Mattarella: «On the Day of Remembrance I renew to the families of the victims, the survivors, the exiles and their descendants the strong sense of solidarity and brotherhood of all Italians»

Source: Presidency of the Republic

The President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella spoke at the celebration of “The Day of Remembrance of the Foibe and the Julian-Dalmatian Exodus”, which took place in the Hall of Parliamentary Groups in Montecitorio.

During the ceremony, the President of the Chamber, Roberto Fico, the President of the Senate, Maria Elisabetta Alberti Casellati, and the President of FederEsuli, Giuseppe de Vergottini, spoke.

President Mattarella, on the occasion of Remembrance Day, released the following statement:

«The suffering, the mourning, the uprooting, the exodus to which tens of thousands of families were forced in the areas of the eastern border, of Istria, of Fiume, of the Dalmatian coasts are indelibly written in the history of the tragedy of the Second World War and its consequences.

On the Day of Remembrance, which the Republic has chosen to establish, I would like first of all to renew to the families of the victims, the survivors, the exiles and their descendants the strong sense of solidarity and brotherhood of all Italians. The crimes against humanity unleashed in that conflict did not end with the liberation from Nazi-fascism, but continued in the persecution and violence, perpetrated by another authoritarian regime, the Communist one.

So much innocent blood bathed those lands. The horror of the foibe strikes our consciences. The pain that caused and accompanied the exodus of the Julian-Dalmatian and Istrian Italian communities was slow to be embraced by the conscience of the Republic. The contribution of the exiles' associations was precious in bringing to light historical events that had been obscured or forgotten, and thus contributing to that reconstruction of memory that remains a condition for fully affirming the values ​​of freedom, democracy, and peace.

The suffering endured cannot be denied. The future is entrusted to the ability to prevent pain from turning into resentment and this into hatred, such as to prevent new generations from rebuilding a coexistence made of mutual respect and collaboration.

Every community preserves the memory of its most harrowing experiences and its historical reasons. It is from mutual recognition that dialogue and friendship begin again, between people and cultures.

These are values ​​that we wanted to reaffirm with the President of the Republic of Slovenia, Borut Pahor, whom I thank again for the meeting and initiatives last July, on the occasion of the signing of the memorandum of understanding for the restitution of the Narodni Dom to the Slovenian linguistic minority in Italy.

Highly commendable projects such as the choice to make Gorizia and Nova Gorica jointly the European Capital of Culture 2025 stem from these values.

Acts of high symbolic significance that demonstrate once again how the integration of Italians, Slovenians and Croatians in the European Union has opened horizons of solidarity, friendship, collaboration and development to our nations. The past cannot be erased. But it is our duty to ensure the young people of these lands the right to a common future of peace and prosperity.

The firm determination of Slovenia, Croatia and Italy to achieve ever more intense cooperation in the border areas is an example of how awareness of the rich diversity of our cultures and identities is crucial to overcome forever the most tragic pages of the past and open the way to a shared future".