Emiliano Ricci: «All my life I have been fighting to leave my grandchildren a better world. You need commitment and a sense of responsibility ”
IVREA. The water level in the Pianezza canal and on the Naviglio has dropped and everyone has noticed it: on the bed of the canals a real wreck cemetery has emerged and there are several reports to the editorial staff of private citizens stunned by what is now under in the eyes of anyone and for whom it has become difficult to ignore it. Deacon Emiliano Ricci, director of the diocesan Caritas of Ivrea, also intervenes, spending the whole year in aid of the Ivrea community for decades, launches a cry of denunciation so that this discovery does not end up in oblivion.
Can you tell us what you saw?
“It was Wednesday (March 17, ed) and I was taking a walk towards the San Giovanni district. At a certain point I began to notice in the bed of the Naviglio, left uncovered by the shoal, dozens and dozens of tires. Then bicycles, a freezer. And again: residues of metal electrical conduits from which the copper had been removed. Eternit, pvc pipes. There was everything there. I went over and started taking pictures, speechless. At one point other people approached and photographed themselves. They asked me what I intended to do and I replied: report it to someone, I’ll send the photo to the press first ».
Was the waste in a very long stretch of the canal? «Very long. I walked for several hundred meters, maybe a few kilometers. It was literally a bed of waste. But not just any waste: the polluting ones, difficult to dispose of, which create damage to the environment ».
What do you think should be done?
“I am about to turn 85 and I have been fighting all my life to leave my grandchildren a better world and I think that in this case someone should take on the same thought. That waste must be removed absolutely before the water is returned. It is an opportunity that has been given to us and we must take advantage of it: that garbage must be removed and the competent authorities must investigate who committed those crimes. Because it doesn’t take science to understand that there is someone there who has been illegally disposing of materials for years, thinking of washing their hands and wallet like that. No, I’m sorry: it’s intolerable. Someone has to take the burden of doing something. Burden and also honor, if we think that, in any case, cleaning up the canal and canals would mean delivering something cleaner, in fact, to our children and grandchildren. But to do this, there must be a sense of responsibility and commitment to find a solution, even if this costs and even if it will be complex. We need to give an example to the community: therefore, the search for those who made a mistake, in this case, is very important to give a signal to ensure that these things do not happen again ». –