At the cemetery of the victims, the mayor of Longarone exhorts unity: “Let’s make the best use of funds from the NRP to protect our landscape”
LONGARONE. Overcoming the pandemic through solidarity and a new ethics, as the populations affected by the Vajont raised their heads after the tragedy that cost 1,910 lives. This is the exhortation launched in the civil and religious ceremony for the 58th anniversary of the disaster, held at the Fortogna cemetery.
“Our country is working to get out of the” evil coronavirus “”, said Mayor Roberto Padrin, “which has affected many people, putting our certainties and our freedom to the test, bringing to light the weaknesses of a society that now , with a strong sense of responsibility, he is giving all his strength to defeat this terrible and invisible opponent. In the meantime, we are leaving behind another year of difficulty for the relief of which we can only thank all the health personnel who took care of us until the end of their strength and then helping us to get out of it through vaccination, which in some cases, however, has exacerbated the social conflict between those for and against. Forms of anger, these, certainly not to be underestimated ».
«By analogy», continued Padrin, «I like to highlight and remember that our populations, in the Vajont, have been able to raise their heads and rebuild, strengthened by a shared united spirit. In other situations, Italy also managed to overcome even worse moments, but luckily there was no air of disobedience and intolerance at the time, such was the desire to survive and to move forward with great determination. Let us remember that our grandparents, who recently suffered so much in retirement homes without touching their loved ones, despite not having the opportunities offered by the modern world, have shown determination and resistance ».
“We must make the best use of the funds of the NRP to protect our landscape,” said Padrin, referring to environmental sustainability: “Only in this way could we say that the lesson of the Vajont will be served”.
“We are winning the pandemic thanks to science and responsibility,” said Minister Federico D’Incà. «Our values must be the ecological transition and social ethics and first of all the lesson of the Vajont reminds us of this. We must keep the flame of memory burning also by remembering figures such as the investigating judge of the Vajont trial Mario Fabbri to whom we dedicated a staircase a few days ago in Longarone. Fabbri is an example to follow in his commitment to the search for truth and thirst for justice in a meticulous morality ».
«We bow before the silence of our dead», Bishop Renato Marangoni said during the homily, «so many just and upright of heart who now lie on earth. Humanity seeks light and joy, in overcoming the Vajont with its terrible fracture and also in overcoming the pandemic of recent months. We must overcome the logic of the mafia, barbarism and devious indifference by becoming more human and more capable of trust. As Saint Francis says, we must be “all brothers, all sisters” ».
Cited in the mayor’s speech, rescuer Massimo Bernardini, who arrived from Rome, was also present.
«In 1963 I was 24 years old», he says, «and I was on duty in Padua in the military motorization. They called us that night because it was said that “the dam had collapsed”. We arrived at 3 am and we took care of helping the French firefighters with the logistics, called because they were the only specialists at the time to have sonar to capture the heartbeat of the survivors under the mud. After a few days of dramatic work, I remember we saved a 9 year old girl ». –
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