Regionalism in the Maltese context : a myth or reality?

Abstract

"Never accept everything at face value", was one of the quotations my father used to use whilst I was growing up as part of his duties in relation to character formation. This, remained in my mind all throughout my child and adulthood and induced me into delving further the premise, based on hearsay, that the South of Malta is less well off than other areas in more aspect than one. To make the premise concrete the intention to answer the title, 'Regionalism in the Maltese Context: a myth or reality?' is to be tackled by researching statistical data from different entities, as well as conducting a survey and one or two interviews. Is there a cause to study regionalism in Malta due to the size of the country? Are there regional problems? The idea to tackle the subject, from a sociological and anthropological point of view, came from the fact that since I am originally from the South of Malta I used to hear various disparaging remarks by people from other areas, mostly the Central/North, who used to show a self-claimed superiority just because they hail from other parts of the island. This is what spurned me on to dedicate my study on the subject. It is good to note also that because of marriage, without any alternative choice, I had to uproot myself and live in the northern region. I had no choice because my wife hails from the Northern Harbour region of the island and as it might unfold throughout this dissertation that it is difficult for people from the North to live in the South. The present-day view of North/South relations is rooted in its colonial legacy, which is difficult to assess, and which accounts for the hindrances that lie in the way of achieving an understanding of the origins of stereotypes. A stereotype is an expression of 'collective personality' that is transmitted to individuals by social environment and through other forms as an expression of public opinion, and irrespective of their personal experiences. These stereotypes fulfill the ideological function in relation to conflicts and discrimination. This could help in the relation of North/South conflicts and relations. Relations of this sort can also include those involving the 'centre' and the 'periphery', or more generally, anything that can be seen 'of the North' or 'of the South'. (Hermes 2001:30, internet site) 1 The main hypothesis is to seek this whether this phenomenon is true or not, one must follow the arguments that are to be unfolded in this dissertation. This is apparent in other countries, is it evident in Malta? Since a hypothesis is a tentative proposition which is subject to verification through subsequent investigation. In many cases hypotheses are hunches that the researcher has about the existence of relationship between variables. (Verma and Beard 1981 : 184) Therefore this dissertation will help prove a pre-determined hypothesis. [...]