Interview with the Senator by Andrea Altin Maurizio Gasparri on the occasion of the 2020 Remembrance Day ceremony which took place on Monday 10 February at the Foiba National Monument in Basovizza. 

Senator, in your speech on the occasion of the solemn ceremony at the Basovizza sinkhole you referred to the period in which our story remained the subject of conversation of a few

"There were many who knew what had happened in the eastern border areas, but few who had the courage to talk about it. Since I was a boy, the discussion of the exodus and the foibe was limited to a certain number of circles where politics was done."

Now, however, Remembrance Day has been institutionalised and in recent years we have relied on cinema to reach the masses.

"The spectacularization of history is a popularization path that we must continue to follow, without actually forgetting the historical truth that the facts tell. We must persevere with the awareness that at a national level there are still resistances"

What do you mean?

«I mean that a television such as Rai which finances fiction and films for millions of euros has contributed to the creation of Red land – Red Istria with a figure of around 100.000 euros which is completely negligible when compared to the expenses that usually concern Rai productions»

Speaking of resistance, even today there was no shortage of controversy as national newspapers reported the fact that the Democratic Party delegation left the commemoration site during your speech.

«Frankly, I don't understand their gesture since, as Vice President of the Senate, I first brought greetings from the second highest office in the State...»

The criticism that had been leveled at you was that you were there in your capacity as Senator and not as Vice President of the Senate…

"This criticism is unfounded because, after the greetings I brought to the ceremony from President Casellati with whom we had met the delegations of the Exiles the day before in Rome, my speech repeated the words of Mattarella. I wanted to reiterate the will of the President of the Republic to fight the denialism and reductionism that still coexist in a certain political ideology"

She spoke of a battle for truth…

«The reality is that there are people who attend ceremonies, who hold the levers of communication, even in institutions, who do not act out of a conviction dictated by a sense of justice, but who on the occasion of the Day of Remembrance feel almost forced to admit the truth»

What would that be?

«The truth is that there is still an underrepresentation of our history, an unconditional reflex present in publishing and television communication dictated by a political affiliation which in turn has its roots in the ideological one»

What future then?

«Continue to talk about it, always, as much as possible and not only on the occasion of February 10th… Create a new reality for which it is no longer acceptable that articles on the history of the exodus and the foibe are published on the back pages of newspapers, a reality in which television programming related to this tragedy is not relegated to late evenings, or to unsuitable nighttime hours»