MaltaMedia.com

A concert was held yesterday at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in remembrance of the earthquake in Abruzzo, which claimed the lives of almost 300 people few weeks ago.

During the concert, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Tonio Borg presented a donation to the Italian Ambassador to Malta Paolo Andrea Trabalza. This donation will go towards the re-building of Abruzzo. Donations were also put forward by a number of Maltese local councils who have a twinning agreement with their Italian counterparts.

The concert which was performed by the Gozitan choir ‘Schola Cantorum Jubilate” played a repertoire of classical music featuring local and foreign masterpieces. The guests invited by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for this event included: Presidents Emeriti; Ambassadors; Italian organisations in Malta; Members of the Diplomatic Corps and other distinctive personalities.

This initiative taken by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is part of its ongoing commitment to help those who need assistance. As soon as the earthquake hit the region in the early hours of the 6th April claiming the lives of almost 300 people, including children, and leaving thousands homeless, all the staff members at the Embassy of Malta in Rome focused all their efforts towards seeking information regarding any Maltese citizens known to have been resident in the area.

Initial contacts made with the relevant Italian authorities did not reveal any identified victims since all rescue teams were understandably taken up by rescue operations. To compound matters the Embassy was informed that the offices of the Hon. Consul of Malta in the region had sustained serious damages and consequently access to any available information was not rendered possible.

In response to an appeal by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for any available details of Maltese citizens living in the affected region, both Ministry, as well as the Embassy in Rome, were provided with details by relatives of the four families known to be living in L’Aquila. The contact details of the families were eventually forwarded to the Hon. Consul in L’Aquila for his co-operation and assistance.

Throughout the day of the tragedy as well as in the ensuing days and hours the staff members at the Embassy of Malta continued incessantly to monitor the situation until the identified Maltese citizens were eventually traced and confirmed safe and in good health.

Since the Maltese citizens hit by the tragic events were known to be living in emergency facilities, the Embassy of Malta remained in direct contact with them offering them all possible assistance. Continuous contacts were also maintained with the Italian authorities to ensure that no Maltese citizens featured on the list of fatalities but all relative enquiries proved negative.

The monitoring exercise embarked upon by the Embassy of Malta in Rome continued in the days that followed particularly since further tremors of lesser degree continued to be felt in the region.

Italian Foreign Affairs Minister Franco Frattini, through a letter, showed his appreciation towards Malta’s solidarity with the victims. The letter, presented last month by the Italian Ambassador to Malta Paolo Andrea Trabalza thanked the Maltese Government and the citizens of Malta for the solidarity shown.