Il-Ħolma tiegħi An interview with a personality Dr Victoria Borg

R i t r a t t : J o s l y n P i c k e n s

Il-Ħolma tiegħi

G e o r g e Z a m m i t G w i d a Waħda mill-isbaħ esperjenzi tiegħi f’ħajti kull darba li kont imsiefer hi l-inżul bl-ajruplan fuq din il-ġawhra fil-baħar Mediterran bl-isem ta’ Malta. Id-dilettanti tal-ivvjaġġar qatt m’għandhom iwarrbu mit-tieqa tal-ajruplan dawn ix-xeni sbieħ tal-gżejjer ta’ Malta u Għawdex, tal-baħar ikħal, tal-ħdura u l-kuluri kollha li għandha x’toffri din il-gżira sabiħa, hekk qabel il-wasla fl-ajruport.

Kemm nifraħ meta’ b’widnejja stess nisma kummenti sbieħ u l-ewwel espressjonijiet pożittivi ta’ turisti li jkunu bilqiegħda ħdejja jirrakkontaw is-sbuħija mill-ajru ta’ din il-blata iżolata mdawra mill-kosta, b’art agrikola u tal-Port il-Kbir iħares lejn it-tlett ibliet ta’ Bormla, il-Birgu u l-Isla flimkien mad-daħla tal-Kalkara. B’wiċċi min quddiem ngħid pubblikament li kburi li jien Malti, kburi b’pajjiżi, kburi bil-poplu tagħna u ta’ dan għandi ħolma.

Martin Luther King baqa’ magħruf għal dik il-frażi li darba kien qal waqt manifestazzjoni quddiem folla nies: “I have a dream” – Jien għandi ħolma.

Għalkemm ħolma hija tip ta’ storja li sseħħ f’moħħna matul il-lejl, però tista’ wkoll tindika pass fil-ħajja tagħna għal tama aħjar. Il-ħajja u l-ħolm huma folji tal-istess ktieb. Li taqrahom fl-ordni jsiru avventura ħajja u li taqrahom bl-addoċċ jibqgħu ħolm li jtiru mal-ewwel żiffa ta’ filgħodu.

Ninħtieġu li nibqgħu noħolmu, inkella l-ħajja tagħna tmut. L-ewwel oħlom bil-proġetti tiegħek, imbagħad wettaq il-ħolm tagħhom. Aħseb għal ftit ħin li qed tgħix f’dinja tal-ħolm fejn dak li tixtieq iseħħ. Għalhekk il-ħolma tiegħi f’pajjiżi jekk verament isseħħ, wieħed jista’ jibda jgħix ħajja aħjar bil-ferħ u l-kuntentizza.

Fil-ħolma tiegħi nixtieq li ħadd ma jgħid kontra ħadd, li kulħadd jieħu lill-oħrajn bil-ħlewwa u bis-sabar, li ħadd ma jittradixxi lil ħadd f’xejn.

Wasal iż-żmien li ma nibqgħux aktar narmu fliexken tal-plastik ma’ kullimkien. Wasal iż-żmien li nitgħallmu ngħidu grazzi, skużi, u jekk jogħġbok. Wasal iż-żmien li nibdew nisimgħu l-ideat tal-oħrajn.

Wasal iż-żmien li nżommu l-karozza f’kundizzjoni tajba u b’dawk lanqas emissjonijiet possibbli. Li l-ħorn jintuża waqt il-bżonn biss. Wasal iż-żmien li ma nħallux aktar boroż tal-iskart fuq xtajtiet, u li nżommu l-volum tal-mużika baxx. Wasal ukoll iż-żmien li nibdew insegwu l-ordnijiet tas-sigurtà, li naħdmu mhux għall-paga biss, li l-messaġġi tagħna fuq Facebook jibdew isiru aktar pożittivi, li l-ġirien ikunu tassew ħbieb ta’ xulxin.

Jekk nagħsru ftit dawn ix-xewqat sbieħ tal-ħolma tiegħi taħt forma jew oħra, il-ħajja ta’ kuljum li fil-preżent tinsab mimlija ġenn u tensjonijiet tista’ tinbidel f’qawsalla bi tbissima, b’arja ta’ pożittività, b’laqgħat t’imħabba meta niltaqgħu flimkien. Dan hu proġett li iva jista’ jsir. Proġett ta’ ferħ, ta’ ħsieb nobbli lejn saħħitna, lejn dawk ta’ madwarna fejn nistgħu ngħixu tassew bħala poplu wieħed, f’armonija, paċi u serenità. Ħolma sabiħa li jekk ngħixuha b’daqsxejn ta’ sagrifiċċju ma jkunx hawn aktar infern fid-dinja Fil-veru sens tal-kelma, nerġgħu mmorru lura għas-snin meta konna nħallu ċ-ċavetta fil-bieb ta’ barra bla biża’ ta’ xejn.

Nibdew illum stess u flimkien naslu biex jirnexxielna nħallu lil uliedna teżor ta’ gżira perfetta li tkun l-għira tal-barranin.

Personalment inwiegħed li ser nibda nara kif ser inwettaq din il-ħolma tiegħi jien stess, billi naħdem aktar biex ħaddiehor jara l-eżempji sbieħ tiegħi ta’ ċittadin veru u jibda jagħmel hekk hu wkoll. Bla tgergir, bla piki u bil-fatti naslu. L-aqwa interpretu tal-ħolm huwa dak li jagħmilhom u jwettaqhom, fit-tajjeb.

An interview with a personality

Dr Victoria Borg from Victoria, Melbourne Australia

T o n i o B o n e l l o

Dr. Victoria Borg lives in St Albans, Victoria in Melbourne, Australia. She has been in Australia for almost 50 years now and as soon as she arrived there, she was determined to proceed with her tertiary education to become what she is today. She studied Psychology at the Victoria University and for this interview I was pleased to meet her online to talk about her life story and what led her to come up with the idea of writing a book which she describes as “a memoir about a particular period of my life”. The book title is Power over Darkness – A journey of self-discovery, trauma and healing. _____________________________________ First of all where are you from in Malta and can you give our readers a little bit of background about your family?

_____________________________________ I was born in Xaghra, Gozo in 1952. My parents were Giuseppa and Mikeli Bajada. I had 2 brothers and 2 sisters. One of my sisters, Carmen died in 1963. My father did not have a paid job. We lived off the land. Later on, my mother started washing clothes for a couple of families, thereby earning a few shillings a week.

_____________________________________ In short what was your story about how you left Malta and how many years you’ve been in Australia now?

_____________________________________ In 1971 I met Louie who came to Malta for a holiday after he served in the Vietnam War. We got married and migrated to Australia to join his family. It has been 50 years since we arrived together.

_____________________________________ Where did you get your education?

_____________________________________ I completed my secondary education in Gozo including Form VI. When I came to Australia I always hoped that I would resume my education at some stage later on in life. Indeed, in 1990, I decided to return to study as a mature age student at Western Institute, later known as Victoria University. After winning the Australian Post Graduate Award in 1996, I started my doctorate which I completed successfully. My thesis was entitled “Life satisfaction of Adolescents: A Study in Malta and Australia”.

____________________________________ You have recently launched an English language literary work, called ‘Power Over Darkness’. What inspired you to write such a book and what is its genre?

____________________________________ In 1987, as I was doing some short courses as a preparation for tertiary studies, I had an insight relating to the underlying causes of my mental illness. I discovered that I was carrying a highly traumatised inner child that was hidden from my consciousness. I felt a strong need to look backwards and see who I really was and where I was coming from. I embarked on a very painful journey of selfdiscovery riddled with acute bouts of depression and full blown panic attacks. Many times I felt I was losing not only the battle but also the war against mental illness. This went on for quite a few years. I started recording what I was going through in my diary in minute details. I always wanted to write a book about it. However, I could not bear to face those painful experiences. In the year 2020, I felt an urge to revisit my diary entries and my journey of self-discovery and write a book about it - no matter how painful it was going to be. I could not put it off any longer. This book is a memoir about a particular period of my life. It focuses on my selfdiscovery, related traumas from my childhood and healing. The diary entries that are included in the book give an insight to the reader not only into the intensive pain and suffering that I endured, but also reflect inspiration, courage, strength and resilience among other things. ____________________________________ What is the ultimate message you want to convey through this book?

____________________________________ Mental health related problems can be quite debilitating and serve as an impediment to achieving one’s goals – no matter how small or big they are. However, with the right support a person cannot only survive, but thrive and achieve his/her dreams. The book is for sale on line through Amazon.