“My father passed away at the age of 102. Just like me he never took any medicines. I was born in Senglea and I am mostly known at the clothes shop I had in Żabbar Road, Fgura. I ran this shop for 60 years. It had and still has my name. My daughter now runs it,” she explained to The People of Malta.

“My husband used to encourage me and it is he who opened the shop for me. He even taught me how to drive. We were married during the war when we were 20 years old. On our wedding day, there was an air raid and we spent our honeymoon in the shelter,” Edith said.

Edith also spoke of not having many friends, but always having her family around her, and the comfort that she found in them.

“I had three children and now I am a grandmother and a great-grandmother. It is a united family that makes you happy and nothing else. The advice I give is to give priority to your families, friends are secondary,” she offered.

“I used to do everything, sew, knit, cook and whenever any painting was needed I used to grab a paintbrush and paint.”

“I barely believe I am a hundred years old myself. I have been residing at the Simblija Care Home for nearly four years. Here I socialize with everybody. I am happy because here they share their happiness and I am comfortable with them. I joke with everybody,” she said, explaining what her life has been like in the last years.

“The employees are all gentle here and do everything in their power to make sure you are happy. I was never proud and always socialized with everybody,” she said.

“My mind is still alert but my legs are no longer strong. I thank God that I am not sick and in pain.”

The People of Malta is an artistic project aimed at sharing emotions, stories, personalities, moods and contrasts depicted in pictures and in citations of the Maltese people.

Cover image of Edith Mallia: The People of Malta 

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