On 6 August 1906 the transatlantic "Sirius" sank off the Atlantic coast of the Iberian Peninsula: a few hours was consumed in the greatest tragedy that ever lived Italian emigration in the world. The thousand and seven hundred people on board a cargo "human" abundantly beyond the limits of the normal capacity of the ship had loaded a few days earlier from Genoa to discover their 'Merica', South America, Brazil in particular, were the destination of hundreds of men and women, children and elders, who sought bread in their land and hope. The bread that they lacked, in an Italy united by little but still too poor to feed the urban proletariat and peasant especially large and traditionally accustomed to hard work and sacrifice, the hope that it might die with the many babies who could not to overcome the first months of life, because of their unhealthy living conditions of poor families.
The sad and cold sheet speaks of the tragedy of five Italians dead and missing, five hundred innocent victims of this tragedy was the greatest Italian emigration in the world. Unsung heroes of a time when there were no mass media to publicize and disseminate real-time news and the images of carnage and tragedy, and indeed a time when it was easy and sometimes desirable for the authorities in the concealment of information. The time and distance were playing it in favor of those who had no interest in spreading some news.
I wanted to remember the disaster of "Sirius" because
few weeks ago we celebrated the "Day of Sacrifice in the Italian World" on August 8, in memory of the Italian miners who died in Belgium on the same date of 1956 in all Italian diplomatic missions in the world was a minute's silence in memory of all the fallen Italian emigration abroad. This year, over in this important decision of our Foreign Minister, the President of the Chamber of Deputies has decided to pay homage personally to this story. The President Gianfranco Fini visited, along with some Italian MPs and the Secretary General of the General Council of Italians Abroad just Marcinelle, a city-symbol of all those many, too many deaths that still remember an epic of sacrifice but also of heroism and selflessness.
A minute's silence as a good speech in front of a tombstone, but not enough to keep alive the memory of what happened and what the Italian diaspora in the world represented in the history of our country. These pages
di storia vissuta devono diventare un patrimonio permanente della cultura italiana; la proposta di introdurre l’insegnamento della storia dell’emigrazione nelle scuole risponde proprio a questa esigenza. Il Parlamento e le istituzioni italiane devono avere il coraggio di riconoscere la centralità dell’emigrazione e della presenza italiana nel mondo nell’arco dei centocinquanta anni di unità d’Italia che celebreremo tra un anno e mezzo. Una storia ancora poco conosciuta, soprattutto dalle giovani generazioni, ma anche da tanti politici e soprattutto dagli organi di informazione, che in Italia continuano a dare una immagine stereotipata e non più attuale dell’Italia nel mondo.
Alle giovani generazioni, in Italia and abroad, it shall bring this effort due to the rediscovery of a historical memory value crucial to our roots and build a new future of the relationship with the Italians in the world. The bill that I tabled in Parliament in this way provides for permanent exchanges between the Italian schools and the main countries of emigration, with prizes for the best projects and encouraging the twinning of Italy and abroad.
For the dead of the "Sirius" there will never be a plaque to go to pray, or simply pay a few tears, the dead into the sea belongs to everyone and anyone. There are reminded recently, the tragedy of Air France flight to Paris Rio. After more than one hundred years of emigration other victims falls into the sea. But this time there is a hero with a name and a face: Rino Zandonai, the Chairman of the Working Trentini nel Mondo. To him, to his great work on behalf of our community in the world, his family that Trent will continue to remember it forever along with his many friends: to them we dedicate this renewed commitment to uphold the memory of all the Italians who are gone "in the world" and now there are more.
0 comments:
Post a Comment