

1990s and wrote a series of comic books

about the conflicts he saw and the stories he

heard. Those individual comic books were

combined into the book, Palestine, which

earned an American Book Award in 1996.

Another graphic novel Safe Area: Gorazde

about Sacco's time in war-ravaged Bosnia,

won the Will Eisner Award for best original

Graphic Novel in 2001.

Sacco's most recent book, Footnotes in

Gaza, a sequel to Palestine, was nominated

for the 2009 Los Angeles Times Book Prize

Graphic Novel Award. Footnotes in Gaza is

the culmination of a seven-year

investigation into two long-forgotten 1956

massacres in the Gaza strip, one in the town

of Khan Younis, the other in the neighboring

town of Rafah. Close to 450 people died.

His work also has been published in

magazines including, Time, Details, Harpers,

Virginia Quarterly Review and the New York

Times Magazine.

The Maltese Link caught up with Sacco while

he was on the road, and he was gracious to

speak with us. Our conversation follows.

Joe Sacco Photo © Michael Tierney

JUNE - JULY 2011 Page 6

Is there a special reason why you focus

on war issues? Was the story/memoir

of Malta your first work focusing on the

issues of war beyond the battlefield?

Readers would want to know if you

write the material first and then draw,

or do you do it simultaneously?

The story I did about my mother's

experiences in World War II on Malta was

probably the first time I tried to tell a

serious story. Before that, I did a lot of

satire and humor.

I'd heard many of my mother's stories

before, but not all of them. I asked her

about different topics, like life in the shelter,

and the time she was strafed by a German

aircraft. She would write letters to me in

response. After I'd collected enough of these

letters, I started putting her words into a

form I could use -- basically a script. And,

after the script was written, I started

drawing. That's the way I always work.

I believe many readers

understand what a

photojournalist does but

might not understand what

you do...could you explain

this?

Well, I'm a cartoonist. I happen

to have a degree in journalism.

At some point, I combined my

two loves -- journalism and

comics. I didn't develop a theory

for this. I simply went to the

Middle East -- to the Palestinian

Territories, to be exact -- to have

a look around with the notion

that I would do a series of comic

books about my experiences.

While I was there I started

interviewing people and

gathering information because I

suppose I see everything

through a journalistic filter. And

then, I wrote and drew a series

of comic books. So I call it

―comic-book journalism.‖

Has your Maltese background

influenced your work? If so,

how? Do you visit Malta

often? I believe you did a

graphic novel about

Malta...and it was one of the

first in Malta. (I don't

remember if that one was the

one with the World War II

story).

I can't say my Maltese

background has influenced my work except

insofar as my parents' stories about the war

really stayed with me and probably got me

interested in the notion of how civilians live

through times of cataclysmic conflict.

I don't visit Malta as much as I should or

JUNE - JULY 2011 Page 7

would like to. The last time I was there it

was to work on a story about the African

migrants who have landed there and the

Maltese response to that situation.

What new project are you working on

now?

I am working on a book with a journalist

friend, Chris Hedges, about pockets of

postindustrial blight in the United States.

We are looking at regions and cities where

corporate and other interests have been

allowed to exploit the land and people

without giving much of anything back. I am

doing illustrations which emphasize

landscape and some comics, and Chris is

writing prose. We hope to mesh our

impressions as best we can.

Anything you want to tell us about your

family?

My parents, who are retired, are living in

southern California. My dad was an

engineer, and my mother was a school

teacher. My sister lives in Virginia and works

as a researcher in the field of occupational

therapy.

My dad and I were born in Kirkop; my

mother and sister were born in Mqabba. So

there's a friendly rivalry within the family

over which village has the best feast.

Actually, I'm kidding about that!

Claudia Caruana ■

Books Authored by Joe Sacco Here are some of Sacco's books that are

available from on-line booksellers or from

their respective publishers:

Notes from a Defeatist, Seattle, Wash:

Fantagraphics Books, ISBN: 1-56097-510-

5. 2003.

Safe Area Gorazde: The War in Eastern

Bosnia 1992-1996. Seattle, Wash:

Fantagraphics Books, ISBN: 1-56097-470-2.

2000.

Palestine. Seattle, Wash: Fantagraphics.

Books, ISBN: 1-56097-432X. 2001.

His most recent book was published in

2009: Footnotes in Gaza: Metropolitan

Books, New York: ISBN: 0805073477.

Malta, Again a Topic in Sacco Comic In recent years, Sacco had been working

on a piece about African immigrants

trying to gain entrance into the European

Union using Malta as their point of

entrance. Readers can see some of that

work in the Winter and Spring issues of

the Virginia Quarterly Review

(www.vqr.edu).

To see the entire work, a subscription to

the Virginia Quarterly Review must be

purchased, as noted on the website where

portions of these comics are published.

JUNE - JULY 2011 Page 8

Bongu! Kif intom? Nittama li Kulhadd tajjeb

u…

Chances are if your Maltese language skills

are languishing, limited, or non-existent,

and you are reading this, you might want to

know more about Professor Lydia Sciriha's

work.

Sciriha is Professor of Linguistics at the

University of Malta, where she has directed

the University‘s Language Laboratory

Complex. She has authored or co-authored

11 books, including the language course

Beginning Maltese (Book and two CDs), The

Maltese Interactive Picture Dictionary: An

Interactive Multimedia Computer Program

for Teaching Maltese Spelling, Vocabulary

and Pronunciation (Book and CD ROM) and

Continuing Maltese: A Lower Intermediate to

Intermediate Level Course (Book and two

CDs).

Many readers may have used her Beginning

Maltese; Continuing Maltese was released

earlier this year.

So the editors of The Maltese Link decided

to contact Professor Sciriha about these

audio language programs and why learning

Maltese is important.

Why did you decide to create your first

language audio tapes?

As soon as I returned to Malta from my

studies in Canada in 1987, I started

teaching in the Arts Faculty at the University

of Malta. In addition to being a Lecturer of

Linguistics, I also held the post of Director of

the Language Laboratory Complex.

Then, the language laboratory was used

predominantly by foreign students who

wished to use the self-taught courses in

English that were available.

Since a number of foreigners working in

Malta wanted to learn Maltese, Professor

Joseph Aquilina‘s Teach Yourself Maltese

course was available, and they could listen

to the tapes in the sound library.

Unfortunately, these foreigners found

Aquilina‘s course rather difficult, and as the

director of the Laboratory Complex, I often

was inundated with requests for an easier

Maltese course.

I used to feel quite helpless and very

uncomfortable when trying to explain to our

foreign students that there were no other

courses available. The only option I had was

to write a course for foreigners myself, and

this is why I started to write Beginning

Maltese.

It is important to emphasize the fact that

students from different language

backgrounds gave me a lot of feedback as to

Learn Maltese with Prof. Lydia Sciriha

JUNE - JULY 2011 Page 9

what should be included in the course. They

specifically asked me to include a lot of

vocabulary, grammar, and exercises to

consolidate what they learned. In fact,

Beginning Maltese includes these three

areas.

What needs did you see for a Maltese

language course for the Maltese

communities living abroad?

When I was writing the lessons for the

Beginning Maltese course I realised that

second and third generations of Maltese

living in countries such as Australia, Canada,

and the United States would probably also

be interested in a first level course, but I

was unaware as to the extent of their

interest in the language.

The dire necessity for such a course quickly

became evident to me in 1997 when I was

invited to teach at Victoria University in

Melbourne for three months. At the time, it

was evident that there was a shocking

dearth of material for learners to learn

Maltese as a foreign language.

When in Melbourne, I browsed through the

shelves of a huge bookshop which

specialises in language courses, and, to my

dismay, there were only a few Maltese

novels on the shelf dedicated to Maltese

works.

I was deeply saddened by this fact

especially since Australia is home to

thousands of Maltese, and only then did I

fully understand the huge stumbling blocks

Maltese parents and educators face when

teaching Maltese to second and third

generation Maltese migrants.

Who are the people who have benefited

most from Beginning Maltese?

Gauging by the positive feedback I have

received over the years and from the fact

that 10,000 copies of the Maltese course

have been sold, I hope that thousands of

people have benefited from this first level

course. I think that the largest proportion of

the users are second and third generations

of Maltese living abroad.

Nevertheless, I have received letters and e-

mails from many people who just like the

language or who are interested in

augmenting their linguistic repertoire by

learning Maltese. Interestingly so, ever since

Malta joined the European Union and the

Maltese language became one of the official

languages of the Union, interest in Maltese

has increased significantly.

Maltese is no longer merely the official

language of a small nation state in the

centre of the Mediterranean, but its status

has risen considerably since it is also one of

the 23 official languages of the European

Union.

What other kinds of people are

interested in the Maltese language

courses? Visitors to Malta? Guest

workers?

As I mentioned, the majority of the users of

my language course are second and third

generation Maltese, though they are not the

only ones. Some visitors to Malta who wish

to retire permanently here also are users of

this course. Beginning Maltese has also been

used to teach Maltese to resident

ambassadors and high commissioners who

need Maltese when making introductory

comments to their speeches in Maltese – a

gesture that is highly appreciated by their

Maltese audience.

Moreover, since Malta joined the European

Union a good number of foreigners are

working here and they realise that it is best

to learn the indigenous language of the

Maltese if they wish to integrate in Maltese

society and also to understand what the

Maltese are saying about them.

Why did you create Continuing Maltese,

the second language course?

Continuing Maltese was published a few

months ago, even though I wrote the course

about eight years ago after being asked by

many individuals who had followed

JUNE - JULY 2011 Page 10

Beginning Maltese to write a higher level

course. As with the first level course, a

number of individuals from different

language backgrounds tested and

commented on the course content. Their

feedback, over these long eight years, was

very important as it gave me the

opportunity to revise a number of drafts.

Unfortunately, all language courses take a

long time to be published because they need

to be tested and re-tested.

As the name implies, Continuing Maltese is a

second-level course and, it is a continuation

of Beginning Maltese and the format is

similar to the first level course. Continuing

Maltese comprises a textbook with 10

lessons. The recorded material is found on

the accompanying two compact discs. Each

lesson is split into two sections: Section A

comprises the analytical part of the lesson,

in which grammatical and phonological rules

are given; Section B is the experiential part

of the lesson and includes dialogues based

on everyday situations, such as greetings,

asking for directions, going shopping or

phoning a government department.

The sequence followed in the recorded

material is the same as that found in the

accompanying textbook: Word List A,

Dialogue and Word List B. While Word List A

incorporates the new vocabulary in the first

part of the lesson (Section A), Word List B

includes the vocabulary in each Dialogue

(Section B).

Furthermore, to help the learner understand

the dialogues, in the first five lessons, an

English translation accompanies each

dialogue.

The translations, however, are omitted in the

second half of the course, since the learner

would, by then, have amassed enough

vocabulary to understand the dialogues.

Feedback is very important. Thanks to a

comment made by a British student

regarding the difficulties he encountered

when accessing the different word lists on

the CDs of Beginning Maltese, the producers

of Continuing Maltese have placed each

word list and dialogue on separate tracks to

ensure quick access by the user of these

CDs.

Who are the people most interested in

the second program? Continuers from

the first program or others who want to

jump into the learning of Maltese

language?

Second and third generations of Maltese

migrants and foreigners who work in Malta

and who would like to continue learning

Maltese would benefit from Continuing

Maltese. As the title of the course implies,

Continuing Maltese also is meant for those

people who already have some knowledge of

Maltese and would like to sharpen it further.

Moreover, the dialogues included in each

lesson help them to practise speaking

Maltese. The dialogues are all spoken by

native speakers of the language, and users

have the opportunity to repeat each

dialogue at their own leisure.

JUNE - JULY 2011 Page 11

Rosetta Stone, to my knowledge

doesn't have a Maltese language

program. (Rosetta Stone is heavily

promoted in the United States) Is your

program similar?

Rosetta Stone produces language courses

which one accesses via the internet. If one

were to have a look at the languages which

Rosetta Stone offers, what is striking is the

fact that most of these languages are

ranked among the top 10 languages of the

world, as regards the numbers of native

speakers of the languages. Maltese is a

small language, numerically speaking, and

publishers are not usually interested in

producing a Maltese language programme

since the costs incurred to produce such a

programme (paying the authors of the

language courses, the computer

programmers, and specialists manning the

internet site) are financially not feasible. So

I doubt whether Rosetta Stone would

consider including Maltese as one of the

languages.

In fact, I recall that on the first of my three

visits to Australia, Protea Ltd, a Melbourne

based Australian software company,

accepted to produce the Maltese Interactive

Dictionary. While I wrote the Maltese text,

the rest was in the care of the computer

programmers.

When this CD ROM was published in 1997,

the selling price at 25 Maltese liri

(equivalent to about 60 euros) was

considered far too expensive even for some

schools, even though as the author I did not

even get royalties. Production costs are

exceedingly high for a Maltese language

course since the numbers of potential

buyers are very small, and as a result, the

selling price is much higher than for a

language such as Italian and German, which

have millions of speakers.

Moreover, a language course does not

merely comprise a textbook. It is also

accompanied by audio material, the

recordings of which are very expensive to

produce in professional studios, and then, of

course, the cost of marketing the product.

Rosetta Stone produces language courses

over the internet, and these are accessible

only to those who have a computer linked

by internet. An interesting M.A. thesis has

been written by one of my students on

internet language courses. Her evaluation

reveals that although at first sight such

courses are popular, judging from the

numbers of those who access the courses,

unfortunately, the bounce rates are very

high.

How would you respond to people who

say, "Learning the Maltese language is

foolish. What's the point?"

Before answering your question, I would like

to quote a very famous American linguist

Leonard Bloomfield, who once said that

‗language learning is doubtless the greatest

intellectual feat any one of us is ever likely

to perform‘. It is not easy to learn a

language. One needs to have a positive

attitude and a determination to succeed.

Undoubtedly, I would never consider

learning a language ‗foolish‘. Learning a

language opens windows to different

cultures and however knowledgeable about

a country one is, it is the language spoken

JUNE - JULY 2011 Page 12

in the particular country that makes one feel

part of that country. Learning a language

requires courage and commitment but once

a language has been mastered, it is such an

overwhelmingly rewarding experience.

Only recently I had the opportunity to

attend an intensive course in German in

Hamburg. I really love Germany and had

visited it many times before, but it is only

when I started learning the language and

reading and understanding the notices on

billboards, trains, and buses that I realised

that I could understand the Germans better

and feel that I could better appreciate their

culture.

Are ambassadors and high commissioners

foolish to learn Maltese even though they

are posted in Malta for only three or four

years? Is it worth spending so much time to

learn a language only to leave the country

and forget the language after a few years?

The answer is a resounding 'NO'. I have had

the opportunity to teach some of these

people, and they repeatedly remarked how

the fact that they could understand and

speak some Maltese, made them feel more

at home in Malta and understand the

Maltese better.

Why are people learning Maltese?

Maltese is the indigenous language of the

people of Malta and is co-official with

English. In 2002, Maltese was also given

official status within the European Union.

Like any other language, Maltese is not easy

and those who embark on learning this

language usually have instrumental reasons

for doing so.

Maltese is now taught in some schools in

Brussels and Luxembourg, and in both of

these countries, the Directorate General for

Translation now includes Maltese personnel

who translate documents usually from

English or French source texts into Maltese.

As a result, beyond the Maltese shores,

there is now a demand for Maltese

translators and interpreters as well as

teachers of Maltese. In view of its newly

acquired importance, more individuals have

started to add Maltese to their linguistic

repertoire. ■

R.I.P. Angelo Vella

We have learned and are sorry to report

that Angelo Vella, the Canadian-Maltese

centenarian whom the editors of the Maltese

Link profiled in the May 2011 issue, died

June 14. A Mass of Christian Burial was said

for Vella at St. Wilfrid‘s Roman Catholic

Church in Etobicoke, Canada.

We offer our condolences to his family. ■

Malta Book Bag Returns Next Month

You are reading a double issue of The

Maltese Link, so we have decided to

postpone the Malta Book Bag until next

month.

You'll find a great selection of new books by

Maltese authors and others about Malta. ■

We'd Like to Hear from You

In a few months, Albert Vella and I will have

been writing and editing The Maltese Link

for one year. It's been an amazing

experience and we appreciate hearing from

readers.

We've covered a variety of topics we believe

would be of interest to Maltese living

abroad. From what we have heard from

readers, we appear to be on target as to

what they want to see in the newsletter.

Toward the end of the summer, we hope to

conduct an e-mail survey that will tell us

which articles you liked best and which you

liked least.

Meanwhile, if you have thoughts about what

you want to see in The Maltese Link, please

don't hesitate to write either of us:

ccaruana29@hotmail.com or

atvella@rogers.com

JUNE - JULY 2011 Page 13

Meet Father Julian Cassar: From Malta to

Oregon via New York

[Editor‘s Note: Readers who participated in

the Malta Emigrants Convention in 2000,

like me, will no doubt remember the

presentation made by Father Julian Cassar,

of New York. I did know Father Cassar

before the Convention, as he was a diocese

priest in a parish close to where I lived.

Recently, I made contact with Father Julian

who was pleased to know about The Maltese

Link and the progress the FMLA is making in

organizing the Maltese community outside of

Malta.]

Father Julian writes:

―After spending 22 years in New York

parishes, I ventured to a more missionary

territory, ending up in the Diocese of Baker

in eastern Oregon in 2003. Our Diocese is

one of the smallest in the number of people

(37,000 Catholics) but huge in size at

66,000 square miles - the size of Great

Britain!

―I came from one of the smallest islands in

the world to one of the biggest cities in the

United States, and then to one of the

smallest and remotest towns in the high

desert of Oregon. The town where I started

as a pastor was John Day, with a population

of barely 2,000 people. Only 10 percent of

them were Catholics. I quickly went to work

and within 2 years, I had brought back to

church 25 people, in addition to 15 converts

I helped to enter our parish community. One

can easily say that the parish population

increased by another 10 percent in 2 years.

―The Bishop soon asked me to go to another

parish, the Cathedral parish in Baker City

with a large, 98-year-old-church. I quickly

read the writing on the wall. The bishop

knew that coming from Malta, I had a

special love for history and church

architecture, and since the Cathedral was to

celebrate its centennial in 2008, I started

work on a big renovation project, restoring

the inside of the Cathedral. The Cathedral‘s

stained glass windows, installed in 1923,

were still in very good condition.

The Baker City Cathedral in spring.

―I arrived at the Cathedral parish in June

2005, and the renovation took the entire

summer of 2007. We celebrated the

centennial on April 9, 2008, exactly 100

years from its original dedication.

―A lot of the work was done by parishioners

who were skilled craftspeople and artisans.

We did save a lot of money this way; the

finished product was beautiful as we brought

back the glory of the past and created a

sanctuary that is conducive to a prayerful

atmosphere.

―When I first arrived, I had an assistant

priest to help me, but he only stayed two

years. I have been alone for the past 4

years, taking care of another small chapel

where we say daily Mass, a hospital chapel,

a prison chapel where we say Mass, and a

mission church in Halfway, 54 miles away,

where I have to go every weekend to

celebrate Mass. Round trip, it is 108 miles!

―Through all of this, I have enjoyed the

scenery, which is spectacular, as my

thousands of photos testify. Baker City is

nestled between two mountain ranges, the

JUNE - JULY 2011 Page 14

Elkhorns and the Wallowas, both of which

are close to 10,000 ft. above sea level.

There‘s plenty of snow from September until

July. Wildlife is abundant, and I frequently

come across deer, elk, bald eagles, blue

Joining the parishioners 2004.

herons, and so many other birds that always

are showing off, but fly away when a

photographer approaches them.

―Most of my parishioners here are ranchers

and farmers, while others work in local

schools and government offices. The largest

numbers of residents actually are retired,

and they moved here because of the

excellent climate: little humidity, cooler

temperatures most of the year, with just

some warmer days in July and August.

―I have not met Maltese people in these

areas, and many of the people here did not

know about Malta (except, of course, the

Maltese Falcon). I frequently give illustrated

PowerPoint talks to various groups on Malta,

and everyone now knows where Malta is.

And if anyone dares ask me, ‗Where is

Malta?‘ my response is: ‗Malta is in the

Bible.‘

―Today, our diocese is like the United

Nations, with priests from Nigeria, Tanzania,

Kenya, Uganda, Poland, Mexico, Sri Lanka,

India, Argentina, and myself from Malta, in

addition to a few from the United States.

The latter, alas, are becoming fewer and

fewer.

―I keep a website for our parish with plenty

of photos which I take:

www.saintfranciscathedral.com. I also have

a personal website:

http://fatherjulian.homestead.com/fatherjuli

an.html Recently, I started a link for a page

dedicated to our famous Maltese artist

Emvin Cremona. Most people would be

surprised what one artist has produced, just

from the various churches I visited over the

past four years in Malta.

―On a very personal note, this past year has

been a sad one for me, as I lost my mother,

a younger brother, and my friend Bishop Joe

Grech, from Australia, with whom I kept in

touch after the 2000 Malta Emigrant‘s

Convention. [Editor‘s

note: see Bishop

Grech‘s obituary in The

Maltese Link, January

2011, p. 6]

―I look forward to

hearing again from the

many friends I met at

that meeting in Malta

and other friends I‘ve

met over the years. I

can be reached at:

julianmlt@uci.net.‖ ■

Celebrating Chrism Mass 2008.

JUNE - JULY 2011 Page 15

Mr. Joseph S. Micallef, Maltese Emigrant Cited for Outstanding Work in the U.S.

It was 1949 when a 16-year-old Joseph S.

Micallef, his mother, and three brothers left

their Paola home and boarded the S.S.

Sobieski to join their father in New York.

Like most emigrants, they entered the

United States at Ellis Island. In May,

Micallef was awarded the Ellis Island Medal

of Honor during a ceremony on the island.

The Ellis Island Medal of Honor pays tribute

to individuals ―who have made outstanding

contributions to their nation and to the

world.‖

Micallef, a lawyer, is President and CEO of

the Great Northern Iron Ore Properties. He

served in the United States Air Force, rising

to the rank of Captain. At present, he serves

on numerous boards of professional

organizations and charitable foundations,

including the American Foundation for

Maltese Charities.

Micallef has served as Honorary Consul

General of Malta at St. Paul/Minneapolis

since 1967. He also is Founder Emeritus of

the Malta Study Center, established in 1973

at the Hill Museum and Manuscript Library at

Saint John‘s University in Collegesville,

Minnesota – a center which is replicating for

posterity the archives of Mdina's Cathedral

Museum and the archives of the Knights of

Malta, including the Magna Curia

Castellaniae collection of the Banca

Giuratale.

The Sovereign Military Order of Malta has

recognized Micallef‘s contributions by

investing him as a Knight Commander, and

the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre

of Jerusalem has awarded him the Knight

Grand Cross. Malta honored him in 1998

with membership in the National Order of

Merit, citing his distinguished service to

Malta.

Micallef and his wife have raised five

children,– a son who is a physician and who

served in the United States Navy as a

lieutenant, two daughters who are lawyers,

and two daughters with advanced graduate

degrees. ■

Joe and Jane Micallef surrounded by their family following the Ellis Island Medal Ceremony.

JUNE - JULY 2011 Page 16

The Federation of Maltese Living Abroad newsletter, Maltese Link, is distributed free of charge to members of the global Maltese Community.

Letters to the editor, comments about the Federation, and requests for information should be addressed to the editor at ccaruana29@hotmail.com

The editor has the right to edit material for style and content or refuse publishing material that is in poor taste or potentially libellous.

If you do not wish to receive further copies of this newsletter, please send a note to the Secretary, Albert Vella, e-mail: atvella@rogers.com

Opinions published here do not necessarily reflect the views of all individual members or the Executive Committee of the FMLA.

Notes from the Secretary: On behalf of the committee of the Federation of Maltese Living

Abroad, I am pleased to share a few short updates with FMLA

members and the readers of our newsletter.

Albert E. Vella

Maltese Link Circulation

The Maltese Link is now distributed directly and electronically to

close to 650 readers in Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, France,

Germany, Greece, Italy, Libya, Luxembourg, Malta, Peru,

Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States, and Vatican City.

The newsletter is also distributed, either electronically or by mail, to around 2,300 members

of our organizations: Gozo Club, Maltese American

Social Club of South San Francisco, Maltese Canadian

Club of London, La Valette Social Centre, Australia and

Malta Society of New Zealand Inc.

The Maltese Culture Movement, U.K. has all our issues

prominently included on its web site –http://www.malteseculturemovement.com/?p=134

Website

We are pleased to note that the FMLA website

has been launched (see President‘s

comments on page 3). It includes a link to all

issues of the Maltese Link.

We take this opportunity to

thank our sponsors, Bank of

Valletta and the Malta

Tourism Authority for their

generous support.

Member organizations are encouraged to

create a link from their websites. ■

We are on Facebook

We are now on Facebook

and ask people who are

already on Facebook to

look for the "Federation of

Maltese Living Abroad"

page and click "like". ■

JUNE - JULY 2011 Page 17

A Special Night of Maltese Music in Paris

In late May, the Embassy of Malta in France

was host to a concert, ―Parcours en

Musique‖ at the Cathedral of Saint-Louis des

Invalides in Paris.

More than 500 guests attended this two

hour concert organised by the Embassy to

celebrate the felicitous state of current

Maltese-French relations.

In attendance were dignitaries from Malta

and France, including Parliamentary

Secretary Dr. Mario de Marco, Count de La

Rochefoucauld-Montbel, head of the French

branch of the Order of the Sovereign Knights

of Malta, Dr. Ray Bondin

Ambassador to UNESCO,

Professor Edward Debono,

Mrs. Camilleri widow of

the late Maestro Charles

Camileri, as well as

several senators and

ambassadors. Many

members of the Maltese

community living in

France also were present.

The choice of music and

performers had a strong

Maltese bias, designed to

showcase some of the

best elements of Maltese

artistic talent. The concert

opened with the overture

from the operatic work

Joconde of Maltese-French composer, Nicolo

Isouard. This overture from what is

considered to be one of Isouard‘s best

operatic works was played by the Orchestra

of the Republican Guard and directed by

Colonel Sebastien Billiard.

The overture was then followed by the New

World Symphony of the late Charles

Camilleri. This symphony had been

commissioned by Professor Debono‘s Centre

for New Thinking, and this was only the

second time that this work was played in

public.

Maestro Brian Schembri led the Orchestra of

the Republican Guard in this demanding but

inspired work. His direction was a rare

exception because this orchestra normally is

directed by French Military conductors.

The final performance of the evening was

the much anticipated Beethoven‘s, Emperor

Concerto for Piano and Orchestra no. 5 with

French pianist Brigitte Engerer as soloist.

In opening remarks before the concert,

Ambassador Miggiani mentioned that 20

years ago while reading an article about

Brigitte Engerer in a French magazine, he

had speculated about the possible link

between Ms. Engerer and his mother, the

late Eileen Engerer.

On taking his post as Ambassador to France,

he met with Ms. Engerer and after further

investigation was able to confirm that Ms.

Engerer, was, indeed, of Maltese descent,

directly related to his mother‘s family and

eligible for Maltese citizenship.

A special programme prepared for the

concert was distributed against a voluntary

contribution to the French Association of the

Charitable Works of the Knights of Malta. All

proceeds were donated to this association.

At the concert's conclusion, Ambassador

Miggiani presented the Certificate of Maltese

citizenship to Brigitte Engerer and her

father. ■

JUNE - JULY 2011 Page 18

Malta Pavilion Co-ordinator Mr. Joe Attard, Mayor Hazel

McCallion and Consul General of Malta Ms. Fiona Formosa.

Malta “Stars” in Canadian Cultural Festival Malta was showcased at the 26th annual

Carassauga Festival held in early June in

Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. This is the

largest multicultural festival in Ontario and

now is recognized as the second largest

cultural festival in Canada. Malta was one

of 60 countries taking part; more than

298,000 people were in attendance.

The Maltese Pavilion was hosted at the

premises of the Malta Band Club (a

member of the FMLA) in Mississauga, and

this group, plus members of other Maltese

clubs in Toronto, managed it. Here, there

were posters, maps, history, and

geography books.

The Consul General

of Malta, Ms. Fiona

Formosa, made a

presentation about

the Maltese islands

including

information about

their history,

economy, and

traditions.

Dressed up for a

Maltese festa with

its paviljuni, flags,

and other

paraphernalia

the Malta Band

Club opened the

first evening's

events with a

special performance, highlighting typical

Maltese marches.

The Pavilion's stage was set up with the

Gardjola on one side, and the Seven

Arches, typical Maltese mina-franca stone—

all handmade by local, skilled Maltese

carpenters.

Local Maltese artists exhibited their work

and answered questions from visitors.

Another booth was set up with a Maltese

sculptor.

Also on view was a typical karozzin and

dgћajsa, and many photographs and

painting of Malta and Gozo and its

inhabitants.

Karen Polidano, a well-known Maltese-

Canadian singer entertained visitors with

popular Maltese songs.

Throughout the three days, there were

other singers and performers to entertain.

The Malta bandspeople were dressed as

local countrymen and women and had the

audience on the dance floor waving flags to

the beat of the popular march, ―The King.‖

Traditional Maltese dances were performed

by the Melita Dancers dressed in colorful

red and white costumes.

Who could say ―no‖ to a plate of aromatic

fenkata or stuffat tal- qarnit? There also

was bragjoli, and hobz biz-zejt.

At evening's end, the local gћanejja

performed Spirtu Pront, the most popular

and developed form of gћana.

Sharon Pereira, a Maltese national, won

first prize in the Carassauga Singing Star

Contest.

At the festival's conclusion, the Mayor of

Mississauga, Hazel McCallion visited the

club to congratulate Pereira personally and

meet and speak with the Maltese people

present. ■