Friday, 5th September 2008
Naxxar fireworks tragedy
Feast grates on emotions of woman who lost a daughter
For Helen Grech, the mother of Sina Sammut who died in the Naxxar explosion, feast decorations along her street make her grief even worse. Photo: Chris Sant Fournier
Six months after losing her daughter in the Naxxar fireworks explosion, Helen Grech cannot bear to look out into her street and watch the decorations forming part of the celebration of the feast of Our Lady of Victories this weekend.
"The decorations are out of place... I feel uncomfortable looking at them. I would have liked to move out of the village during these days," Ms Grech said, adding that the festivities around her and her family only exacerbated their sorrow after the death of her daughter.
On March 12, 35-year-old mother-of-two Sina Sammut was killed in her home as was her neighbour, 47-year-old Paul Camilleri, suspected to have been manufacturing fireworks inside his garage in Triq Ħal Dgħejf. The explosion demolished three houses and damaged others.
Ms Grech said that this year her late daughter's children, Gareth and Kirsty, were ignoring the feast. "They used to look forward to the feast but this year they barely mentioned it."
The children are living with their father at their aunt's house after their home was completely demolished.
"It's been six months since the explosions and their house has not even started being re-built... They still have to share a bed with their father," Ms Grech said.
"We are all hurt by the tragedy... Many people are hurt that the feast is going ahead as usual this year," she said.
The link between the fireworks and the village feast has caused various Naxxar residents to conclude that, this year, the feast ought to have been cancelled as a sign of mourning and respect.
Last week, some victims of the fireworks explosion expressed their disappointment at the fact that, despite the tragedy, feast celebrations of Our Lady of Victories would go on as usual and with the participation of the Victory Band Club and the Peace Band Club.
The Peace Band Club was closed after the police found fireworks stored in the basement, close to a petrol station, shortly after the explosion. The band committee was charged in court over the find.
Both the Victory Band Club and the Peace Band Club declared that they will tone down their performances during the feast.
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Comments
Look at Marsaxlokk's example. That is what I call REAL respect to others!!!!!
Have you no consideration, compassion, and sense of decency? Mrs. Grech and her family have endured the tragic loss of a family member due to the selfish criminal actions of a neighbour. The least that the Naxxarin should do is to forego any form of exuberant celebrations this time around out of respect for the deceased as well as the bereaved. If you cannot agree to this, then you are a hard-hearted person indeed. Would you be among those who will be screaming "Viva l-Bambina" this weekend as an outward show of your Christian beliefs? As a Christian you might consider showing compassion to others.
Otherwise there would not be a true manifestation of solidarity.
By holding any outdoor festivities would be tantamount to excluding this family from village life.
Nevertheless, my curiosity was taunted by the great "publicity" that the Naxxar feast is being given this year and I did go over yesterday to see what's happening. May I say that for most of the streets the band did not play, whenever it was in close proximity of one of Sina's relative.
I also did not find of bad taste the T-shirts bearing the "GAME OVER" writing. Do not forget that the opposing band has been closed down. It is only natural that the supporters taunt their "competitors" with this fact. It does not have anything to do with the tragic accident. Also, the band did NOT launch any CD this year. This was confirmed by a member of the band's committee.
The march ended with the supporters singing AVE MARIA! The usual fireworks display was cancelled. Anything disrespectful in these events?!
What do you consider evidence? Are illegal fireworks in the basement of the band club not enough? Since the organisers of the fiesta did not hear the requests of the people to cancel the outside celebrations, it is up to the people of Naxxar to respect their poor neighbour whose life was taken so tragically and completely ignore the festive activities. They should all get together and organise a spiritual meeting in the church and offer their prayers for the souls of the victims. That would be the only right thing to do in these circumstances.
So the band clubs are 'toning down their performance this year out of respect? Are they going to fit their instruments with silencers? are they going to play funerary marches? Isn't it a shame on all the christians walking this land that the victims are still without a home? The dead victim's mother can't bear to look out of her window at the street decorations. Imagine her feelings when she hears the boom boom of petards in a few days' time if they have not already started, knowing that it was the manufacture of similar explosives that robbed her of her daughter. think of the husband and children of the victim as you are swigging beer and carousing infront of the march. and then go in front of Maria Bambina and thank her that it was not your life that was destroyed six months ago. I'm sure Mary would understand. Perhaps you can donate something to calm your concience. or you can do something honorable and boycott the feast out of respect for your sister who was taken away from your community.
What this tragedy should make us do is to push the authorities to control the manufacturing of fireworks (not ban them either!) and safe some lives. Unfortunetly, cancelling the feast will not erase what has already happened.
The incident at Naxxar is directly related to the "festa bonanza". Your "example" is NOT related directly, has it has no meaning at all in this scenario.
Totally agree with these street decorations, the least, Naxxar community should have done is to completely stop the "outside" festa and concentrate on the liturgical aspect of the festa. Where is the community sense of belonging? boq! Do the clubs impose conditions and dictate what to do or not to do in the festa program? Where is the parish priest? Does he have a role in this "community"?
It is true, one has to get on his feet as quickly as possible, when tragedies happen, not to fall in depression and mental sufferness. However, the community ought to respect their grieved villagers and cancel the outdoor festa. Take example from the "Xlukkajri" after the Shimshar tradegy. The festa was cancelled w/o any discussing of "toning down" any of the program. That is what i call a true sense of community. Naxxar ... you are way behind in this. Get moving!!!!
I also agree with Reuben Zammit that the people attending yesterdays victory band club march were wearing red t-shirts with the words “GAME OVER’ written on the front. This is defiantly no sign of respect and also the cd that they launched this year does not have anything to do with the feast and i don't know how the victory band club's committee approved it. I also feel that the decision taken by the committee of the other band club to cancel all the marches for this year was a good decision.
Your reasoning is completely out!
A traffic accident is one thing and manufacturing fireworks for the so called ‘festa’ is another . In my opinion, yes carrying on with the Naxxar’s festa this year was has been a show of lack of solidarity. Could you look in Sina’s son and daughter’s eyes and tell them that five months has been enough? Shame on you, and on the large institution that is behind the organising.
This is at least what I understand by SOLIDARITY and being CHRISTIAN - otherwise those who think otherwise only justify the claim that festa are just an exteriorization of pagan instincts
Most of the people from Naxxar or rather those who still have a conscious not only deeply sympathize with you and your family but also totally agree that the feast ought to have been cancelled as a sign of mourning and respect. I also find very disturbing and ironic the fact that most of the people attending yesterdays march were wearing red t-shirts with the words “GAME OVER’ written on the front. This is defiantly no sign of respect.
At a tangent to all this, we all recently heard about the crackdown of littering to enforce regulations and keep the streets clean, an exercise spearheaded by Chris Said. Even the amount of fines given out in the first few days of this ‘crackdown’ was given prominence in local news. Yet yesterday some of the streets of Naxxar, through which the village band passed, where littered with shredded papers and confetti though police were present. Isn’t this littering too? One gets a fine if one throws a cigarette butt in the road , yet can dump a whole bag of shredded papers on a village band and get away with it!