ROMA (ITALPRESS) – “In the memory of the tragic events of Marcinelle, Italy joins in remembering our fellow citizens who, together with their colleagues from other eleven different nationalities, lost their lives in the bowels of the Bois du Cazier. On this day, dedicated by the Republic to the sacrifice of Italian work in the world, we honor the emigrants who, with their work, contributed to the progress of the country and to the growth of the communities in which they were welcomed and operated”. Thus begins the message of the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella, on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the tragedy of Marcinelle and the 25th National Day of the sacrifice of Italian labor in the world.
“The victims of Marcinelle are part of the collective identity of our country. They have gained deep symbolic value throughout Europe, connoting the process of Community integration. The Commission, at the initiative of the European Parliament and of the Member States, decided, in fact, to propose on 8 August as a European Day in memory of the victims of accidents at work,” he continued.
“The right to work, the need to protect it everywhere and for anyone – the cornerstone of our Constitution – today expresses a founding principle that unites the entire European home, in which protection of workers and contrast of all forms of exploitation have become shared heritage.
Commemorating Marcinelle and making a tribute to those who perished – as in other luxuriant episodes in the history of Italian emigration – we are invited to reflect on the human price that was paid and to act, so that such disasters may not be repeated and the management of migration flows obeys criteria of respect for the dignity of people. To the families of the two hundred and sixty-two victims, of which one hundred and thirty-six Italians, who died at the Bois du Cazier on August 8, 1956, to those of all the dead on work in every other circumstance and place of the world, I renew the feelings of mourning and participation of the Republic” concluded Mattarella.
– Photos: Ipa Agency –
(ITALPRESS).
