We regularly talk about Italy at Raitre, through the most famous judicial cases, one day in the magistrates’ court together with Roberta Petrelluzzi. You can re-watch the episode titled “Who saves lives, saves the world”, one of the episodes of the new season, on RaiPlay. Thanks to the intense narrative reconstruction of Tommi Liberti and Antonella Nafra, it has the force of a documentary: it tells the story of the case that emerged as a result of a long journalistic investigation, of which Today.it published the final chapters (you can find them at: RaiPlay at the bottom of this article, along with the link to the documentary ).

“Whoever saves life saves the world” are the words spoken in the courtroom of the Roman Tribunal by one of the offended parties: A survivor, adrift in the Mediterranean, turns over the corpse of a child. waterfall. And it allows him to breathe with a strong massage on his abdomen.

“A Day at the Criminal Court of Peace” dedicated to the children’s shipwreck

The story goes back to one of the Mediterranean’s worst disasters, the children’s shipwreck that occurred on Friday, October 11, 2013: 268 people, including 60 children, drowned and 212 people were rescued in a rescue operation launched with criminal delay. Sharing of responsibility between Italy and Malta.

Victims, survivors, witnesses and rescuers face the truth for the first time. With their faces, their voices, the moments of silence when the emotion chokes the breath in the throat.

Italy thus risks spending millions in compensation

At the trial, the defendants were the then commander of the operations center of the Italian Coast Guard and his colleague, head of the current operations section of the Navy’s Maritime Fleet Command, as they were on duty that day: both were found guilty of multiple counts of manslaughter. and was saved by the rejection of official proceedings, but by the declaration that the crimes need not be subject to statute of limitations. A sentence upheld on appeal exposes the Italian state to millions in compensation for 268 victims. For this reason, we do not publish the names of the defendants, recognizing their right to be mercifully forgotten. Moreover, any of us who think that helping is not an obligatory gesture can find ourselves in their shoes at any moment of our lives.

This documentary is also a moment when the fundamental tools of our democracy are saved: the duty of witness, free journalism, the absolute impartiality of the judges of the second criminal chamber of the Rome Tribunal, presided over by Anna Maria Pazienza. A decision that completely contradicts the prosecutor’s demands.

The saying “He who saves a life saves the world” should be seen in school.

Alessandra Ballerini, one of the lawyers of the victims’ families, said at the hearing: “Anyone who got on that boat has no chance.” With his defense investigation, he managed to prevent two prosecutors from rejecting the investigation. Lawyer Ballerini concludes: “They were doctors; They had passports, they had money. However, he was not given a visa.”

It would be nice if the Minister of Education, Giuseppe Valditara, recommended that this excellent work of our public service be followed in high schools. And maybe already from the eighth grade. It would be extraordinary if Prime Ministers Giorgia Meloni and Matteo Salvini organized a mass sweep of the entire Cabinet (an invitation that should be extended to the European Commission and all European governments). And it would certainly benefit the world if each of us devoted 76 minutes of our lives to this extraordinary document. Fortunately, we don’t all think the same way. But ignorance, understood as not knowing the facts, is a serious mistake if we decide, act and govern under the guidance of the same ignorance. Probably as on that tragic October 11 (the publication of the photos accompanying this article was made by Mazen Dahhan, father of 8-year-old Mohamed, 4-year-old Tarek and 1-year-old Besher, who disappeared at sea with their mother after the shipwreck October 11, 2013 – reproduction is prohibited) .

VIDEO – Watch “Who saves a life saves the world” on RaiPlay

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