10 Febbraio: la partecipazione corale dell'Italia e del mondo Giorno ...

14 DIFESA ADRIATICA Aprile 2008February 10th: WidespreadParticipation in Italyand Throughout the WorldThe February 10 th Day of Remembrancewas celebrated in 260 differentplaces, in Italy and worldwide, withceremonies ranging from the placementof commemorative wreaths tostreet naming, shows and concerts. Astrong witnessing of solidarity, and willto understand our history, as well asthe desire to participate in events thatopen the way for various kinds ofreflection: the roles of Italy andneighboring countries in these events,and the roles of historians and opinionmakers as well.Italian president Giorgio Napolitano’sspeech was a great satisfactionfor us, as it showed that the lessons ofhistory have been widely learned, atleast to a certain extent. From thePresident’s speech, which was partiallyrepeated from last year’s, it is time forus to reflect on what was done this year,in Italy and among our immigrantcommunities throughout the world.Oftentimes, problems that havegone unexpressed, and tensionsaccumulated through the years, find avent in the debate surroundingFebruary 10 th , which becomes a fontof emotional cleansing and a base fordiscussing themes, and not only aboutour Exodus, that were kept in silencefor too long.The events surrounding our Exodusbecome part of a much larger discussionon the movement of populationswithin Europe before and during theSecond World War. This is why, in this“vast sea”, considerations made arenever simplistic: they need intelligentfilters and a positive approach if onewishes to convert the sufferings of anentire people into energy capable ofbuilding new relationships andpacification. When we state that wewant to return to our homeland, whenwe affirm that our goal is to allow ourhomeland’s Italian culture to beabsorbed by the people who now livethere, we are not speaking of settingup an occupation: we are merelydoing our part to assure that a richhistory becomes part of the treasure ofthe world. I believe that this is a nobleplan which gives dignity to the present,and allows us to hope for a kind ofjustice that goes above and beyond,while always understanding, theinjustices of confiscated properties.• • •With the Day of Remembrance,our commitment has become important.The implosive force that characterizedour associations’ activities fora long time has now come out intothe open, and projects itself towardnew, finally credible, scenarios. This isall possible due to the ample participationin this year’s events throughoutItaly. In the first few years, the centraltheme of this Day was prevalent: inone city only, we brought together thehighest authorities and most importantceremonies.Then something unexpected,profound, and, in some ways, satisfying,happened: the whole of Italyresponded, and chose to be by theExiles’ side in this moment.Why?When the Istrian, Dalmatian andFiume Exile occurred, the 350,000Italians were scattered among 130refugee camps situated throughoutItaly. An entire population found itselfin the position of having to interact withspecific local situations, sometimesrevealing their origins, sometimeshiding them, not so much out ofshame, but because of the uncomfortablesituation brought about by theattitude toward them in Italian politicalcircles. In any case, the Exiles allowedthemselves to be recognized, enteringinto local life and making their markin civil society. We must consider thiscurrent outpouring a homage to thesepeople who brought to Italy and theworld the principles of an evolvedsociety, committed to work, tied to itsChurch and to the values of a longhistory of contact with its surroundingworld.• • •In Trieste, the moral capital of theExodus, it was almost a given that Dayof Remembrance events would bewidespread. It was less expected incities such as Venice or Bologna, wherein the past Exiles had been a source ofargument and refusal. Even so, lastyear, with a special plaque dedicatedat the Bologna train station, wemanaged to begin an importantchapter in our relationship with publicopinion.This year, in the Emilia-Romagnaregion, nearly every city participatedin remembering in different ways.Schools made requests for educationalmaterial, textbooks on the history ofthe Exile and the Foibe, and documentaries.We feel that we are on theright path. To be sure, there is no lackof contradictions. There are those who,taking advantage of the focus on theseissues, want to advance their theoriesof negation. Our hope is that the publicwill realize the difference betweenfacts and partial opinions. History isnever black and white, and thereforewe invite everyone to reflect on theinformation they hear from those whoare against the cause of this dispersedpeople, and above all we invite peopleto be informed, to seek out information:in the past few years, vastamounts of information have beenwritten and published, by serioushistorians who, while not holding amonopoly on the truth, come veryclose indeed.In Slovenia and Croatia, newspapersgive very negative accounts onthe Day of Remembrance, as if this Daywere “against” something, and this issimply not true.The Exiles want to speak out abouttheir history, not to make accusations,but rather for a just recognition of thefacts and events that struck a people,in a Europe which today is finally openwithout reserve to these reflections. Inthe rest of the world, too, there are localcommittees of Giuliani and Dalmatianswho have taken this Day andtransformed it into one of greatrecognition by the communities inwhich they now live.Personally it gives a sense of greatsatisfaction.Now, a law is needed that ratifies,finally, equal and definitive compensationfor the Exiles. There needsto be an agreement with Slovenia andCroatia for giving back those propertieswhich are still available.It is sure that recent disagreementsmay slow our pace, but they also helpus to focus on the still unsolvedproblems that we need to work on;they help us, also, in insisting that “thetruths” – because that is what they are– triumph over the conditionings of thepast.Renzo CodarinPresident of the Federationof the Associations of ExilesDay of Remembrance:Some Messages Receivedat ANVGD HeadquartersWe offer our readers some of themessages that we received on theoccasion of the February 10 th Day ofRemembrance of the Exile of the Italianpopulation from Venezia-Giulia andDalmatia, and of the Foibe.In his welcoming speech, FrancoMarini, the President of the ItalianSenate, underlines how “at a distanceof many years, the pain is still alive forthe tragic destiny of those unarmedcitizens who paid their being Italianwith their own lives”. On the meaningsof the Day of Remembrance, he addsthat it “contributes to keeping alive thememory of many Italians and theiruntold suffering that was kept quiet forsuch a long time”.The President of the House ofDeputies, Fausto Bertinotti, reminds ushow “the story of the Giuliani andDalmatian exiles – one of the mostdramatic stories in our recent history –marked the tormented story of ourEastern border, through a long sequenceof tragic events in which the clash ofideologies was united with ethnicintolerance, and the horrors of war wereunited with the follies of the totalitarianisms.”Discussing the modernrelevance of an historic theme, Bertinottiaffirms that “today the memoryof the scorned dignity of our fellowItalians has its place in full in thecommon treasure of facts, values andprinciples which allows all Italian womenand men to recognize themselveswithin the same community”.The Premier, Romano Prodi, intendedto underline some thoughts thatcome to mind in marking the Day ofRemembrance, namely that “we mustnot forget, but rather we must cultivatethe seeds of democracy and freedomin the respect of universal rights” .The inauguration of the Monumentin Rome furnished the occasion formany key exponents of political andmilitary spheres to send meaningfulmessages to the Committee and itspresident, Oliviero Zoia. Among these,Vannino Chiti, Minister for ParliamentaryTies and Institutional Reformwrote that “the act of erecting amonument is one of respect due to thethousands of victims of those terriblepersecutions kept silent for too long. Itrepresents the end of the ‘conspiracyof silence’ and the commitment of allpeople so that similar horrors are notrepeated. My wish for the exiles is thatthey can bring their extraordinaryeconomic, social and cultural fiber toa modern ot Europe, in which beingItalian is an essential component”.The Minister for Rights and EqualOpportunities, Barbara Pollastrini: “Theinstitution of the Day of Remembranceis a necessary act of civility, which theentire country can recognize. The entirecountry can unite in an equal condemnationof those atrocious facts asone of the darkest pages of our nation’shistory. I believe, though, that Memory,that Remembrance, cannot be confinedsolely to the evoking of mourning andtragedies.They have a sense only if theybecome the spark that ignites possibleredemption. Remembering is not onlyan act of duty. It means a renewal ofthe path towards the full affirmation ofthe dignity of the human being, while,at the same time, guiding everyindividual toward making the most ofhim or herself” .Franco Danieli, the Vice-Minister forForeign Affairs “I am pleased to sendyou my sincere esteem for the activitiesthat your Association carries out withseriousness and commitment in representingour fellow Italians forced to fleeVenezia-Giulia and Dalmatia and theend of the Second World Conflict. Moregenerally, I feel pressed to express myheartfelt closeness to all those who striveto keep alive and diffuse the memoryof the sacrifice of all the victims of thefoibe and the exodus. Those eventsrepresent one of the darkest momentsin the recent history of Europe. I believethat an adequate knowledge of historyis vital in order to avoid the repetitionof similar atrocities, and that thecommitment of individuals and institutionsis necessary to ensure the respectfor human digniry and life in any andall circumstances” .The Undersecretary for InternalAffairs of State, Ettore Rosato: “To theauthorities, the Associations, and mostof all to the Exiles present, I send myheartfelt participation in the event thattoday is being commemorated withrightful solemnity. The Monumentwhich, from now on, will serve as aconstant reminder of the Foibe Victimsrepresents, only just adequately, thesentiment of pity due to the Innocentswho, in the cavities in the earth, werehurled toward their untimely andiniquitous destiny. Whenever ourRepublic, together with Regional andlocal representatives, brings about sucha moral compensation towards its own,it is right to rejoice”.Senator Francesco Cossiga wantedto express his “affectionate closeness”to the family of foibe victims. “On thissubject,” he noted, “I am glad to call tomind that as President of Italy, I was thefirst president to render homage at theBasovizza Foiba. On this Day ofRemembrance, I wish moreover toadhere to the initiatives promoted bythe Association to preserve and renewthe memory of those tragic eventsRome, February 10th, 2008. Part of the solemn inauguration of themonument dedicated to the Foibe victims, which took place with majorcivilian and military authorities in attendance, along with a strongrepresentation of exiles from Rome and the surrounding areaswhich caused the exodus of theGiuliani, Fiumani and Dalmatians,towards whom the heartfelt thoughtsof all Italians spring forth”.The President of the Region of Lazio,Piero Marrazzo, cited the words ofPresident Napolitano, who describedas “late in coming” the memorial of thetragedy. He added that “memorycannot continue to be politicallypartisan. No dictatorship can bejustified, because on the other side ofthat dictatorship there are the dead” .Marrazzo stressed that, among theunsolved problems of the exiles, thereremains the matter of incorrect placeof birth on documents.This offends their consciousness asItalians. He then went on to emphasizethe pain of these Italians, and also ofthe Jewish communities “becausegoodness is kept where there are peoplewilling to defend it, and the experienceof pain can be shared but it lingers inthose who have suffered, while memorymust be shared in common and cannotbe restricted and confined within thefamily.” He concluded that “if therehadn’t been for the exiles who fled thoselands, we would not have a collectivememory today. Those who have enteredinto those exile families know this,having listened to their story and heardabout their experiences.The government institutions havethe duty of keeping the communitytogether, and the monument that hasbeen inaugurated, besides uniting us,must let us remember and recognizethose fallen as martyrs of our identityas a strong, living and compact nation”.From the highestMilitary AuthoritiesThe Head of the General Staff ofthe Italian Navy, Squadron Admiral PaoloLa Rosa: “On this occasion I wishto express the closeness and solidarityof the entire Navy as well as my own.‘Memory’ feeds the values at the baseof our society, and builds inestimabletreasure to be passed on to the futuregenerations.On the Day of Remembrance, theimages of the tragedies experienced bythe Italian martyrs of the foibe and thoseforced into exile will be rendered allthe more vivid thanks to this monumentdedicated to them. I wish to express tothe Association the appreciation of theentire Navy for its strong commitmentin preserving and renewing the memoryof those tragic events whch haveentered into our shared nationalheritage” .The Chief Commander of theFinancial Guard, General CosimoD’Arrigo: “I wish to express, on my ownbehalf and on that of the FinancialGuard, the highest admiration for theconstant and profuse commitmentcarried out by the volunteers of theANVGD to keep memory alive of themany Italians who, at the end of WorldWar Two, went through terrible turmoiland suffering, to the point of horribledeath in the foibe.As I bow symbolically in front ofthe monument dedicated to the IstrianFoibe victims, I send a heartfelt thoughtto the many innocent victims, and tothe family members of those who wereso savagely killed or forced to leave theirhouses, towns and cities.And I feel that it is right, today, toremember the many Financial Guardsmenwhose blood was shed in thisdark period of our national history, andto honor those among them whosecruel destiny was to die in the foibe,guilty only of being Italians, of servingItaly, often after having courageouslydefended the local population fromraids, vendettas, and abuses of everykind.Red.(traduzioni di Lorie Ballarin)