The memory \u2013 and the lesson \u2013 of Marcinelle, where so many lost their lives that day in the Bois du Cazier mining disaster, marks Marcinelle as both an Italian and European tragedy. I have underlined this with deep emotion throughout the many visits I have paid in various official capacities: as Member of the European Parliament, Vice-President of the European Commission, President of the European Parliament and, more recently, as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs.<\/p>\n
Many years later, Marcinelle in Belgium \u2013 like Monongah in the United States or Mattmark in Switzerland, sites of similar tragedies \u2013 still evokes the stories of our Italian nationals who left Abruzzo, Veneto, Calabria and all regions of Italy in search of a better life, carrying with them hope and the will to succeed, often at great personal cost. These stories and memories frequently enrich my encounters with Italians abroad, as well as my visits throughout Italy \u2013 such as in the Calabrian town of Motta San Giovanni this past December. It was to these men and women that the Berlusconi government dedicated, in 2001, the \u201cNational Day of Sacrifice of Italian Workers in the World\u201d. This day of remembrance goes beyond the commemoration of a single tragic event: it celebrates those who, through their hard work and example, have taken Italian skills and values \u2013 determination, solidarity, and pride in one\u2019s roots \u2013 out into the world. The wreaths laid this morning at the foot of the memorial in Marcinelle \u2013 in the presence of the last surviving witnesses, still wearing their blue overalls and helmets \u2013 are a gesture of gratitude for their sacrifice. But they also pay tribute to the extraordinary contribution that our communities continue to make to the development of their host countries, through the efforts of new generations of professionals, researchers, skilled workers and technicians \u2013 true ambassadors of an Italy of growth and innovation. From the duty of remembrance must come a firm and shared commitment \u2013 in Italy and across Europe \u2013 to fight the scourge of workplace accidents. Marcinelle teaches us that the human person must always remain at the centre, with a culture of workplace safety serving as a cornerstone of the entire economic system. This has been, since my early days in Brussels, an absolute priority for me. From the outset, I have strongly supported the proposal \u2013 now nearing approval \u2013 to designate 8 August as a European Day of Remembrance and Reflection on these issues. Workplace safety is, after all, a collective responsibility. The Government has taken swift and determined action to promote prevention, training and awareness, and to combat irregularities in the workplace. To all Italian nationals around the world, I send a personal message of gratitude, pride and closeness. Your dedication, talent and achievements are an essential part of our history \u2013 and of our future. They will continue to enrich our country and the world at large.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The memory \u2013 and the lesson \u2013 of Marcinelle, where so many lost their lives that day in the Bois du Cazier mining disaster, marks Marcinelle as both an Italian and European tragedy. I have underlined this with deep emotion throughout the many visits I have paid in various official capacities: as Member of the […]","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":142784,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[9,7,28],"class_list":["post-142820","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interviste","tag-europa","tag-italiani-nel-mondo","tag-ministro"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142820","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=142820"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142820\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":142823,"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142820\/revisions\/142823"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/142784"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=142820"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=142820"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=142820"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}