The convoy entered the Grand Harbour, but the siege is still ongoing. This time, it’s no longer against the Ottomans who sought to rid themselves of the Order of St John’s interference in their struggle for control of the Mediterranean, nor against the Axis who had the same objective. Nor is it against the French, trapped behind the fortifications built by our forefathers—so strong that not even their descendants could breach them.
Could it be that the convoy of values we asked Mary to bring us is beginning to arrive and be unloaded? Or has it ended up like the countless trucks loaded with food aid blocked from reaching the starving population of Gaza?
With my gaze fixed on the Grand Harbour, where so many events that shaped our country’s history unfolded, I find myself asking: who is the enemy besieging us today? From which siege do we hope Mary will deliver us and grant us victory? The aims and enemies of the past sieges I’ve mentioned were clear—we knew who they were and what they wanted. But who is the enemy today?
We Maltese are nothing without pika; it seems we cannot exist without an adversary, be it in politics, village festas, football or regatta, or rivalry with the neighbouring town or even our own neighbours within the same street or apartment block. And our island mentality often leads us to see threats and enemies everywhere.
We seem to need a siege—or at the very least, we feel surrounded. If nothing else, besieged by the sea, the salt, and the wind that erode our rocks and deposits the particles elsewhere, while other sediments arrive from afar, settling on our shores and leaving their mark … We are caught in a constant cycle of weathering and rebuilding sometimes in ways that may rob us of our identity and construct a new one, turning us into carbon copies of other nations. But we are Maltese!
So, what is the siege that threatens our identity? Could it be the siege on our faith and religion? If we’re honest with ourselves, we must admit that the greatest threat to our faith comes from within—from us forgetting what we truly believe in and who we truly are. That makes it easy to be swept along by the currents of the West or to fear the waves from the East and the southern winds from Africa…
Or, perhaps, it is the airstrike on the dignity of every human being, regardless of origin, gender, physical ability, social status, or beliefs? This remains as real today as it was in the concentration camps. And, through the media, we are witnessing in real time almost a replica of it. But within our shores, the enemy does not necessarily come from outside. Sometimes, we are the ones inflicting it upon our own people.
Isn’t it ironic that, from being a colony, we’ve adopted a colonial mindset—one that exploits from the comfort of our own homes? Pause for a moment and consider: where does the food you eat come from, the clothes you wear, or all the services you rely on when you can’t be bothered to move from the sofa? Then it becomes clear. Might Mary need to protect those who are suffering because of us—for whom we are the threat?
The greatest battles are fought on the walls of our hearts and minds. On one side, we need to be challenged by the Word of God; on the other, we are being attacked by ideologies that threaten our integrity, goodness, and authenticity. The consumption of advertised genuine Maltese products does not make us any more genuine or more Maltese. There are walls of pride and mistrust that need to be breached, and others we must be prepared to stand upon and fight to the last drop of blood, if necessary, so that no one who lives on these rocks is exploited, silenced, manipulated, or controlled in the expression of one’s faith, as if the practice of one’s beliefs could offend another’s, or as if preserving our culture can only happen by eliminating every other.
This rock at the crossroads of civilisations has certainly seen many sieges and enemy attacks, but it has also witnessed years of peace, during which pagans, Christians, Jews, and Muslims lived and worked together for the progress of all. And our Lady is not of sieges, but of Victories. If we turn to her, she will surely help us overcome our self-centredness, look into the mirror and see who we truly are, remind us of who we are called to be, and help us see the other as our brother—sharing in our common humanity—before we charge into battle once again.