Maltese Migration to Egypt and Libya
For many centuries relations between
Malta and North Africa had been conditioned by the
legacy of mistrust and fear which had been generated by
the crusades. When the Knights of St. John took
possession of Malta in 1530, they-made the island their
last stand against the advance of the Turks. Malta and
the Maltese were to be the last bulwark of the crusading
spirit.
The Knights Hospitalliers of St. John
defied the power of the Turks till the very end. Their
final defeat came from the Christian French not from the
Moslems. Napoleon Bonaparte brought to an end not only
the longest surviving chivalric Order in Europe, but
when he took possession of Malta in 1798, he also
brought to an end the association of the Knights with
the Maltese which had lasted for two hundred and sixty
eight years. During their long stay in Malta the Knights
of St. John had profoundly influenced the Maltese. Many
Maltese manned and sailed the galleys of the Order and
on numberless occasions Knights and Maltese attacked
Arab and Turkish coastal towns. Maltese captured during
such raids were probably the first unwilling emigrants
to the unfriendly shores of North Africa.
The Knights of St. John never made
their peace with the Turks. The French interlude in
Malta lasted for about two years and that short period
was one of insurrection and revolt against the French
invaders. When Napoleon left Malta for Egypt about 2,000
Maltese left with him in what was later called La Legion
Maltaise.
Eventually most of these men
dispersed through-out the Levant after the defeat of
Aboukir on August 1, 1798. The remnants of the Legion
Maltaise could be considered as the pioneers of the
Maltese settlement in Egypt.
Later on, when Egypt was drawn into
the sphere of British influence, other Maltese sought
employment with the British forces there. When the
British besieged Alexandria in 1822 about 8,000 Maltese
refugees returned home in June of that same year. When
peace was restored Alexandria became an important place
for Maltese settlement in Egypt. Other Maltese decided
to live in Cairo, Suez, Rosetta and Port Said.
1859 was another important year in
the history of Egypt and of the Mediterranean. On April
25 of that year Ferdinand de Lesseps started working on
the Suez Canal and that zone was to attract thousands of
workers from the European shores of the Mediterranean.
Some Maltese sought their fortune in that area. Manual
workers left Malta on their own initiative to find
employment with the British Forces in Egypt. Most of the
immigrants from Malta earned their livelihood in the
construction business as masons, carpenters, smiths and
glaziers. Their British employers found them useful
because some Maltese knew English and they were able to
pick up Arabic much faster than other European workers.
The Maltese were proud of their association with the
British Empire and they were also very hardworking.
The number of Maltese immigrants in
Egypt went on increasing. Their close relations with
other immigrants from Europe helped them to appreciate
the importance of education. Though many of them had
left Malta practically illiterate they were eager to
learn. They sent their children to French schools
because these were run by Catholic missionaries. It so
happened that the sons and daughters of the original
humble immigrants from Malta became accomplished
linguists fluent in English, French and Arabic. Most of
them also picked up Italian while they kept their own
Maltese mother tongue.
This flair for languages made them a
useful asset to the British authorities who very often
employed the Maltese in their consular offices
throughout Egypt. European companies operating in the
Canal Zone found the polyglot Maltese very useful. The
culture and religion of the Maltese immigrants opened
for them most avenues which were available to Europeans,
though it is also important to state that they were
occasionally subjected to humiliation owing to racial
prejudice. Their willingness to learn and speak Arabic
made them acceptable to the native Egyptians, though
when the hour of destiny struck in 1956 they were told
to leave and go like all other foreigners.
As early as 1893 two Maltese
gentlemen, G. Palmier and M. Nuzzo issued a weekly
publication which carried the patriotic name of
"Melita". Some four years later a second publication
appeared which bore the title of "Egittu". In 1909 Mr.
George J. Vella edited a weekly newspaper in Maltese
which he called "Li Standard tal-Maltin" which meant
that he considered his newspaper as the banner of the
Maltese living in Egypt. George J. Vella was based in
Cairo and from there he hoped to inspire his Maltese
countrymen with intense patriotism towards their Island.
Vella's newspaper ceased publication in 1912 but was
resumed seven years later and survived till 1924.
The contribution of George J. Vella
was immensely positive. His "Li Standard tal-Maltin"
inspired the foundation of 'ne Maltese Benevolent
Society, The Melita Band and The Ladies Union. It was
also due to the effort made by George J. Vella that
other organisations came into existence within the fold
of the Maltese Communities in Egypt. Among these
organisations were: The Maltese Club of Suez, The
Maltese Boy Scouts, The Maltese Girl guides and The
Maltese Band of Port Said.
Toni Said of Port Said founded an
association for the diffusion of the Maltese language
and literature. He also published a literary review
called "II-Qari Malti". This review appeared at
intervals and survived till 1946 when Toni Said left
Egypt.
Another prominent Maltese in Egypt
was Ivo Muscat Azzopardi who lived in Egypt for a number
of years. In Alexandria, Mr. Ivo Muscat Azzopardi
founded a Maltese literary society to foster interest in
the language and history of Malta among the Maltese then
living in Egypt.
In 1937 there appeared another
publication called "Bulletin of the Maltese Community of
Cairo". In 1943 this publication changed its name to "II
Habbar Malti" and although it was at first printed in
Maltese, later on there were also articles in English
and in French. The editors distributed this newspaper
free of charge until it ceased publication in 1953.
In 1910 The Maltese Benevolent
Society of Cairo came into being through the initiative
of Gj. Vella. On February 12, 1910, Adolphe Bartolo
called a general meeting which resulted in the setting
up of the Society. The twofold aim of the Society was to
alleviate financial hardship among the Maltese and to
provide help and assistance to the sick and the aged.
The idea of helping Maltese
immigrants was not new. In 1880 Carmelo Cachia founded
his Maltese Mutual Help of Cairo. Its first president
was Professor C. Debono. The aim of this organisation
was to provide financial and medical assistance to its
members. It was dissolved in 1950 but it had inspired a
number of ancillary bodies to come into existence for
the benefit of the Maltese in Egypt.
In 1912 the Government of Malta
contributed the cnosiderable sum of ?300 to be used for
the benefit of those Maltese who found themselves in
straitened circumstances. There had been a number of
similar contributions throughout the years.A Maltese
benevolent society in Alexandria received an annual
grant from Malta of ?40 in order to help indigent
members of the local community. That community was
believed -to he one of the largest in Egypt in 1926. In
that same year a British benevolent society offered a
grant of ?120 for the same purpose.
In October 1922 Dr. Ugo Abela Hyzier,
President -of the Maltese Boy Scouts of Cairo wrote
about his troop of fifty boys who had enrolled in March
of that same year. He also wrote about the Maltese
Community in Cairo and mentioned the mutual help
associations, dramatic companies and band clubs which
were to be found in places where the Maltese tended to
congregate. R. Vadala' wrote about the La Valette band
of Alexandria which actually owned its own premises. The
Maltese in Alexandria frequented the church of St.
Catherine where a Maltese priest administered to his own
people in their own age.
Up to 1927 the various Maltese
communities in Egypt had no real link between them. To
provide better cohesion a Community Council was formed
after an appeal which had been launched in the pages of
"Li Standard tal-Maltin". In December of that year the
Community Council was formed with the support of Lord
Lloyd of Dolobran who was then High Commissioner in
Egypt. The news-paper "II-Habbar Malti" became the
Council's official organ.
In 1926 the number of Maltese living
in Egypt approached the figure of 20,000. Alexandria,
Cairo, Suez and Port Said, all had sizeable communities.
The Maltese in Port Said had built their own church
which they dedicated to Saint Eugene. The church was
built of Malta stone which had been imported at the
expense of the Maltese. They had their own priest, Rev.
Mark Sammut. This Franciscan friar was born in Egypt and
had never been to Malta. He was however, intensely proud
of his Maltese heritage and was very dedicated to the
Maltese community in Port Said.
The Maltese in Egypt represented all
classes. They were to be found in all professions and
trades. But the political base of the European presence
in Egypt was not very sound.
Constitutional changes had been
introduced which gave more power to the Egyptians. By
1926 Egypt was practically independent. Europeans were
less secure as British power over Egyptian affairs
declined. Zaghlul Pasha represented the nationalistic
trend which was to appeal to all Egyptians and that
trend did not take the presence of foreigners very
lightly. The British Army of Occupation provided a
guarantee of law and order but it could not rely on
popular Egyptian support. Zaghlul Pasha made his
intentions very clear to Lord Lloyd, who was at the time
the British High Commissioner. Zaghlul Pasha wanted no
reservations on the control of the Sudan and of the Suez
Canal. He also hinted at the complete withdrawal of
British troops from Egypt.
Owing to the gravity of the situation
prevalent in Egypt, the battleship "Resolution" was
ordered to sail from Malta to Egyptian waters. This move
forced Zaghlul Pasha to resign his premiership to the
Liberal leader Adly Yeghen. Some respite had been won
but Europeans in Egypt must have had their presentiment
that once they lost the support of British military and
naval protection, they had to depend on the will of the
Egyptian people. Once the transfer of real power had
been made to the people of Egypt, the exodus of 1956
became inevitable. That date meant the effective end of
the Maltese colonies in Egypt.
Close to Egypt lay the two Libyan
provinces of Cyrenaica and Tripolitania. Maltese
emigration to these parts had been governed by the same
conditions that had guided the establishment of other
Maltese settlements in most parts of North Africa.
However, Maltese movements to Cyrenaica and Tripolitania
were slower than to other places because the two
provinces were under direct Turkish rule as late as
1911. Prior to that date there were probably some one
thousand Maltese living in Tripoli and Benghazi.
One reason why some Maltese traders
had decided to set up business in Tripoli and Benghazi
was to establish contact with Saharan traders. Caravan
leaders from the Sahara had shown interest in the
lucrative markets of Europe and the Maltese had intended
to establish contact between the Sahara and the North.
The Maltese offered their boats to ship Saharan products
to Malta and thence to Europe. Although the trade left
good profits, the Maltese had to contend with Italians
and Jews. The latter had been on the scene for ages and
had their significant contacts on the shores of Africa
and on those of Europe.
By the beginning of the twentieth
century the colonies of the Maltese in Cyrenaica and
Tripoli had already shown signs of weakness and decay.
The fact that the populations of Maltese settlers in
Tripoli, Benghazi and Derna remained stable for almost
half a century showed that these trading centres were
not flourishing. Those who were able to afford to go
back to Malta did so; those who stayed lived under the
threat of poverty.
In 1911 Italy felt that she had a
right to join in the European scramble for Africa.
Cyrenaica and Tripoli were still parts of the Ottoman
Empire and Rome felt that national prestige was a valid
enough reason to claim this old part of the old Roman
Empire. War was declared on Turkey and within 'a few
months a number of coastal towns were taken over by the
Italians. The territory came to be known as Libia
Italiana.
The coastal towns where most Maltese
lived came under the occupation of Rome and many
immigrants from Sicily and Calabria settled in Tripoli,
Benghazi and Derna. The Italian connection brought a
revival in trade to the coastal areas, but the Italian
connection also brought a new hazard to the Maltese
colonies in Libya. Unlike the French in the Maghreb, the
Italians did not need foreign settlers in Libya because
they had a surplus population in their South.
While the French had accepted the
Maltese, Spaniards and Italians as immigrants who would
augment the European element, particularly in Algeria,
the Italians in Libya feared the foreigners as
competitors. The Maltese were not only competitors but
they also liked to remind the Italian authorities that
the mighty British Fleet was only a few miles away
harbouring in Maltese waters and that the Maltese
themselves were British subjects.
The tension between Maltese and
Italians got more evident when Italy and Libya were
ruled by the Fascist dictatorship of Benito Mussolini.
In 1924 Mussolini threatened the Maltese in Libya with
deportation unless they opted for Italian citizenship.
At first the threat was meant to intimidate government
employees of Maltese origin who still clang to their
British passports.
These employees were granted a period
of three years to decide whether they wanted to take
Italian citizenship or hold on to their British
nationality. As the Fascist dictatorship got more severe
in Italy, life in Libya for those Maltese who refused to
take Italian citizenship became more intolerable. It was
no wonder that the Maltese settlements in Libya did not
grow under the threat of persecution and expulsion. Such
a situation lingered on till the British Army occupied
most of Libya's territory during the invasion of North
Africa in the Second World War.
When Italy lost the war Libya was
granted independence. The Maltese settlers in Libya knew
that now they had to live with the challenge of Arab
nationalism. Many of them left for Europe, America and
Australia. The end of the effective Maltese presence in
Libya followed the pattern of what had happened in other
areas of North Africa.
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