Many an activity has been organised to help the people of Triq Hal-Dghejf in Naxxar, whose life was literally blown away on 12 March when a terrible blast took the lives of Sina Sammut, 35, mother of two, and Paul Camilleri, 47, and also demolished homes in the street.

However, the victims complain that in spite of the activities and tons of goodwill in their favour, they still have to struggle for survival. The government still has to put its money where its mouth is, they state, after promising to help them to reconstruct their homes.

That the promises are far from being fulfilled is the impression one gets from speaking to those directly concerned.

They said Naxxar Archpriest Ivan Caruana handed them some money, but the Naxxar local council still has to appoint a board which will decide how funds will be distributed. The victims said many people had helped them but their efforts were caught up in red tape.

They are also terribly unnerved by waiting endlessly for the authorities to decide on their fate, as their homes were replaced with a big barren space closed off by a wall and a gate, and shells of buildings still carrying the scars of the explosion that changed their lives.

The government itself does not show any signs of immediately addressing their problems, they said. They met with Finance Minister Tonio Fenech in late April and a meeting scheduled for mid-May has yet to materialise. It is the same with the promises of money and reconstruction aid. “While money was made available for football clubs through the Good Causes Funds,” they complained caustically, “we have not as yet received any such help.”

The victims recalled a visit by President Eddie Fenech Adami, who advised them to refer to the Community Chest Fund. However, they realised that they have to list their needs and wait for an adjudication board to process their request.

Vicky Bugeja, who lost her house in the tragedy, said she could not even store an appliance were she to benefit from the CCF.

Undoubtedly the worst hit family are the Sammuts, with Peter becoming overnight a homeless widower and father of a nine-year-old boy and a four-year-old girl. The two children have since had their birthday, yet their suffering does not seem to abate. Rita, Peter’s sister, is currently hosting her brother’s family and struggles each day to face the children with a smile.

After just eight months from becoming a widow herself, Rita had to comfort her brother and his children, whose minds always go back to that tragic day.

Visibly shaken by what she had to endure, Rita said she had to pluck up courage to face the children and in the meantime she could no longer speak to people without breaking down and crying.

She recounted how the girl asks her to walk her to her grandmother’s house, which is a few minutes away from their home. The girl would press against the metal bars that close off the site and tell her aunt that she was embracing her mother. At other times she would ask when the family will go back to their home, expecting the line of events to reverse and that she would her mother waiting for her.

Rita, flanked by her sister Mary, said “no one can understand what I am going through; I am having to shoulder an enormous responsibility.”

The two sisters said they used to phone Sina’s mobile phone just to hear her voice on voice mail.

Now that three months have passed her mobile phone account has expired, but the family had recorded the message and listen to it from time to time.

“No one can understand us without going through our experience, and we cannot even fully understand what Peter is going through,” said Vicky Bugeja.

Luckily, her 15-year-old daughter, Rachel, amazingly escaped the disaster unscathed.

When the blast went off, she was asleep at home while her mother was attending parents’ day. The girl’s wardrobe sheltered her – the force of the blast overturned the mattress she was sleeping on, providing her with cover. She then ran upstairs to the roof, as the house started coming down around her like a pack of cards, a storey at a time.

She is currently doing her O-levels, and had to borrow study notes as she lost hers in the explosion.

Vicky and her husband and two daughters are living in a rented flat in Triq Hal Dghejf. The Housing Authority subsidises e338 of their monthly rent, yet her family still has to struggle to make ends meet with the remaining e128.12 rent and e198 loan repayment on their razed house.

Bernardette Bellia, whose house was declared a condemned building after being burnt by the blast and hit by a van which had been sent flying, said her family has to fork out money in order to demolish the house. She said they have to pay for permits, utility services and the actual pulling down. To top it all, her family also lost two cars in the blaze, as well as their dog.

She pointed out that her house will be a public danger come next winter, as it is already being infested by rats and the rain water trapped in the clogged drainage system could lead to its collapse.

Asked how they felt when a cache of fireworks was found at the Peace Band Club’s basement store, they said they really felt angry, all the more after the club had denounced any ties with the tragedy hours after it happened.

Karl Vella, another victim, said he was furious that the fireworks stored in his street were dumped, thinking that investigators might not be able to link the tragedy to the fireworks lifted from the club.

The victims do not only battle with financial difficulties, as they all went through a terrible ordeal. They are receiving social and psychological help from government and Church entities. Special focus is given to the children who have recurring nightmares.

The victims thanked all those who organised fundraising activities as well as those who gave them clothing and toys for the children.

These people ended up homeless in a matter of seconds, with their only possessions left being the clothes they were wearing, and a huge heap of rubble.