The €13,000 fund set up by the Xagħra feast committee will be used to help all those who suffered losses or damages, including the families of the six victims who died in the Għarb fireworks factory explosion.
“The victims and anybody who suffered losses can apply. Nobody will be excluded from having his claim considered,” Xagħra archpriest Fr Carmel Refalo said when asked by The Times if the owners of the trucks transporting the fireworks that were destroyed in the blast were eligible to apply, among others.
“Each application will be vetted by the committee, which will examine the validity of the requests and distribute the funds according to the established criteria,” Fr Refalo said.
The committee will be chaired by Judge Victor Caruana Colombo and will include two members of the clergy and a lay person. Applications will be received at the parish office in Xagħra until September 21.
The fireworks factory contained an estimated €70,000 worth of fireworks for the Xagħra feast. They were purchased from five factories in Malta: Għaxaq, Lija, Kirkop, Qrendi and the St Sebastian factory in Qormi and carried to Gozo on a barge and then taken by trucks to the factory, where they were parked in the yard.
One day after the blast, Fr Refalo said that only the external celebrations on September 5 were cancelled. On the eve of the feast and on Wednesday he announced during Mass that the parish was setting up a fund out of solidarity with all the victims of the tragedy, including those who suffered damages.
Gozo Bishop Mario Grech also referred to the fundraising in his homily during a Pontifical Mass on the occasion of the Xagħra village feast on Wednesday.
“I also laud the Xagħra parish community, led by Fr Refalo, who made a significant gesture that reflects your sensibility towards what happened, especially through the setting up of a fund to show solidarity with the victims’ families and those who suffered damages.”
Mgr Grech also said he would set up a commission that would advise him on directives to be issued in connection with fireworks used during feasts.
He appealed for prayers for the victims and their families. What happened on Sunday was a human tragedy that had shocked everyone, Mgr Grech said.
He said such a tragic loss undoubtedly led to reflections on the value of life and pointed out that feast of the Nativity of Our Lady was a celebration of life which had to be safeguarded from conception until natural death.
A quieter feast was held in Xagħra as events were toned down with the morning and evening band marches cancelled, while prayers were said for the victims. Also, after discussions with the Xagħra feast committee on the eve of the feast, the Prekursur Band of Xewkija decided not to take part in the feast out of respect for one of the six victims who was from Xewkija.