‘His name will not be forgotten’: Jean Paul Sofia's mother on third anniversary
Isabelle Bonnici says her son always had her back
Construction-site victim Jean Paul Sofia’s mother has marked the third anniversary of his death today, as she carries on her battle for truth and justice.
It has been three years since the 20-year-old walked into a multi-storey building and never came out alive as it collapsed onto him. His lifeless body was found under tonnes of rubble 14 hours later.
In a Facebook post, Isabelle Bonnici, who has become a construction reform campaigner, reiterated that it was a “tragedy that could and should have been avoided”.
Since then, she has spearheaded calls for reform of the construction sector and successfully fought for a public inquiry to be held into her son’s death.
Bonnici recorded December 3, 2022, as “the day my world changed forever – the day I lost my son in a tragedy that should never have happened”.
Every day since then, she wrote, she carried “both the weight of grief and the strength of his memory”.
Bonnici also posted photos of her only son on her back as a young boy and older. She said they reminded her of “something that time can never erase: no matter what life threw at us, he always had my back – and he still does”.
A more recent photo of Jean Paul Sofia and his mother Isabelle Bonnici.She said her son’s love, courage and bright spirit would guide her through every battle for truth and justice and that “this journey is not only for him, but for every victim whose voice was silenced by negligence”.
Bonnici said she was “proud of the boy he was, proud of the mark he left on this world and determined to make sure his name is never forgotten”.
The tragedy drew strong attention as it happened at a government-owned industrial estate. Public anger about Sofia’s death grew as the government repeatedly ignored calls by the victim’s family to hold a public inquiry into the incident until the Prime Minister caved in to the demands just before a large protest outside Castille.
Five people have since been charged with involuntary homicide and Bonnici received the Remarkable Woman Award at this year’s MARA awards ceremony as she continues to fight for a safer construction sector.