Earthquake in Emilia 10 years later, Mattarella: “Restart from solidarity, reconstruction must continue”. And on Ukraine: “The goal is to make peace win”

Reconstruction, solidarity, the strength of a community but also the search for peace and the importance of hospitality. Sergio Mattarella speaks to Medolla in Emilia, 10 years after the earthquake that devastated this area of ​​Italy, causing 28 deaths, three hundred injured, 6 thousand companies damaged, twelve billion euros in damage, and hitting one of the most productive areas of the country. He speaks of reconstruction and community, but also of war and Ukraine. On reconstruction, ten years later, the Head of State underlines: «If the institutions that are on the front line operate in a coordinated and unanimous manner, decisions are more effective and citizens can make their voices heard better. The mayors and their daily commitment, together with the work of all the representatives of the citizens, in the majority as well as the opposition, must be recognized for what has been achieved. Then the pandemic intervened. A brake on reconstruction and a further – and serious – burden of concern ».
The President then explained that “the reconstruction must continue: there are important objectives to be achieved, works to be completed, programs to be developed” says Mattarella on the 10th anniversary of the earthquake. «We know – he added – that there are not a few territories in our Italy exposed to seismic risk. And history, even the recent one, has reserved very hard trials for us, with real devastation in some regions ». “The 2012 earthquake once again put to the test the commitment of the Civil Protection to emergency relief, assistance, complex safety measures, reconstruction interventions. I renew to our Civil Protection the appreciation and gratitude for the work it carries out with such dedication »said Mattarella. “That earthquake hit one of the most productive areas of the country and risked breaking supply chains, as well as logistic networks, essential for the competitiveness of our system. In an industrious land, work has returned to the center of community life: not only in the reconstruction works but also in the continuity of production, presence and quality confirmed on the markets, exports that have not suffered setbacks; sometimes surprising the same international competitors. All this has contributed to bridging the fracture that could have serious consequences in the economic and social framework of the country, strengthening its cohesion “, concluded the Head of State.
Ukraine and the war
“The welcome that, even in the municipalities hit by the 2012 earthquake, was offered to Ukrainian families, women and young people fleeing this nefarious war of aggression represent a proof of how solidarity remains a robust thread that weaves lives and the stories in these communities “. And again: «We must be proud of this welcome in our country. Because it is a test of humanity that makes the world, and also the aggressors, understand that our goal is not to continue the war but to defeat the arrogance of those who move it, allowing peace and coexistence to win, in freedom and respect. of the law “.
The arrival of the President
The hymn of Mameli sung by Nek, the school children extraordinarily outside the classrooms to greet the President. This was the welcome given to the Head of State this morning. After ten years the reconstruction is almost complete, the economy is recovering even if it pays a price to the pandemic and the invasion of Ukraine as in the whole country. “We have rolled up our sleeves,” said Nek, who was born a few kilometers from the most affected area, and points out that today is not about feeling sorry for himself but rejoicing over what has been done. A long applause then welcomed Vasco Errani, former commissioner for reconstruction: “You make me move,” said the senator after the tribute from the audience. “The history of this land is the history of a community capable of feeling that we would never have been able to do what we have done without a common project” said Errani. Fabrizio Curcio, head of civil protection, recalled the emergency work, made possible by the “response of the whole system of institutions, mayors, volunteers, which is a fundamental point of reference”. “The rapid revival of what was destroyed is extraordinary and pushes us to do more to reduce what makes the reconstruction process cumbersome.” “For everyone there was a before and after” said the president of the Region Stefano Bonaccini, who thanked “all those who helped us in times of need”: “the Emilia-Romagna people have always been in the front row for every emergency and after the earthquake it was as if everything done had been returned to us ». “But not only in the emergency, even in reconstruction there is an Italy that knows how to do well” said Bonaccini, who thanked Errani, the mayors, businesses and workers, doctors and nurses, public employees and all the families: “It is not the story of a hero who saves the world but the story of an entire community.” Words that, then, also had the seal of President Mattarella.