The Alpine troops, as always, take it forward. “We ask from now on a supplement of generosity to the people of Belluno for the food collection at the end of November, because the poor in the city and in the province have increased as no one imagines”.
The alarm and the appeal comes from Lino De Pra, president of the Ana Section of Belluno, returning from Naples. Also the Alpine troops of Belluno, Feltre and Pieve di Cadore, in Naples for the ‘three days’ dedicated to the first 150 years of the Association. The presidents accompanied the sectional banners. A hundred black feathers followed. “To the new Parliament, to the new Government, we say: attention to young people”, warned the national president Sebastiano Favero, confirming on the sidelines of the event the hope that the promises, reaffirmed also in the electoral campaign, on the restoration of a service of civilian leverage.
«The people of Belluno went down to Naples with enthusiasm, fully satisfied with the warm welcome they received. We are returning – says Lino De Pra, president of Belluno – with the commitment to get back to work immediately, both for the next appointments, but above all for the Triveneto meeting in mid-June, next year in Belluno ».
At least 20 thousand black feathers are expected – and not only from the Northeast, but also from other regions – even if a month earlier, in early May, the national gathering is scheduled in Udine, where the Belluno area will be present in a massive way .
“Our hope is that the prospect of civil conscription will finally materialize in Udine and Belluno, after 13 years of vain waiting,” recalls De Pra. It was in fact the then Prime Minister Renzi who received the first solicitation of the new president Favero at the national gathering in Pordenone, in 2014. From 4 November, the Ana from Belluno will be on pilgrimage to Milovice, near Prague, to commemorate the 5,276 Italian fallen of the First World War buried in that military cemetery with white marble crosses. These are soldiers taken prisoner on the Grappa in the Dolomites and on the Karst and interned in that Austro / Hungarian prison camp where they died of suffering and hunger and now rest with thousands of other unfortunate people from other nations.
At the end of November, the day for the collection of food goods. «The people of Belluno have always shown extraordinary generosity, but this time we have to be even better» anticipates De Pra.
In the meantime, the President of the Region, Luca Zaia, honors the Alpine troops. «On 15 October 1872 one of the most beautiful stories of all time was born: that of the Alpine troops. 150 years of heroism, self-denial, strenuous defense of freedom in times of war, unparalleled generosity and altruism in peacetime, through exceptional volunteering in numbers and dedication ».
Three years ago the Vaia Storm. «A memory for everyone: when the Venetian mountains were overwhelmed by the Vaia storm they made an extraordinary contribution, of arms, brains, organization, attachment to the mountain land so severely hit. A single example that is enough for everyone ».