57 years have passed and the memory still lives on. Once again, the site of the Bois du Cazier mine – which in 2012 became a UNESCO world heritage site – will be the setting for ceremonies commemorating one of the worst mining tragedies in modern times. 262 of the 274 miners working on that tragic 8 August 1956 were killed. And 136 of them were Italian, of whom 60 were from Abruzzo and 23 from just one town: Manoppello, in the province of Pescara. 13 of the 20 Italian regions were touched by the tragedy, as Italians originally from Calabria, Campania, Emilia Romagna, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Lombardy, Marche, Molise, Puglia, Sicilia, Toscana, Trentino Alto Adige and Veneto lost their lives in the disaster in Belgium.
This year, Deputy Foreign Minister Bruno Archi, whose remit includes Italians abroad, will take part in the commemoration to pay homage to the miners killed in the accident. He will convey a message from Foreign Minister Emma Bonino. The Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Laura Boldrini; the Italian Ambassador in Brussels, Bastianelli; and the Consul General in Charleroi, Palmieri will also be attending the ceremony.
“Emigration is an integral and indissoluble part of our nation and history”, said Bonino. “Those who have left – and are still leaving – Italy contribute, through their work, to the growth of our own country and their destination countries. They add lustre to the most positive Italian values throughout the world, while their input contributes to the development of their host societies”.
The ceremony will take place tomorrow, 8 August 2013, which in 2001 was proclaimed a “Day Commemorating the Sacrifices of Italian Workers throughout the World”. Archi will lay a wreath at the monument erected in Marcinelle cemetery in memory of the tragedy, after which he will attend further ceremonies at Bois du Cazier, which is now a Museum of Remembrance.
In the afternoon of 8 August, the Deputy Minister will see the story of the disaster through video material produced at the time and still screened today in Bois du Cazier. He will also see the testimonies of those who emigrated from Italy to work in Belgian mines.
On this occasion, Deputy Minister Archi will present the Order of the Star of Italy to 82-year-old Luigi Capierri, who emigrated to Belgium from Puglia in 1947. Mr. Capierri was a miner for 31 years and every year on 8 August, in spite of his frail state of health, takes part in the Marcinelle commemoration.
