BY MARCO MAGNI
“Never, never will you forget
the instant that the earth shook…
and then silence.
Who will wake us from this dark nightmare, who ever could?”
These are the lyrics to a song by Claudio Moioli, sung exactly thirty years before an earthquake caused grievous damage to the Tronto Valley area in Central Italy, and the municipalities of Amatrice, Accumoli and Arquata del Tronto in particular, at 3:36 local time on the 24th of August 2016.
Rubble, the dead, survivors, the displaced, tents, games, elderly people, children, men, women, animals, blankets, clothes, food, coffee, water, cold, darkness, rain, wind, sun, aftershocks, the military, the volunteers, the fire wardens, police, carabinieri, trucks, cars, motorbikes, fear, anger, pain, joy, sharing, love.
Amatrice is all of this… Amatrice is not only this: a strategic transit area between the Tyrrhenian and the Adriatic coast yesterday, one of the most beautiful villages in Italy today… and tomorrow?
Tomorrow we will never forget about the earth that shook, destroyed, and killed; we will not be afraid of the silences that never precede the same pandemonium; we will await the darkness of the night to gaze at the stars until they stop shining, and awaken into a new day, despite everything.
“Amatrice doesn’t love anymore!” mumbled a wise person…
Amatrice loves still… and she will continue to love every time we we make an important decision, keep a promise, give ourselves… for ever!
BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO THE AUTHOR:
Marco Magni was born in Milan, the city where he currently works, in 1983.
He has been working with volunteering associations for years, to promote solidarity both nationally and internationally.
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