Many of us remember where we were on October 16, 2017, at 3pm – when news of the assassination of blogger Daphne Caruana Galizia started spreading.

Some were at home and hugged their children, others were at work when phones started pinging and ringing during meetings. Some were travelling and heard the announcement on the radio while stuck in traffic, others were abroad and received calls and messages about the shocking news. 

Then there were those who were in the area of Bidnija – where a car bomb killed Caruana Galizia - and who remember hearing the explosions and seeing smoke before the news started to spread. 

What was initially news of the car bomb, soon unfolded and the identity of the victim of that atrocious crime was revealed. 

The country stood still. People “froze in shock”. 

Seven years on, hundreds shared recollections on Times of Malta's Facebook page in reaction to an opinion piece by activist Alessandra Dee Crespo titled 'Where were you when Daphne was killed?'

Dee Crespo wrote: “There are certain events in history that are forever seared in our collective memory.  Most of us remember exactly where we were and what we were doing on September 11, 2001, when we heard about the World Trade Centre and Pentagon attacks… We still remember where we were, what we were doing and how we felt on October 16, 2017, at 3pm. We felt shock, grief, helplessness. We felt angry…

"But Daphne’s assassination did not leave anyone of us untouched, whatever one thought of her and her writing, or whatever political beliefs one espoused. Her assassination is our 9/11. A pivotal moment in our country’s history that changed our political and moral landscape forever.”

Here's where some people were when Daphne was murdered:

I was close by…

“I had just arrived home from work, heard a loud bang (I live quite close) and thought to myself: ‘That's strange, the quarry doesn't usually blast on Monday afternoon'... then the helicopter, police sirens, ambulance sirens... then my phone started ringing non stop...”

“During a lecture at MCAST Mosta. We heard a huge bang, but we thought it must have come from the quarry or a fireworks factory, not thinking much about it. A few moments later, we heard a helicopter and a bunch of sirens, and eventually even saw some smoke in the distance. After that, I got a message from a close friend saying that it was Daphne and I froze in shock."

"I had just passed Bidnija as a shortcut to Imselliet to pick up my son, about 30 minutes before. Many parents were doing the same thing."

"At home in Naxxar I heard a loud bang followed by another loud bang. It didn’t sound like the usual noises from the nearby quarry so I went online and soon saw the dreadful news."

I was abroad...

"Wine tasting in a castle in Barolo Italy. All of a sudden everyone’s phone started to ring." 

"I was at my desk in Luxembourg. I had never felt as far away from my country as I felt then."

"I was on a holiday in Athens. I still remember the telephone call from my daughter breaking this awful news."

"I was at a meeting in Brussels when all of a sudden everyone started asking me about some car bomb in Malta."

"Reading about a car bomb in Malta while I was In Ireland during hurricane Ophelia, and dropping my phone when I saw who the victim was."

I was at work…

"Cab driver here - I was driving one of her relatives from her pick-up point to the place where Daphne was blown. I heard what happened halfway into the trip."

"I was a newly qualified doctor doing a night shift. I will never forget the hushed whispers. I have a complicated relationship with Daphne's legacy because some of the things she wrote about working-class people hurt and cut deep and it hurts a lot when it is glossed over. However, I have deep respect for someone whose single-mindedness and commitment to the truth led her to make the ultimate sacrifice."

"I was at my desk at work, and the first media reports only said that a car bomb had exploded in Bidnija. I quickly checked Daphne’s blog hoping to see a recent post confirming that maybe, just maybe, it had been a false alarm and that all was well."

I was at home…

"I was at home getting ready for work and I had a habit of going on her website to see what I missed from the night before and there it was [on the internet]. I froze and then cried all day."

"I had just arrived from work and received a call from a friend. Then went to my daughter and hugged her tight tight. She was only 10 at that time but was aware of what happened.  From that day our country was doomed."

"I was watching The Flash with my son! And as I sat there, comfy and cosy on my couch, I realised how much better the world of fantasy and superheroes is than reality! Thus, I hugged my son and in shock continued to immerse myself in the world of fiction."

"I was at home with a six-week-old baby, thinking what sort of country this is to bring up children."

I was at school…

"I was outside Junior College waiting for my dad to pick me up… and I still remember how mortified I was seeing this one girl start laughing when we heard the news. For me, it was the moment that Malta changed forever."

"On the bus going back home from junior college... Everyone started saying that Daphne died... went online and saw the articles! Then WhatsApp, Facebook and all other social media were filled with posts, messages etc! That was a sad day to be Maltese."

I was juggling other big news… 

"A day I can never forget. I was happy and over the moon as that same morning, we found out we were going to become parents for the first time. In the afternoon, while at the office, on reading about the explosion and its location, I immediately feared the worst, and thought and prayed for Daphne."

"I was pregnant at the time and had a miscarriage scare earlier in the day and was driving to the hospital and remember being stuck in traffic from St Venera to Birkirkara. It was non-moving and I was listening to the radio and suddenly they announced what happened. I still remember every minute of that day."

"I had gotten married just the day before the tragedy. My husband and I were at the venue gathering the last bits and bobs, and then we went to my mother-in-law's house and saw the events unfold on TV. Every year we remember one of the happiest events of our lives on one day, followed by one of the greatest tragedies we've ever witnessed to date the next day."

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Why do we remember?

Professor Anton Grech, clinical chairman of Mental Health Services, explained why people remember where they were during a big life-altering event: like 9/11 or Caruana Galizia's murder. 

He explained that memories do not exist in isolation but work by association. “We remember something because we attach it to something else,” he said.

Apart from this, memories have a strong element of emotion – we remember things that elicit big emotions irrespective of whether they are positive or negative. 

“So, when we remember a big event, we pull up with it other memories that are linked with it through association – and the place is one of them,” he explained.