Manwel Dimech
Encyclopedia
Manuel Dimech was the pre-eminent social reformer in pre-independence Malta
, a philosopher, a journalist, and a writer of novels and poetry.
Born and brought up in extreme poverty and illiteracy, Dimech returned time and time again to the prisons, mostly on robbery charges. At seventeen years of age he even committed murder. In the prisons, however, he studied hard and became skilful in letters and various arts. When finally set in liberty, he engaged himself in an energetic and enterprising public life by teaching and publishing. He aimed at an overall transformation of society in which the poor and abject would be given a rightful place as citizens of a free republic. Having incurred the wrath of the dominant political forces and the privileged classes, Dimech was permanently exiled him from the island and was buried on Egyptian
soil in an unmarked grave.
, Malta
, and baptised at the church of St Paul Shipwreck, Valletta
. His family was poor and lived in a single room that was part of a common tenement house with over sixty people. His ancestors on his father’s side were genuine artistic sculptors, though up till Dimech’s birth his family had fallen on difficult times. During his childhood, Dimech’s family moved residence twice, leaving Valletta
for Qormi
(today Santa Venera
), and then moving to Msida
. His father tried hard to make ends meet, but his weak health prevented any success in this endeavour. He died at the young age of only 37, leaving his widow to care for ten young children.
, grammar
, politics
, history
, philosophy
, religion
, and more. He discovered he had a special penchant for languages, and in prison he learnt the ins and outs of Maltese
, English
, French
and Italian
to perfection. Later he would make a living teaching these languages. He had a good brain and a fruitful mind. His keen interest in politics was not committed to petty squabbles or parochial issues, but burrowed deep into the structural causes of poverty and oppression. All of this would serve him well in the public sphere.
that was to serve him as his mouthpiece for many years to come. He called it Il-Bandiera tal-Maltin (The Flag of the Maltese; pronounced ilbaandeera taal maaltin). Through it he explored, albeit with the language and prose of the times, the structures of oppression in a country that had been a colony
of Britain
since 1800, and in the clutches of the Catholic Church since time immemorial. Furthermore, Dimech proposed the way forward. He advocated the education of the masses, and audaciously specified how Malta
could one day be an economically self-sufficient independent republic.
of America
. He came at this position through his acquaintance with the philosophy
of Jeremy Bentham
, John Stuart Mill
, and other British
Empiricists and philosophers of Utilitarianism
. He claimed that actions can be considered right or wrong, and value judgments can be rightly gauged, according to whether they perform well when applied to practice. Actions, he maintained, proceed from the power that knowledge possesses from itself. Furthermore, actions are aimed at acquiring happiness, first, for the individual, and, simultaneously, for the whole community of individuals.
, English
, French
, and Maltese), and pamphlets. Unfortunately, books of poetry have not survived. Dimech’s main objective with these publications was to form a political class from amongst the people, especially young men and women who had not the possibility of acquiring an education otherwise. Dimech was enamored of the Maltese language
, and saw it as an efficacious tool of emancipation.
in 1890 for expediency reasons. However, in 1903 he visited Montenegro
(for almost three weeks) to study at close range the social and political situation there. He enhanced this experience by travelling twice to the north of Italy
(especially Genoa
, Milan
and Turin
), where, in all, he spent almost four years. There Dimech became particularly acquainted to workers’ movements and the trade unions. He was also very interested in the state-church relationship that prevailed in Italy
during that fascinating time. Understandably, he came back to Malta
fired up and all ready to bring about the social changes he had been mulling over for many years.
colonial government, the Catholic Church, the privileged class, the landed gentry, or whoever. His strategy was to begin with the political education of a new grass-root group of people, and subsequently permeate the illiterate, underprivileged and destitute masses. His ultimate aims were to make Malta
an industrialised country that could be economically self-reliant and, eventually, be worthy of independence.
from Italy
in 1911, Dimech founded what he called Ix-Xirka ta' l-Imdawlin (The League of the Enlightened; pronounced ishirka taal imdaaulin). This was a sort of union in the modern understanding of the word, in the sense that it was a social club, an organisation militating for workers’ rights, a school of adult education
, and a political party all in one. Through this league Dimech hoped to have a say, and transformative influence, in the political, and then the social, and maybe also the religious, fields. Young idealists and people craving for change flocked to him, and not only from the lower class but also from the middle and higher classes. Dimech’s political “revolution” had begun.
of the 1910s, Dimech was undaunted. He fought back with the little freedom of movement and action that was left to him, and stalwartly stood his ground. For a whole year, between 1911 and 1912, he and his family were systematically and pitilessly persecuted by the Church, but nothing could break his back. Then, obliquely admitting defeat, the Church called a truce. Dimech had won against all odds, and immediately re-established his former organization with the name Ix-Xirka tal-Maltin (The League of the Maltese; pronounced ishirka taal maaltin).
colonial government was unhappy with his widespread and growing influence amongst the workers at the Royal shipyards. Indeed, the great majority of Dimech’s foot soldiers came from there, and this threatened to precariously disrupt the use of Malta
as one of His Majesty’s major Mediterranean naval base. Slowly but surely, and perhaps not without a push or two from the authorities of the Catholic Church, the powers to be began to close upon this little man who was considered dangerous enough to be destroyed.
had just begun, and Malta
’s British
governor accepted the accusation that Dimech was a spy of Germany
(then at war with Britain
), and surreptitiously deported him to the island to Sicily
, in Italy
(as yet a neutral country in the war). There he was shortly arrested again, and asked to leave to a country, save Malta
, of his own choice. Dimech chose Egypt
, then a British protectorate
. Again, shortly afterward, he was arrested once more, this time for good. For the remaining days of his life, for seven long and miserable years, Dimech lived in prisons or concentration camps either at Alexandria
or Cairo
.
began to consider Dimech as a “prisoner of war”. However, when World War I
came to an end in 1918, he was not released. Technically and actually, Dimech then became an exile, and eventually he remained so till the end of his days. Various pleas for his return to Malta
were refused by the British colonial government in Malta, even when these were repeatedly made by the Commander-in-Chief
of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force Force, Edmund Allenby, and later by the Secretary of State for the Colonies
, Winston Churchill
.
. Dire prison conditions caused his health to deteriorate fast. In November 1920, after becoming half paralyzed by apoplexy
, he was transferred to Victoria College, Alexandria
, at Sidi Bishr itself, a college that was transformed into a hospital due to war exigencies. But by now Dimech was doomed. He died forlorn and alone on April 17, 1921, and was unceremoniously buried in the sand grounds of Victoria College, Alexandria
, itself. His grave was unmarked, and all attempts to locate it proved futile.
well after his deportation in 1914. They organized Malta
’s first recorded strike at the Royal shipyards in 1920, and were significantly amongst the rioters against the British colonial government on 7 June 1919, riots which led to the granting of Malta
’s first self-government. They were harassed and persecuted harshly by the colonial government, especially in 1914 and 1933, so much so that to be a Dimechian became quickly tantamount to public disgrace. By time, the few faithful Dimechians died out, and Dimech himself was forgotten.
. This led to a renewed interest in Dimech’s life. Also in the 1970s, the socialist Prime Minister, Dom Mintoff
, transformed Dimech into a sort of socialist icon, even though Dimech himself would have been ill at ease with such a recognition. However, Dimech’s fame was finally set. A monument to him was erected in 1976 in front of the Prime Minister’s office in Valletta
, at one of Malta
's main squares. In 2004 Dr Mark Montebello placed the study and appreciation of Dimech on a new and unprecedented standing with a master biographical work called simply Dimech (PEG, Malta), which started to behold Dimech’s personality in a more balanced and objective way.
Further publications which were issued in the wake of the 2004 biography were, namely, Jien, Manwel Dimech (I, Manuel Dimech) by Mark Montebello (an abridged biography in Maltese published by Daritama in 2006), Manwel Dimech: Fi kliemi (Manuel Dimech: In my own words) by Mark Montebello (an audio book in Maltese published by Kottoner 98fm in 2010), and Manwel Dimech: Ivan u Praskovja u Kitbiet Ohra (Manuel Dimech: Ivan and Prascovia and Other Writings) edited by Mark Montebello (a wide selection of Dimech's writings pubished by Sensiela Kotba Socjalisti, SKS, in 2011).
was extraordinary, outstanding and unmatched by anything that had gone before. Dimech was not a nationalist, an anti-colonialist or a socialist in any way we would understand the terms today. He was, first and foremost, an enemy of any kind of domination, coercion, cruelty, tyranny, repression and subjugation. If this made him a nationalist, an anti-colonialist or some kind of socialist, it was surely only in an indirect and oblique way. Dimech did not achieve in his lifetime what he set out to accomplish. He was violently and unjustly truncated. Most of the policies he advocated were implemented some half a century after his death by Dom Mintoff
in the 1970s.
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
, a philosopher, a journalist, and a writer of novels and poetry.
Born and brought up in extreme poverty and illiteracy, Dimech returned time and time again to the prisons, mostly on robbery charges. At seventeen years of age he even committed murder. In the prisons, however, he studied hard and became skilful in letters and various arts. When finally set in liberty, he engaged himself in an energetic and enterprising public life by teaching and publishing. He aimed at an overall transformation of society in which the poor and abject would be given a rightful place as citizens of a free republic. Having incurred the wrath of the dominant political forces and the privileged classes, Dimech was permanently exiled him from the island and was buried on Egyptian
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
soil in an unmarked grave.
Biography
The main literary source for Dimech’s biography is Dr Mark Montebello’s extensive work Dimech, published in 2004 (PEG, Malta). Unfortunately, it is in Maltese and no translation of it (in English or otherwise) exists as yet.Birth and formation
Manuel Dimech was born on Christmas Day (December 25), 1860, at St John Street, VallettaValletta
Valletta is the capital of Malta, colloquially known as Il-Belt in Maltese. It is located in the central-eastern portion of the island of Malta, and the historical city has a population of 6,098. The name "Valletta" is traditionally reserved for the historic walled citadel that serves as Malta's...
, Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
, and baptised at the church of St Paul Shipwreck, Valletta
Valletta
Valletta is the capital of Malta, colloquially known as Il-Belt in Maltese. It is located in the central-eastern portion of the island of Malta, and the historical city has a population of 6,098. The name "Valletta" is traditionally reserved for the historic walled citadel that serves as Malta's...
. His family was poor and lived in a single room that was part of a common tenement house with over sixty people. His ancestors on his father’s side were genuine artistic sculptors, though up till Dimech’s birth his family had fallen on difficult times. During his childhood, Dimech’s family moved residence twice, leaving Valletta
Valletta
Valletta is the capital of Malta, colloquially known as Il-Belt in Maltese. It is located in the central-eastern portion of the island of Malta, and the historical city has a population of 6,098. The name "Valletta" is traditionally reserved for the historic walled citadel that serves as Malta's...
for Qormi
Qormi
Qormi is a city in Malta with a population of 18,550 , which makes it the second largest locality in Malta...
(today Santa Venera
Santa Venera
Santa Venera is a town in Malta, with a population of around 6,800 . This settlement is found in the Outer Harbour Region of Malta. The oldest buildings in Santa Venera are Wignacourt Aqueduct and Casa Leoni, both of which were built by the Knights of St. John.A new church has been built recently...
), and then moving to Msida
Msida
Msida or Imsida is a harbour town in Malta with a population of 7,623 . The town is located just west of Valletta on the northeast coast of Malta. The town enjoys a Mediterranean climate with hot, dry, sunny summers and short, cool winters.The neighbouring towns of Msida are Ta' Xbiex, Gzira, San...
. His father tried hard to make ends meet, but his weak health prevented any success in this endeavour. He died at the young age of only 37, leaving his widow to care for ten young children.
Prison experience
Just a fortnight after his father’s death the 13-year old Dimech committed his first recorded crime of petty theft. He was a street urchin with no education, guidance or direction. For his first crime he was sent two days in a lockup. This experience did not stop him from delving deeper into a life of crime. Subsequently, he was to be sent nine more times to prison, sometimes for very serious crimes. Mostly it was for theft or burglary, but in 1878, when he was 17 years old, he committed murder, and was imprisoned for more than twelve years. In 1890, then, he was found guilty of forging counterfeit money (though he only traded it), and was imprisoned for a further seven years. He was definitely released from prison in 1897 at the age of 36. In all he had spent some twenty years of incarceration.Education
While in prison Dimech began to learn how to read and write. This was in 1877, when he was 17 years old. With all the time of the world on his hands he quickly became an avid reader, absorbing all kinds of stuff: literatureLiterature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
, grammar
Grammar
In linguistics, grammar is the set of structural rules that govern the composition of clauses, phrases, and words in any given natural language. The term refers also to the study of such rules, and this field includes morphology, syntax, and phonology, often complemented by phonetics, semantics,...
, politics
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
, history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
, philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
, religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
, and more. He discovered he had a special penchant for languages, and in prison he learnt the ins and outs of Maltese
Maltese language
Maltese is the national language of Malta, and a co-official language of the country alongside English,while also serving as an official language of the European Union, the only Semitic language so distinguished. Maltese is descended from Siculo-Arabic...
, English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
and Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
to perfection. Later he would make a living teaching these languages. He had a good brain and a fruitful mind. His keen interest in politics was not committed to petty squabbles or parochial issues, but burrowed deep into the structural causes of poverty and oppression. All of this would serve him well in the public sphere.
Prison terror
In prison Dimech had another kind of formation. During his last stint in prison between 1890 and 1897, a certain Marquis Giorgio Barbaro was appointed Commissioner of Prison. This man was a psychopath who made the life of prisoners, vulnerable and defenceless as they were, a hell on earth. He tortured, murdered, persecuted and tormented prisoners ceaselessly. He also perjured his way into sending at least two prisoners to the gallows for crimes they had not committed. Dimech saw all this and lived through it with growing agony. The experience, together with the reading he was doing, moulded him into a daring, powerful and intrepid personality.Public figure
Once out of prison in 1897, Dimech embarked on an outstanding public career that brought him fame, though not immediate success. From the start of 1898 he issued a weekly in MalteseMaltese language
Maltese is the national language of Malta, and a co-official language of the country alongside English,while also serving as an official language of the European Union, the only Semitic language so distinguished. Maltese is descended from Siculo-Arabic...
that was to serve him as his mouthpiece for many years to come. He called it Il-Bandiera tal-Maltin (The Flag of the Maltese; pronounced ilbaandeera taal maaltin). Through it he explored, albeit with the language and prose of the times, the structures of oppression in a country that had been a colony
Colony
In politics and history, a colony is a territory under the immediate political control of a state. For colonies in antiquity, city-states would often found their own colonies. Some colonies were historically countries, while others were territories without definite statehood from their inception....
of Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
since 1800, and in the clutches of the Catholic Church since time immemorial. Furthermore, Dimech proposed the way forward. He advocated the education of the masses, and audaciously specified how Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
could one day be an economically self-sufficient independent republic.
Philosophy
Dimech adhered to a philosophy that he called ‘of action’, a position very close, though directly unrelated, to the contemporaneous PragmatismPragmatism
Pragmatism is a philosophical tradition centered on the linking of practice and theory. It describes a process where theory is extracted from practice, and applied back to practice to form what is called intelligent practice...
of America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. He came at this position through his acquaintance with the philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
of Jeremy Bentham
Jeremy Bentham
Jeremy Bentham was an English jurist, philosopher, and legal and social reformer. He became a leading theorist in Anglo-American philosophy of law, and a political radical whose ideas influenced the development of welfarism...
, John Stuart Mill
John Stuart Mill
John Stuart Mill was a British philosopher, economist and civil servant. An influential contributor to social theory, political theory, and political economy, his conception of liberty justified the freedom of the individual in opposition to unlimited state control. He was a proponent of...
, and other British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Empiricists and philosophers of Utilitarianism
Utilitarianism
Utilitarianism is an ethical theory holding that the proper course of action is the one that maximizes the overall "happiness", by whatever means necessary. It is thus a form of consequentialism, meaning that the moral worth of an action is determined only by its resulting outcome, and that one can...
. He claimed that actions can be considered right or wrong, and value judgments can be rightly gauged, according to whether they perform well when applied to practice. Actions, he maintained, proceed from the power that knowledge possesses from itself. Furthermore, actions are aimed at acquiring happiness, first, for the individual, and, simultaneously, for the whole community of individuals.
Publications
During his lifetime Dimech issued various publications. The 462 editions of Il-Bandiera tal-Maltin are perhaps the foremost. But others are also interesting. Amongst these one can find other newspapers in foreign languages (of short duration), two novels, grammar books (in ItalianItalian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
, English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, and Maltese), and pamphlets. Unfortunately, books of poetry have not survived. Dimech’s main objective with these publications was to form a political class from amongst the people, especially young men and women who had not the possibility of acquiring an education otherwise. Dimech was enamored of the Maltese language
Maltese language
Maltese is the national language of Malta, and a co-official language of the country alongside English,while also serving as an official language of the European Union, the only Semitic language so distinguished. Maltese is descended from Siculo-Arabic...
, and saw it as an efficacious tool of emancipation.
Foreign experience
Dimech had travelled to TunisTunis
Tunis is the capital of both the Tunisian Republic and the Tunis Governorate. It is Tunisia's largest city, with a population of 728,453 as of 2004; the greater metropolitan area holds some 2,412,500 inhabitants....
in 1890 for expediency reasons. However, in 1903 he visited Montenegro
Montenegro
Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...
(for almost three weeks) to study at close range the social and political situation there. He enhanced this experience by travelling twice to the north of Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
(especially Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
, Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
and Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
), where, in all, he spent almost four years. There Dimech became particularly acquainted to workers’ movements and the trade unions. He was also very interested in the state-church relationship that prevailed in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
during that fascinating time. Understandably, he came back to Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
fired up and all ready to bring about the social changes he had been mulling over for many years.
Main political programme
It is indisputable that Dimech wanted, and worked for, an overhaul of the social system. His main aim was to pull the carpet from under the structures of oppression, whether they were maintained by the BritishUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
colonial government, the Catholic Church, the privileged class, the landed gentry, or whoever. His strategy was to begin with the political education of a new grass-root group of people, and subsequently permeate the illiterate, underprivileged and destitute masses. His ultimate aims were to make Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
an industrialised country that could be economically self-reliant and, eventually, be worthy of independence.
Popular organiser
Definitely back to MaltaMalta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
from Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
in 1911, Dimech founded what he called Ix-Xirka ta' l-Imdawlin (The League of the Enlightened; pronounced ishirka taal imdaaulin). This was a sort of union in the modern understanding of the word, in the sense that it was a social club, an organisation militating for workers’ rights, a school of adult education
Adult education
Adult education is the practice of teaching and educating adults. Adult education takes place in the workplace, through 'extension' school or 'school of continuing education' . Other learning places include folk high schools, community colleges, and lifelong learning centers...
, and a political party all in one. Through this league Dimech hoped to have a say, and transformative influence, in the political, and then the social, and maybe also the religious, fields. Young idealists and people craving for change flocked to him, and not only from the lower class but also from the middle and higher classes. Dimech’s political “revolution” had begun.
Excommunicated
But immediately Dimech was held in his tracks. The then mighty Catholic Church pounced on him, and first condemned Il-Bandiera tal-Maltin and Ix-Xirka ta' l-Imdawlin, and shortly afterward excommunicated Dimech himself. Though this was an overwhelmingly devastating blow in all respects in MaltaMalta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
of the 1910s, Dimech was undaunted. He fought back with the little freedom of movement and action that was left to him, and stalwartly stood his ground. For a whole year, between 1911 and 1912, he and his family were systematically and pitilessly persecuted by the Church, but nothing could break his back. Then, obliquely admitting defeat, the Church called a truce. Dimech had won against all odds, and immediately re-established his former organization with the name Ix-Xirka tal-Maltin (The League of the Maltese; pronounced ishirka taal maaltin).
Considered dangerous
But the Catholic Church was not the only institution disgruntled with Dimech. The BritishUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
colonial government was unhappy with his widespread and growing influence amongst the workers at the Royal shipyards. Indeed, the great majority of Dimech’s foot soldiers came from there, and this threatened to precariously disrupt the use of Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
as one of His Majesty’s major Mediterranean naval base. Slowly but surely, and perhaps not without a push or two from the authorities of the Catholic Church, the powers to be began to close upon this little man who was considered dangerous enough to be destroyed.
Deportation and imprisonment
Just over a year after Dimech re-launched his Xirka tal-Maltin, he was arrested. World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
had just begun, and Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
’s British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
governor accepted the accusation that Dimech was a spy of Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
(then at war with Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
), and surreptitiously deported him to the island to Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
, in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
(as yet a neutral country in the war). There he was shortly arrested again, and asked to leave to a country, save Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
, of his own choice. Dimech chose Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, then a British protectorate
Protectorate
In history, the term protectorate has two different meanings. In its earliest inception, which has been adopted by modern international law, it is an autonomous territory that is protected diplomatically or militarily against third parties by a stronger state or entity...
. Again, shortly afterward, he was arrested once more, this time for good. For the remaining days of his life, for seven long and miserable years, Dimech lived in prisons or concentration camps either at Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
or Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
.
Exile
At some unspecified time the BritishUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
began to consider Dimech as a “prisoner of war”. However, when World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
came to an end in 1918, he was not released. Technically and actually, Dimech then became an exile, and eventually he remained so till the end of his days. Various pleas for his return to Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
were refused by the British colonial government in Malta, even when these were repeatedly made by the Commander-in-Chief
Commander-in-Chief
A commander-in-chief is the commander of a nation's military forces or significant element of those forces. In the latter case, the force element may be defined as those forces within a particular region or those forces which are associated by function. As a practical term it refers to the military...
of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force Force, Edmund Allenby, and later by the Secretary of State for the Colonies
Secretary of State for the Colonies
The Secretary of State for the Colonies or Colonial Secretary was the British Cabinet minister in charge of managing the United Kingdom's various colonial dependencies....
, Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
.
Death
At the end of 1918 Dimech was transferred to a concentration camp at Sidi Bishr in AlexandriaAlexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
. Dire prison conditions caused his health to deteriorate fast. In November 1920, after becoming half paralyzed by apoplexy
Apoplexy
Apoplexy is a medical term, which can be used to describe 'bleeding' in a stroke . Without further specification, it is rather outdated in use. Today it is used only for specific conditions, such as pituitary apoplexy and ovarian apoplexy. In common speech, it is used non-medically to mean a state...
, he was transferred to Victoria College, Alexandria
Victoria College, Alexandria
Victoria College, Alexandria, was founded in 1902 under the impetus of the recently ennobled Evelyn Baring, 1st Earl of Cromer of the Barings Bank, that was heavily invested in Egyptian stability. For years the British Consul-General was ex officio on the board of Victoria College...
, at Sidi Bishr itself, a college that was transformed into a hospital due to war exigencies. But by now Dimech was doomed. He died forlorn and alone on April 17, 1921, and was unceremoniously buried in the sand grounds of Victoria College, Alexandria
Victoria College, Alexandria
Victoria College, Alexandria, was founded in 1902 under the impetus of the recently ennobled Evelyn Baring, 1st Earl of Cromer of the Barings Bank, that was heavily invested in Egyptian stability. For years the British Consul-General was ex officio on the board of Victoria College...
, itself. His grave was unmarked, and all attempts to locate it proved futile.
The Dimechians
A small group of young followers of Dimech continued to be somewhat active in MaltaMalta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
well after his deportation in 1914. They organized Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
’s first recorded strike at the Royal shipyards in 1920, and were significantly amongst the rioters against the British colonial government on 7 June 1919, riots which led to the granting of Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
’s first self-government. They were harassed and persecuted harshly by the colonial government, especially in 1914 and 1933, so much so that to be a Dimechian became quickly tantamount to public disgrace. By time, the few faithful Dimechians died out, and Dimech himself was forgotten.
Posthumous recognition
Dimech was re-introduced to the public by Gerald Azzopardi (1910-1993) in the 1960s, and later, in the 1970s, he was given more academic validity by Professor Henry FrendoHenry Frendo
Prof. Henry Joseph Frendo has been a Professor of Modern History at the University of Malta since 1992. Frendo was also previously employed with the UNHCR, and was stationed in such places as Switzerland, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Egypt and Papua New Guinea...
. This led to a renewed interest in Dimech’s life. Also in the 1970s, the socialist Prime Minister, Dom Mintoff
Dom Mintoff
Dom Mintoff is a Maltese politician, journalist and architect, who served as leader of the Labour Party from 1949 to 1984, Prime Minister of Malta from 1955 to 1958 and again, post-Independence, from 1971 to...
, transformed Dimech into a sort of socialist icon, even though Dimech himself would have been ill at ease with such a recognition. However, Dimech’s fame was finally set. A monument to him was erected in 1976 in front of the Prime Minister’s office in Valletta
Valletta
Valletta is the capital of Malta, colloquially known as Il-Belt in Maltese. It is located in the central-eastern portion of the island of Malta, and the historical city has a population of 6,098. The name "Valletta" is traditionally reserved for the historic walled citadel that serves as Malta's...
, at one of Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
's main squares. In 2004 Dr Mark Montebello placed the study and appreciation of Dimech on a new and unprecedented standing with a master biographical work called simply Dimech (PEG, Malta), which started to behold Dimech’s personality in a more balanced and objective way.
Further publications which were issued in the wake of the 2004 biography were, namely, Jien, Manwel Dimech (I, Manuel Dimech) by Mark Montebello (an abridged biography in Maltese published by Daritama in 2006), Manwel Dimech: Fi kliemi (Manuel Dimech: In my own words) by Mark Montebello (an audio book in Maltese published by Kottoner 98fm in 2010), and Manwel Dimech: Ivan u Praskovja u Kitbiet Ohra (Manuel Dimech: Ivan and Prascovia and Other Writings) edited by Mark Montebello (a wide selection of Dimech's writings pubished by Sensiela Kotba Socjalisti, SKS, in 2011).
Achievement
Dimech evocatively and compellingly advocated the emancipation of the masses. His assault on the entrenched structures of oppression in MaltaMalta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
was extraordinary, outstanding and unmatched by anything that had gone before. Dimech was not a nationalist, an anti-colonialist or a socialist in any way we would understand the terms today. He was, first and foremost, an enemy of any kind of domination, coercion, cruelty, tyranny, repression and subjugation. If this made him a nationalist, an anti-colonialist or some kind of socialist, it was surely only in an indirect and oblique way. Dimech did not achieve in his lifetime what he set out to accomplish. He was violently and unjustly truncated. Most of the policies he advocated were implemented some half a century after his death by Dom Mintoff
Dom Mintoff
Dom Mintoff is a Maltese politician, journalist and architect, who served as leader of the Labour Party from 1949 to 1984, Prime Minister of Malta from 1955 to 1958 and again, post-Independence, from 1971 to...
in the 1970s.
Streets in Malta named after this personality
- Manwel Dimech Street, in Għaxaq; QormiQormiQormi is a city in Malta with a population of 18,550 , which makes it the second largest locality in Malta...
; Rabat, Gozo; San Ġiljan; SliemaSliemaTas-Sliema is a city located on the northeast coast of Malta. It is a centre for shopping, restaurants and café life. Tas-Sliema is also a major commercial and residential area and houses several of Malta's most modern hotels. Tas-Sliema, which means 'peace, comfort', was once a quiet fishing... - Manwel Dimech Bridge, in San Ġiljan
External links
Full biographical data by Mark Montebello Biographical article by Josef EbejerSee also
Philosophy in MaltaPhilosophy in Malta
Philosophy in Malta refers to philosophy done by Maltese nationals or of Maltese descent, whether living in Malta or abroad, whether writing in their native Maltese language or in a foreign language.-Short history:...