Mary Fenech Adami

I had the honour of working closely with Mary Fenech Adami during various editions of L-Istrina (the annual marathon TV charity show).

I clearly remember travelling with her to the United Kingdom to visit a number of sick Maltese people at various hospitals. Some time before the first visit, she asked if there were patients who were not permanently hospitalised but nonetheless had to stay abroad for treatment. She told me: “Joe, if there are Maltese living in homes in the UK while awaiting treatment, we should visit them as well. All of them could have been one of my children.” And that’s exactly what she did. We travelled to the UK and on her insistence we visited all the homes where Maltese patients were living. I cannot forget a particular person who was residing in the UK awaiting a transplant. He lived quite far away from where we were staying but she insisted we should visit him, notwithstanding anything. And that is what we did.

While travelling in the UK, we did our best to keep expenses at a minimum not to burden L-Istrina with unnecessary costs. While in London, she insisted we go to a supermarket to buy bread, ham, cheese and disposable cutlery. It was a scene to remember: Mrs Fenech Adami sitting on a bench in the centre of London, making sandwiches for us to eat. When I saw passers-by looking at us, I said to myself: “They would never believe that she is Malta’s First Lady!”

Joe Saliba used to recount how, at the beginning of his times at the Nationalist Party, he was assigned the task of escorting her behind the stage at the end of each mass meeting, so that she and her husband could be taken to the next activity. As many of you might know, Eddie Fenech Adami is very punctual. However Mr Saliba remembers it was virtually impossible to manage to take her away from the people. She used to stop and chat with everyone. She had a special secret. She listened, absorbed and became part of the pain and happiness of the people.

She was not a simple woman but, rather, a woman who lived simply. One day we were filming at their home and at the end of the filming she asked us to stay for lunch.

At that time, Dr Fenech Adami was Prime Minister. I was impressed listening to her, throughout the meal, recounting to all of us her experiences with the people. She was telling her husband details such as who had recently died, births in families and things the people were complaining about or praising while at the greengrocer. It was then that I realised that she was the voice of the people.

Without even knowing, in her we, the people of Malta, had an unelected representative who was our voice with her husband, the leader of the country.

She was really and truly the president of the Kitchen Cabinet of Prime Minister Eddie Fenech Adami.

While working with her on L-Istrina, I could see the pain of the people who were suffering written all over her eyes and heart. Her love was unconditional.

Sometimes I really wanted to hug her to let her know how much I appreciated the positive values she was transmitting. However, I was too shy to do so. Notwithstanding this, through her I learnt not to shy away from portraying the values of solidarity, which were the basis of her daily life.