Maltese community urged to assist victims

When the fires started approaching his house in Melbourne's suburbs yesterday morning, Charles Trani had two choices: either flee or stay home and fight the flames. He chose to stay.

"I decided to stay for as long as possible and try to protect the house," Mr Trani, the son of a Maltese migrant and an Italian father said, as local authorities confirmed the death of a father and son of Maltese descent.

Together with his wife Rose - also the daughter of Maltese migrants - and 17-year-old son Christopher, Mr Trani remained at home and hoped for the best, even when the neighbourhood was asked to be on high alert.

"We prepared water hoses at the back of the house and were constantly listening to the radio for updates," Mr Trani, a warehouse manager, said.

The raging fires, which have devastated Victoria where some 45,000 people of Maltese descent live, were just five kilometres from the Tranis' house and creeping closer because of the winds.

"Everything was ready so that the minute things started getting out of hand we would jump into the car and leave," Mr Trani said.

The family's two pets, a dog named Ruby and a canary called Georgie, were taken inside the house so that the Tranis would carry them with them if they had to flee their home suddenly.

And then, at about 2 p.m. (4 a.m. Malta time), the wind changed direction and the family was safe, at least for now.

The fact that arson is being suspected makes the situation worse. "It makes me extremely angry. Houses can be rebuilt but human life is lost forever," he said.

Fred Frendo, 57, and his 27-year-old son Scott have died in the fires. Their bodies were found on Monday close to their farm. The two had managed to escape the fire in their cars but they only made it outside the gate before a tree fell on one of the vehicles.

Although shielded from the fires, which were far from her house, Victoria Borg feels that she needs to do something for the victims of one of the worse bushfires in Australia.

"On Sunday, I was watching the news and felt overcome with sadness at what was happening. I feel that I need to do my part to help," she said.

Dr Borg, who heads Maltese Connections, a website aimed at keeping the link between Maltese living in Australia and their homeland, is trying to get the Maltese community in Australia to raise money for the affected people. "We could help build a school or stock a library," she said, adding that although the details were still sketchy, she was adamant to do something for those who are suffering.

The Maltese High Commissioner in Australia, Francis Tabone, said the Consulate General in Victoria had been alerted to the situation and also been in touch with the several Maltese-Australian associations.

"The situation is tragic with the fires having wiped towns off the map," he said.

The situation brings memories rushing back to Josephine Zammit Cordina, who produces a programme about Australia, Waltzing Matilda. While on a trip to Sydney four years ago, Ms Zammit Cordina was caught in a bushfire, with the car she was travelling in unable to either move forward or turn back.

"We were stuck for some two hours, seeing fires creeping closer and flames jumping from one tree to the next. It was a horrible experience and it makes these fires seem more real to me," she said.