Il-komunità bħala ċelebrazzjoni- Michael Briguglio

Ftit jiem ilu, l-iskola primarja tal-Kulleġġ Santa Klara f’Tas-Sliema kellha l-avveniment annwali tagħha tal-Jum ta’ Ċelebrazzjoni tal-Kisbiet. Meta kont tifel, dan kien jissejjaħ il-Kunċert tal-Milied u Jum il-Premjazzjoni, iżda l-isem il-ġdid hu maħsub biex jirrifletti ċ-ċelebrazzjoni u t-tħaddin tad-diversità.

Jien attendejt l-avveniment bħala ġenitur, u kont impressjonat mill-ħidma tal-iskola biex tibni komunità ta’ tagħlim, u b’hekk ikkonfermajt l-impressjoni pożittiva li ngħatajt tul is-snin li fihom ibni ilu jmur din l-iskola.

Fid-diskors ta’ merħba tagħha, il-Kap tal-Iskola Claudine Muscat tkellmet bl-Ingliż biex tiżgura li l-ġenituri kollha mill-għexieren ta’ nazzjonalitajiet differenti jifhmu u jħossu li huma parti mill-komunità, iżda tkellmet ukoll għal ftit ħin bil-Malti biex tiċċelebra l-wirt nazzjonali tagħna.

L-avveniment bilingwi nnifsu kien sintesi tal-popolazzjoni multinazzjonali tal-iskola u l-identità Maltija tagħha. It-tema tal-kunċert kienet ‘Il-Milied madwar id-Dinja’ – it-tfal ta’ nazzjonalitajiet differenti taw ix-xewqat għall-Milied b’lingwi differenti, u ntwerew id-drawwiet ta’ pajjiżi differenti lill-udjenza. Ġie ppreżentat ukoll proġett tal-arti tal-iskola dwar l-għaqda u d-diversità.

Dawk li ngħataw premju rriflettew abbiltajiet, nazzjonalitajiet u sessi differenti, u fi tmiem l-avveniment, tkanta l-innu nazzjonali Malti, li kien għeluq xieraq.

Nistgħu nqisu l-esperjenza pożittiva f’din l-iskola bħala mikrokożmu ta’ dak li s-soċjetà kontemporanja Maltija tista’ tkun qalb il-bidliet li għaddejja minnhom: magħquda fid-diversità, tħaddan kulturi differenti filwaqt li taqsam valuri u normi komuni.

L-għeruq Kattoliċi ta’ Malta jiġu ċċelebrati, iżda studenti bi twemmin differenti jew li jagħżlu s-suġġett tal-etika minflok dak tar-reliġjon ukoll jieħdu sehem attiv fl-iskola tagħhom. L-għalliema jagħtu attenzjoni individwali lit-tfal, u l-ġenituri jistennew lit-tfal tagħhom f’armonija wara l-iskola minkejja l-ambjenti soċjali, nazzjonali u oħrajn differenti. Barra minn hekk, l-iskola toffri servizzi barra mill-ħin tal-iskola għal dawk it-tfal li l-ġenituri tagħhom ikunu x-xogħol qabel jew wara l-ħinijiet formali tal-iskola.

Issa li ibni David jinsab fl-aħħar sena tiegħu f’din l-iskola, nixtieq nirringrazzja lil dawk kollha li jaħdmu fl-iskola għall-għajnuna, il-ġenerożità u l-flessibilità tagħhom. Għax mhuwiex faċli li tkun flessibbli f’ambjent ta’ diversità kulturali. Iżda l-iskola turi li b’rieda tajba, pedagoġija professjonali u tmexxija dinamika, sfidi bħal dawn jinbidlu f’opportunitajiet ta’ bini ta’ komunità.

Tabilħaqq, l-iskola primarja ta’ Tas-Sliema tista’ titqies bħala każ li juri x’inhu l-kapital soċjali. Dan il-kunċett sar popolari permezz ta’ soċjologi bħal Robert Putnam li segwew l-istudju dwar il-komunità ta’ Amitai Etzioni, Emile Durkheim u oħrajn.

Hawnhekk, il-persuna tiġi maħsuba bħala entità bi drittijiet kif ukoll responsabbiltajiet fix-xibka ta’ relazzjonijiet u interazzjonijiet soċjali. Fost dawn hemm il-familja, il-ħbieb, l-iskola, l-assoċjazzjonijiet volontarji, il-knejjes, u l-ġirien. Il-persuna tinsab fi ħdan il-komunità u l-komunità tinsab fi ħdan il-persuna.

Din ix-xorta ta’ ħsieb tmur lil hinn mill-ideoloġiji tax-xellug u tal-lemin. Tikkonċentra fuq il-bini ta’ komunitajiet, fejn il-kooperazzjoni, in-networking u r-reċiproċità jgħinu biex tinbena fiduċja mifruxa u ċittadini aħjar. Din hi l-essenza tal-kapital soċjali: soċjetà b’sens ċiviku u bi spirtu pubbliku fejn kulħadd iħossu parti mill-komunità.

Ovvjament, irridu nistabbilixxu ċerti regoli biex approċċ bħal dan jirnexxi, iżda dawn ma għandhomx ikunu msejsa fuq l-ambjent, it-twemmin jew l-identità tal-persuna. Identitajiet differenti jistgħu jirrikonċiljaw jekk jaqsmu valuri bażiċi komuni bħar-rispett u t-tolleranza.

Jien nara dan kuljum fit-tifel tiegħi, li l-ikbar ħbieb tiegħu ġejjin minn ambjenti soċjali, nazzjonali u reliġjużi differenti. Għal dan infaħħar lill-iskola primarja ta’ Tas-Sliema.

F’Malta likwida moderna, il-politiċi u dawk li jfasslu l-politika jistgħu jitgħallmu minn eżempji bħal dawn. Ma nistgħux nerġgħu lura għan-nostalġija għal soċjetà idillika ineżistenti li jista’ jkun li anqas biss qatt eżistiet. Iżda nistgħu ninvestu f’politika li taħdem biex tirrikonċilja identitajiet differenti fi ħdan qafas ta’ valuri bażiċi.

Huwa veru li dejjem ser ikun hemm sfidi, inugwaljanzi u forom ta’ esklużjoni, iżda nuqqas ta’ investiment fil-kapital soċjali iwassal għal individwaliżmu bla rażan, għal nuqqas egoist ta’ perspettiva, għal intolleranza u għal ghettos soċjali.

Dan l-artiklu deher fil-Mument, 30 ta' Diċembru 2018

Community as celebration - Michael Briguglio

Times of Malta, 24 December 2018

A few days ago, St Clare College primary school in Sliema held its yearly Celebration of Achievements Day event. When I was a kid, this used to be referred to as the Christmas Concert and Prize Day, but the new moniker is intended to reflect celebration and the embracing of diversity.

I attended the event as a parent, and I must say that I was impressed by the school’s efforts to build a learning community, thus confirming the positive impression I built throughout the years my son has been attending.

In her introductory address, Head of School Claudine Muscat spoke in English to ensure that all parents from the scores of different nationalities understand and feel a sense of belonging, but she also made sure to say some words in Maltese to celebrate our national heritage.

The bilingual event itself was a synthesis of the school’s multinational student population and its Maltese identity. The concert theme was ‘Christmas around the world’ - students of different nationalities gave their greetings in different languages and different countries were showcased to the audience. The audience was also presented with a unity and diversity art project which the school is conducting.

Prizewinners reflected different abilities, nationalities and genders, and Malta’s national anthem at the end summed it all up.

In a way, the positive experience in this school could be seen as a microcosm of what contemporary Maltese society could be amid the changes it is experiencing: united in diversity, embracing different cultures while sharing common values and norms.

Malta’s Catholic roots are celebrated, but students with other faiths or who choose the ethics subject are active participants in their school. Teachers give individual attention, and parents wait for their children after school in harmony despite the different class, national and other backgrounds. Furthermore, the school offers after-school services for children whose parents would be at work before or after formal hours.

Now that my son David is at his final year in this school, I want to thank all the staff for their assistance, kindness and flexibility. For it is not easy to be flexible in a setting of cultural diversity. But the school shows that with goodwill, professional pedagogy and dynamic management such challenges are transformed into opportunities for community building.

Indeed, Sliema primary school can be seen as a case study of what social capital is all about. This concept was popularised by sociologists such as Robert Putnam who followed the erstwhile communitarian scholarship of Amitai Etzioni, Emile Durkheim and others.

Here, the person is conceptualised as having both rights and responsibilities within the web of social relationships and interaction.  These include family, friends, school, voluntary associations, churches and neighbourhoods. The person is situated within the community and vice versa.

This type of thinking goes beyond the ideological left and right. It focuses on community-building, where cooperation, networking and reciprocity help build a generalised trust and better citizens. This is the essence of social-capital: a civic-minded and public-spirited society with a sense of belonging.

Of course, lines must be drawn for such an approach to succeed, but these should not be based on one’s background, creed or identity. Different identities can reconcile if they share basic common values such as respect and tolerance.

I see this everyday through my son, whose best friends come from different social, national and religious backgrounds. Hats off to the Sliema primary school for this.

In modern liquid Malta, politicians and policymakers can learn through such examples. We cannot go back to an inexistent idyllic nostalgia of a society that might never even have existed. But we can invest in policies which aim to reconcile different identities within a basic framework of values.

Sure, there will always be challenges, inequalities and forms of exclusion, but a lack of social capital investment can fuel rampant individualism, self-centred short-sightedness, intolerance and social ghettos.