TE23 Double Feature

Loranne Vella

Rocket

The rock itself, whose edges had crumbled and ended up at the bottom of the sea, or carried away towards another continent? The buildings, erected by the Maltese and their various rulers throughout the centuries, the same buildings that were now empty and destroyed? Or else, weren’t the Maltese citizens who constituted the soul of this island? Those same Maltese citizens, who, when confronted with the decision whether to leave or not, in a low voice they said yes, we are leaving, and are now waiting to receive the next order, despite their beliefs and all they had avowed. There was nothing else left of the elements that composed the Malta they knew. Therefore, they took out their suitcases and started emptying the drawers. We should have left much before , some of them thought. The exodus continued, quietly. Not all over the island, though. There will always be a group of people, who are fighters and patriots. Most probably, this group was amongst those 54

few thousands who, despite what had happened, had managed to stay – legally or not - on the island. Two days before, in the streets of Rabat, a number of abandoned cars had exploded, and a number of empty buildings had been set on fire. The soldiers of the Italian army had immediately put the attacks to an end, but they hadn’t managed to seize all the rebels. The same happened in the whereabouts of Tas-Sliema and Balluta. Further down, in the whereabouts of Kottonera, a crowd of people had gathered. They were angry at the row of packed up cars on their way to Ċirkewwa. The people in the streets had armed themselves with whatever stuff they had managed to find – tins, bottles, branches and other objects – to throw them at the cars as a sign of protest against those who were leaving. Some of those who were inside the cars lowered their heads more than others, as they remembered that, only few months before, they had done the same against those who had left before them. They thought that most probably, many of 55