is-sicula, il-giddieb u n-nukleu familjali li m'ghandix hawn

Il-bierah filghaxija (ghalkemm naqra ma niflahx) mort naqla l-madum il-post. Domt 45 minuta kollox biex naqla dak li l-bennejja talbuni iktar minn EUR 250 ghalih. Kont diga ghamiltu qabel dan ix-xoghol, allura kont naf kif.

Id-dar kienet vojta, bit-twerzieq tal-bogies tat-tram fil-boghod u tan-nies jitkellmu fit-triq. Huwa dan it-tip ta' kwartier, kwartier fejn in-nies ghadhom jitkellmu fit-triq. Hassejtni qieghed Malta, fil-post tieghi l-Belt, ftit wara li kont krejtu. Irritat li hawn l-istorbju, naqra mhasseb dwar il-girien, inkwetat dwar kif ser jahdmu l-affarijiet. Imma pjuttost kuntent. Bhal ma kont hassejtni l-Belt insomma.

(Ritratt: Maldinapoli)

Ihabbat il-bieb... nahseb li hu t-tifel ta' l-eks-sid li gie jgerger dwar l-istorbju. Hu. Imma mhux ghalhekk gie. Jinten intiena ta' xi hadd li jinhasel inqas minn darba f'gimgha - kwazi accettabbli meta ghandek 12-il sena, mhux normali meta qed toqrob lejn it-tletin. Hemm harba ta' gass. Jitla' t-teknixin, belgo-indjan - iktar Belgjan milli Indjan bil-mod ighaggel u streetwise kif jitkellem il-Franciz, jomghod ic-chewing gum b'nevrosita tiekol - u jibda jfittex fil-pajpijiet.

Sakemm Sanjeev ifittex fil-pajpijiet u gieli igedwed tnejn kontra t-teknixins tas-Sibelga, ninzlu isfel ghand iz-zija tieghu (il-belgo-sicula), idahhluni fil-kcina u jofruli tazza Averna mimlijja sa fuq nett.

Nara li "tan-nahat" taghna hi. L-istess bhan-nisa tad-dar il-Fgura, l-Isla u l-Hamrun. Titkellem ftit, imma f'daqqa, imma b'reqqa kbira ukoll - tghid hafna dwar hajjitha imma fl-istess hin meta tohrog minn hemm tirrealiza li ma qaltlek xejn. Dak is-sens ta' distanza mefjanti u sarkazmu cajtier jaqta' hemm qieghed. Giet hawn ghoxrin sena ilu. Ghanda Franciz harira ahjar minn tieghi imma b'accent siculo estremament qawwi. Ma taghtix kas il-gideb fahxi li qed jirrakuntali t-tifel tas-sid (apparentement mhux biss mar jixrob ma' Gerard Depardieu u Mick Jagger izda hareg pistola fuq habib ta' Tupac - kollox fi Brussell bien sur). Inkredibbli... nixtieq stajtu taraw il-wicc hi hu tipprepara l-pulpetti fil-kcina, u dan it-tifel, slob fuq ir-relief eks-xkaffar f'supermarket jirrakkonta dawn l-istejjer inkredibbli. Xejn. La wicc ta' hadd li jemmnu, la ta xi hadd li ma jemmnux. M'hijiex imbarazzata b'li qed ighid imma mhijiex qed tiehu pjacir. Xejn. Poker face.

Jurini l-armi li ghandom id-dar... fosthom katana gappuniza u bajonetta kkargata. "L-arma ma tahdimx" bdiet iz-zija, imma fl-istess nifs tghidli li tajjeb ikollok arma d-dar... ghal li jista' jkun.

Rajt lilu u lill-missieru waqt l-iffirmar tal-kuntratt. Il-missier kwiet, bit-toppu. Bejn biker u skrivan f'xi ministeru. It-tifel mhux ser jaghmel xejn b'hajtu. Ser jibqa' jikber bid-deluzjonijiet tieghu, jigdeb qishu ghandu 15-il sena, bla ebda bzonn li jsib xoghol ta' veru u bla ebda bzonn li qatt johrog minn dan in-nukleu familjari maqghud minhabba din id-dar li wirtu.

Nghir ghalih, iva.

Jien u hiereg kien diehel il-missier.

"X'temp imgiddem eh? Nahseb ahjar Malta hux?"
"It-temp? Iva"

Risposta vaga veru... imma xi tridni nghid?

iiiii kemm hi niiiiice

Min qieghed Brussell jigbor kopja b'xejn ta' l-Agenda (dak il-magazin zghir li jitqassam mal-gazzetta fjamminga Brussel Deze Week) u jitpaxxa li pajjizna qieghed fuq il-qoxra... b'ritratt ta' dahar xi bikers Maltin mixjin lejn it-Torri l-Ahmar.

Hemm wirja ta' ritratti ghas-serje Euro Visions mehudin mill-fotografu Carl De Keyzer dwar Malta u l-Maltin - ovvjament mehudin b'humour u ironija - li ser jintwerew il-Bozar. Skond l-artiklu De Keyzer ghamel iktar minn xahar Malta imma apparentement "it was roasting hot. There were no Maltese to be seen".

For Malta, the Belgian photographer Carl de Keyzer saw the many layers of history as key.

"Like Belgium, Malta is a small country that was occupied by many invaders," De Keyzer said. "I wanted to visualize the layers of history in the faces and places." To show history in the faces, De Keyzer took simple head shots that rotate on three screens amid a dozen larger photographs intended to show the layers of history in places.

A horde of foreign tourists in a village square represents invaders of the current era, and a homeless man sleeps in a cave suggestive of the legendary Odysseus's visit to the island. One shot has a motorcycle gang with leather jackets emblazoned with "Knights of Malta" walking toward a 14th-century red tower built by the Order of Malta in defense against Muslim invaders.

"So many layers of history always turn up the absurd," De Keyzer said. "Some people may say these countries change, but so much remains the same."

Immorru migja kollha flimkien qisna qatta tomblizi mill-Kalkara li hargu outing mal-father? Il-Hadd ta' wara li tiftah? Xi tghidu?

from wollongong with love

Ghax diska wahda andergrawnd dwar il-Maltin ta' Brussell/Lussemburgu ma kinitx bizzejjed mid-dehra.

"Imma Maltin m'hemmx jghixu biss gewwa l-Awstralja
Jinstabu wkoll 'il boghod 'il boghod gol-Kanada...
Pero fil-gurnata tal-lum
Gewwa Brussell il-Malti jkun
Jissielet, jirsisti u jistinka ghal pajjizu
bla serhan kuljum"

Maltin Gewwa l-Awstralja
Xtruppaw
Is-CD ta' l-Ixtruppaw

Diska kbira fi stil dawk il-gruppi finlandizi li dejjem jidhru fil-films ta' Kaurismaki jew, appuntu, ta' dawk id-diski freddieportelljani miktubin minn Maltin fil-Kanada jew fl-Awstralja.

Wasal iz-zmien li nirribattu u niktbu diska ahna xi tghidu?

U biex tkunu tafu, gheziez avukati, tissemmew hawn. Kontu tmorru l-Jubilee?

iffirma hawn taht

Maghruf li nhobba Brussell. Inhobba bizzejjed biex xi minn daqqiet kwazi nispicca karikatura tieghi innifsi. Hemm hafna ragunijiet ghala inhobbha - l-iktar wahda hi li nhossni d-dar hawn. Ma nezitax sekonda biex nikkwalifika ruhi ta' Brusselliz... ta' Belgjan nezita sew (anke jekk napplika ghac-cittadinanza). U Malti? Irrid inkun naqra poppatur sew (kif konna nghidu fi zmieni) biex nghid li m'inix meta ghaddejt daqshekk snin minn hajti hemm u l-passaport tieghi ghandu miktub car u tond "Malta" b'ittri imdeheba fuq il-qoxra hamra skura tieghu.

Imma f'liema belt ohra, minn dawk b'identità, kultura u lingwa fissa, minn dawk li minghalihom huma multikulti imma fil-verità huma kulturalment u etnikament omogenji tista' tfassal il-verità socjali u lingwistika tal-belt meta l-passat sar jigik (jew, anzi, ma jigikx!) qisu jeans issikkat li xtrajt f'Novembru - cioè qabel ma ffangajt qisek hanzir fi zmien il-milied?

U hemm bzonn bidla strutturali fil-belt. Mhux ser noqghod nidhol fl-elementi politici ta' dan il-progett ghax forsi mhumiex ta' interess ghal hafna niss imma biss li l-element hu wiehed ta' ghaqda... ta' interkulturalità minflok egemonija jew multikulturalità ta' l-isem. Dan il-progett kien mibdi u iffirmat minn hafna personalitajiet famuzi fil qasam taghhom.

Many of us, residents of the Brussels Capital Region, were born outside Belgium. Most of us speak more than one language and, in many of our families, languages live side by side. As Europe strengthens its presence in Brussels, the city becomes increasingly international and complex, a city-region with a character of its own, increasingly different from both Flanders and Wallonia. This complexity constitutes a challenge. But it is absurd to seek to squeeze it into the straitjacket of the two Communities. If properly managed, this complexity is an asset of which we can be proud and which must be used to make Brussels more dynamic, and thereby the neighbouring regions and Europe as a whole.

(Aqraw it-test shih hawn)

Voila. Brussell hi belt esperimentali u minflok tibza u tmur lura f'dan iz-zmien ta' konservattizmu politiku u nazzjonalismu trid tesperimenta iktar mhux inqas. Brava.

Nistidinkom, tghixu jew ma tghixux Brussell, taqraw it-test hawn u tiffirmaw hawn jekk taqblu. U la tkunu fil-vena li tiffirmaw tistghu tiffirmaw il-Manifest Brussellwà wkoll.

Hu billi qeghdin fuq is-suggett (speci ta') nistidinkom ukoll tisimghu xi siltiet helwin mill-arkivju BNA-BBOT ("Brussell hi taghna lkoll") li hu arkivju ta' stejjer u rakkonti tan-nies li jghixu Brussell. Immigranti, belgjani, foqra, sinjuri, arroganti, misthija, buruzi, hosbiena, kiebja, simpatici, antipatici. Nies insomma.