Julian Manduca

In Valletta's Republic street this evening, as I was chatting with Omar Cutajar from the Malta Business Bureau and environmentalist Charles Grech, Julian Manduca stopped to say hello around 7.15pm. We chatted for a while about a number of issues. He asked me a couple of questions about the EU office in Malta. We shook hands and he went on his way to his Valletta home. In less than an hour he was dead. A text message from a common friend alerted me as I was watching Lou Bondi's talk show on PBS just after 9pm. How could it be possible? Nothing seemed to be wrong and he was in his usual charming and inquisitive mood.

I have known Julian since the eighties having met him for the first time at Sapienza's bookshop where he then worked, and have enjoyed numerous stimulating conversations with him over the years. News of his sudden and fatal heart attack came as a deep shock to everyone. He was a committed journalist, a passionate environmentalist and a devoted theatre producer. He will be sorely missed. I extend my sincere condolences to his family and friends particularly to his wife Irene Christ.


Julian Manduca recalls the EU membership controversy in Malta as reported by Radio Netherlands:

In the run-up to the referendum on EU membership, the two main political parties battled it out with increasingly hysterical propaganda. The ruling Nationalist Party promised a new dawn for Malta, while the opposition Labour party warned Malta would lose every shred of its power, influence, and even dignity. Journalist Julian Manduca recalls a campaign based on emotion, not reason.

"I know many people in Malta who didn't sleep for days on end, who said if it
doesn't go their way, they'll leave the island . . . who were really caught up
in it emotionally. It really became the only topic of conversation for months on
end."

Politics is something the island takes very seriously. Malta is one of the only countries where political parties have their own television stations, their own newspapers, their own radio stations, and even their own bars. Julian Manduca says people feel winning is a question of do or die.

"Unfortunately, we have a situation where the people who support the party who
is not in government feel that their rights are trampled on, that they're having
a terrible time . . . and it's the exact opposite when they're in government!
Then they think they can do as they like, they rule the roost."

"His unflinching commitment to the environment for the past two decades and more was consistently expressed in his life choices and daily practice" - from the MaltaMedia report.

Update: Toni Sant posts his recollections of Julian including the story of how they both campaigned for the installation of controversial vending machines on the university campus. I was also a member of that same KSU executive committee and as far as I can remember that campaign was not successful!

Alex Vella Gera writes about Julian's funeral

Mikiel Galea writes poetry for Julian. Other reactions by Patrick(Peklectrick); Mark Vella; Sharon Spiteri; Kurt(Kurat Gybexi); Antoine Cassar; Jacques Rene Zammit