Over 20 years passed since Gianna Lopez's husband went missing in Sicily. Yet, the 74-year-old woman is still waiting for him to be declared dead so she can get her widow's pension.

After her husband, Joseph, disappeared in June 1987 she was forced to change her once comfortable lifestyle and live off a measly social assistance. After waiting for almost two decades to take the matter to court, her case has now been pending for three years too many.

"I can't believe it's taken so long to get a signature on a certificate. The irony of it all is that when he went missing he was already a pensioner and he was terminally ill with cancer. He had gone to Sicily for treatment," Mrs Lopez says, adding that she is only asking for what is hers by right.

"It's mysterious. I can't understand... I don't like remembering the past. It hurts," she says as her gaze drops towards the tiles of her tiny rented apartment that sucks most of her monthly budget.

"I used to be very angry but now I've found peace," she adds in an Italian accent that gives away her Roman origins despite her having lived in Malta for 45 years.

After Mr Lopez disappeared at the age of 67 she was initially told the death certificate would be issued seven years after his disappearance. But when seven years elapsed, she was told 10 years had to pass.

Then it became 15 and subsequently 20 years. With her son and daughter both living abroad, she felt alone and lost and just went with what she was told. Now she knows that a person has to have been missing for 10 years before a death certificate can be issued.

"I had gone to the Italian Embassy and to the police for help but, throughout these years, no one took the initiative to help me out. I was alone," she says.

Three years ago, friends she made through a religious study group helped her initiate legal proceeding to obtain the certificate that would pave the way for a better life for her. But the case has been dragging on.

Mr Lopez is one of about 74 people reported missing between 1970 and the end of September last year, according to figures issued towards the end of 2008. While most missing people were foreigners about 20 were Maltese.

On June 15, 1987, Mr Lopez went to Catania for treatment. It was not the first time he had travelled to Sicily, so he knew the area. Although the couple were going through separation procedures at the time, Mrs Lopez supported him during his illness and asked him whether he wanted her to go with him.

But he insisted on going alone.

When he failed to return to Malta, she went to Catania to look for him but the Italian police told her that, since he was Maltese, she had to file a missing person's report in Malta, which she did. The police called for the assistance of Interpol but he was never found.

It eventually turned out that he never turned up at the clinic or hotel where he was meant to stay during his brief sojourn in Catania.

She hoped he would return but days turned into months and the years rolled on.

As she struggled with unanswered questions, the financial trouble started. The bank stopped giving her the maintenance money she was receiving at the time.

"They expected me to live on air, I think. Thankfully, with the help of a lawyer, I applied for social assistance. I've learnt how to live on a tight budget, manage money and stretch every last cent. I learnt the real meaning of modesty.

"It was not easy. You know how women are, it's nice to be able to change your dress and feel good. But I had to give that up in exchange for food on my table," she says.

"With time I've accepted it and I'm at peace. What I would like to get is the pension that is my right so that I can finally live without having to count every last cent," she adds.