Cicciolina u n-Ninni La Tibkix Iżjed

Inqiegħed rasi taħt mannara li  m’hawnx Malti jew Maltija – jew anke barrani li ilu  jgħix Malta għal xi snin - li ma jafx sew din l-għanja tal-Milied li minn hawn u ftit jiem oħra tibda tidwi madwarna u ġo moħħna kważi bla waqfien. Kantajnieha elf darba bħala tfal, għallimnieha lil uliedna u, naħseb, b’ċertu sens ta’ kburija – għall-inqas dawk li fostna li ma barrewx għal kollox il-karattru Malti tal-festi tal-Milied – nqisuha bħala għanja ‘tagħna’,  li twieldet  minn fostna u twassal ħsus Maltin imnebbħa mill-iktar avveniment straordinarju fl-istorja tal-bniedem.

Fil-fatt il-kliem tal-għanja – li, għalkemm nafuha bħala Ninni La Tibkix iżjed  sewwasew jisimha Il-Benniena ta’ Ġesù Bambin – tassew ħarġu minn pinna Maltija. Kien raħeb Ġiżwita, Patri Indrì Schembri minn Ħal-Luqa li kitibhom, għall-ħabta ta’ nofs is-seklu dsatax. Schembri kien kitibha biex titkanta mill-Maltin ta’ Tuneż, li dak iż-żmien kienet miżgħuda emigranti minn pajjiżna.

U l-mużika? Milli jidher, għal ħafna snin ma konniex ċerti minn fejn tnisslet il-melodija. Schembri kien jagħmel parti minn komunità tal-Ġiżwiti fl-Afrika ta’ Fuq li fost il-membri tagħha kienet tgħodd diversi rħieb u studenti minn pajjiżi tal-Ewropa tal-Lvant. Kien hemm min kien jgħid li Schembri kien “issellef” il-melodija mingħand xi ħadd minnhom, jiġifieri semgħu ikantaha, għoġbitu u ispiratu li jikteb għanja tal-Milied għall-Maltin ta’ Tuneż. Imma ħadd ma kien jaf eżatt – jew għallinqas hekk nafha jien l-istorja.

Imma, b’kumbinazzjoni kbira, madwar 20 sena ilu jew aktar intefa’ dawl fuq il-misteru b’mod li tassew ma tistennihx.

Irrid nippreċiża li dan li se nikteb ibbażat fuq artiklu bil-Malti li kont qrajt fuq ġurnal lokali. Ma nistax niftakar la min kitbu u lanqas biss liema ġurnal kien – għalkemm għandi l-impressjoni  li kien il-Ġens (nittama li mhux qed inħawwad dan il-ġurnal mal-predeċessur tiegħu il-Ħajja).

L-awtur kiteb li ftit taż-żmien qabel kien qed jara t-televiżjoni Taljana u inzerta program li fih ħadet sehem l-attriċi tal-porno Cicciolina.  Le, ma kienx xi film jew spettaklu professjonali minn tagħha, imma sempliċiment programm innokwu li fih kienet waħda mill-mistednin. F’dan il-programm talbuha tkanta għanja tradizzjonali ta’ pajjiżha  u s-Sinjura Ilona Staller – dak hu isem Cicciolina – bdiet tkanta bl-Ungeriż. B’għaġeb kbir tal-awtur ta’ dan l-artiklu, il-melodija kienet l-istess waħda tan-Ninni La Tibkix Iżjed.

Trid tkun Malti biex tapprezza l-ironija li toħroġ mill-inkongruwenza tat-tifsira u l-konnotati tal-għanja għall-Maltin u  l-arti tas-sinjura Staller magħrufa aħjar bħala Cicciolina. Ikolli nistqarr li minn mindu qrajt dan l-artiklu, din l-għanja m’għadhiex tnebbaħ fija l-ispirtu ta’ devozzjoni bħal qabel…

Jisgħobbija qatigħ li dak l-artiklu ma kontx żammejtu, imma dak iż-żmien ma kontx interessat fil-Malti u dak kollu konness miegħu daqs kemm jien illum.  Jekk xi ħadd għandu iktar informazzjoni fuq in-nisel ta’ din l-għanja u jogħġbu jaqsamha mal-qarrejja ta' dan il-blogg, nibqa’ nafhulu.

11 ta' Diċembru 2011: Mil-lbieraħ 'l hawn waslitli informazzjoni importanti. 99% mhux artiklu fil-Ġens li kont qrajt, imma ittra fis-Sunday Times miktuba fl-24 ta' Lulju 1988 minn dak li llum huwa l-Professur Manwel Mifsud, l-ikbar espert tal-Malti ta' żmienna.  L-ittra turi li Patri Indrì Schembri kien fil-fatt ippubblika l-kliem fl-1864 (sitt snin qabel ma miet), ma' għadd ieħor ta' innjiet u poeżiji reliġjużi, f'Ġemgħa ta'  Kliem Imqaddes li Jingħad mill-Maltin tal-Alġier.

Il-programm li fuqu Cicciolina - dak iż-żmien Membru Parlamentari Radikali - kienet kantat l-għanja tradizzjonali Ungeriża kien Il Testimone ta' Giuliano Ferrara, li kien jixxandar fuq Rai Due. Ma kienx il-Professur Mifsud stess li semagħha, imma koppja ħbieb tiegħu, li wara qalulu bil-biċċa. Kienu baqgħu imbellhin bix-xebh bejn dak li kienet qed tkanta Cicciolina u l-melodija ta' Ninni, La Tibkix Iżjed.

When Amy Keeps Saying No, No, No

A few days ago the Coroner’s verdict on Amy Winehouse’s death was issued: as many of us had suspected, it was the legal drug alcohol, rather than illicit substances, which cut short the life of this talented singer blessed with that rich, mellifluous voice and uniquely soulful singing style.

No less than 416mgs of alcohol per decilitre of blood had been found in her system. That’s five times the level permissible for driving purposes in Malta and the UK, and eight times that allowed in most other European countries.

Amy Winehouse’s problems with substances (and apparently eating disorders and some form of affective condition) were well-publicised. She had reportedly tried residential treatment on more than one occasion; but these appear to have been short-lived, half-hearted attempts, which, unsurprisingly, failed to bring about any lasting change.

Her doctor has gone on record as saying that Winehouse was against psychological therapy and wanted to battle her demons on her own. Three years ago, she kicked an illicit-drug habit, but found alcohol a much harder nut to crack. She persisted with the drinking with a pattern of stop and start: stopping drinking unaided (except for tranquillisers) for a short time, only to succumb to temptation within weeks.

Understandably alarmed for her safety, some members of her entourage and her father tried hard to persuade her to undergo proper treatment, but her response is now immortalised in the lyrics of one of her best-known hits “Rehab”: “They tried to make me go to rehab, I said, ‘No, no, no’.” Her remains lie cold in her grave.

There were reports that her father tried to get her “sectioned”, that is to say, compulsorily admitted to hospital, but apparently did not succeed. It is not known exactly on what grounds he tried to have Amy treated in hospital against her will. What is known is that, in the UK, it is impossible to have anyone undergo compulsory treatment purely because of addiction alone. In 1983, the (then) new Mental Health Act specifically forbade the enforced admission to hospital for reasons of substance addiction “on its own”. The 2007 amendments did not alter the situation.

This was in contrast to the provisions of the previous Mental Health Act enacted in 1958, of which the current Maltese Mental Health Act (1976) is practically a carbon copy. Compulsory admission of alcoholics and drug addicts in Malta is still legally possible, but is no longer as commonly resorted to.

Over the years, doubtlessly because of the influence of changing values and attitudes, addiction – at least in the context of enforced treatment – is being viewed less in terms of an illness, and increasingly as a “lifestyle choice’’. How anyone can ‘choose’ to become an addict, i.e. enslaved to a substance which conditions the way one lives, and often defeats genuine and painful  attempts to eradicate from one’s existence, is of course not very easy to explain for those who espouse this view.

We live in a rights-driven world. The emphasis on the right to self-determination has perhaps at times reached such Alice-in-Wonderland levels of absurdity that we are losing sight of situations where one is objectively not in a state to decide what is best for one. Addiction to alcohol or drugs – a state where one is compelled to ingest a substance to function - is by definition a condition which affects volition. How can one make choices if the capacity to evaluate options is impaired? How can one speak of freedom when the perception of reality essential to the process of actually deciding on one course of action rather than another is substantially distorted?

Shall we allow those suffering from anorexia nervosa to starve to death because they are not psychotic, and therefore “in touch with reality” and capable of taking “rational” decisions? Can ever the decision to destroy oneself – especially, though not only, when alternatives clearly may exist, although the sufferer cannot perceive them - be considered rational and worthy of over-riding all other considerations?

Many would answer these questions with a resounding "no". Yet, when faced with the prospect of translating that “no” into concrete action – such as campaigning for legislation which re-allows compulsory treatment, or even applying that legislation when (as currently is the case in Malta) laws are in place, they balk. The prevailing climate of “live and let live” (die, actually, in this case) and “let everybody choose what’s best for them” casts its insidious shadow on many well-meaning people’s choices – and they, almost unwittingly, choose to root for death rather than for giving sufferers a fighting chance for life.

The culture of death has many faces. One of them is a mask called unlimited freedom.

Gambling on Society’s Future?

When, in 2009, Government decided to close down the gambling parlours which had proliferated all over the island – in Hamrun alone there were at least seven such outlets, six of them within the space of 1 kilometre – Sedqa heaved a sigh of relief. Referrals for help had increased quite dramatically over the previous 2 or 3 years, as several patrons of these parlours had become hooked and entered that cycle of financial and psycho-social problems which wrecks a number of families, and puts others under more than considerable stress.

Not surprisingly, within a relatively short time, the number of gamblers and family members seeking help began to fall, as people who had not yet developed compulsive gambling behaviour no longer had easy access to these machines and doubtlessly found other, probably less noxious, activities to divert their attention. Once the pool of players diminishes, the stream of newly-addicted individuals abates. Of course those who had already become severely hooked began to frequent casinos, or the parlours which still provided a gambling service under the guise of amusement machines, and could continue to indulge their addiction until circumstances forced them to seek help. However, during the past 2 years there were probably fewer new compulsive gamblers.

There was another class of gambler we were concerned about: those who had sought help and were desperately trying to kick the habit and turn their lives around. We had listened to too many heart-breaking stories of individuals in this situation for whom even such an apparently-innocuous activity, as walking to the nearest newsagents was fraught with temptation precisely due to the sinister omnipresence of these gambling dens. Their lure would very often be very difficult to resist, as the sight of the gambling-parlour would be enough for the machines to whirr and clink their siren-song not so much in the hapless gamblers’ ears as in their tortured minds.

And, no, it’s not the same situation with alcoholics who walk past drinking establishments which could also be sources of temptation. Those of us who work with both gamblers and drinkers have the very distinct impression that for the gambler, the ability to resist the attraction of the machines is more difficult than it is for a dry or sober alcoholic to refrain from making a bee-line for the nearest bar. Once the gambling outlets were closed, the struggle not to gamble became easier.

All this is set to change. Within a few months the country will once again be replete with gambling-machine outlets.

A few months ago the Minister of Finance published the regulatory framework within which the gambling parlours will operate. The regulations ostensibly include considerable restrictions compared to the situation obtaining before the closure of the parlours in August 2009. In fact, in our opinion, despite the inclusion of a couple of regulations which will have an impact on the amount of gambling taking place in these places, the overall impact on the negative social effects of these gambling outlets will be minimal. The reason is simple: the root cause of the malaise as a social phenomenon will not be tackled.

First the good bits: round the clock gambling will no longer be possible as was the case under the old regime (if one can speak of regime in the context of what used to take place before, that is; an unfettered lawlessness more like it). The regulations will not permit any such establishment to operate between 11.00 p.m. and 11.00 a.m.

Secondly, the regulation allowing self-barring, which is so far applicable only to casinos will be extended to the gambling-machine parlours too. If one requests self-barring from one outlet, the ban will be valid for all licensed outlets. Self-barring has proved helpful in the cases of addicted casino patrons; there is no reason why it should not be just as beneficial in this context too, provided that the authorities successfully clamp down on illegal gambling-dens, which gambling addicts in the throes of craving are quite likely to turn to.

There are other rules which are in themselves laudable – a register of gamblers is to be kept, persons under the influence of substances will not be allowed in the gambling outlets to name two – but, in Sedqa’s opinion, it is quite unlikely that these regulations will have any effect on the rate of newly-addicted gamblers, once the gambling-parlours start to operate once more. Practitioners and researchers in the field know that there is strong connection between the availability of the opportunities to gamble and the incidence of problem gambling. In the context of the gambling parlours this would mean the bigger the number of outlets, the higher the numbers of gamblers who will develop a dependency – with all the deleterious effects on the gamblers, his or her spouse and children, and social relations in general.

Possibly the Ministry may have been forecasting a drop in the number of gambling outlets because it is now imposing fees on the licensing of the establishment and on each machine, when previously none were levied. However, these tariffs will almost certainly fail to deter interest in operating gambling parlours, at least, not to the extent that those concerned about the outlets’ effects on society would like them to. There are strong economic forces at play.

Only direct political action can hope to limit the damage these outlets will inflict on the more vulnerable members of society. Are the powers that be willing to grasp the nettle and find a way of imposing a maximum number -say, five - of outlets which can be opened on the Maltese islands and let the operators compete for the licenses?

It is no use for any of us to hide behind the handy veil of ‘’education”. Problem drinking and many other facets of undesirable human behaviour have shown us that, on the population level, only strong political direction can hope to effectively bring about authentic, substantial change.