 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
POPE FRANCESCO MEETS THE COASTGUARD ENGAGED IN THE AID OF MIGRANTS
|
17 February 2015
Pope Francesco met a delegation of Italian Coastguard in Saint Marta along with the Minister Lupi who testified the service carried out in sea in the difficult operations of aid to refugees and migrants.
Along with the Minister of Infrastructures and Transports Maurizio Lupi, joined the meeting:
- Felicio Angrisano, Admiral Commander of Coastguard
- Giovanni Pettorino, Admiral Chief of the Operating Unit (he led all the most difficult operations)
- Ciro Petrunelli, Lieutenant (join the rescue of the Ezaden motor-ship with hundred of migrants on board)
- Antonello Fava, Lieutenant, (guided the rescue of the motor-ship Blue Sky with hundred of migrants on board)
- Marco Ancora, Marshal (he too joined the rescue of the Ezaden motor-ship with hundred of migrants on board)
- Salvatore Finocchiaro, assistant chief (joined many participations of aid by helicopter)
Minister Lupi wrote to the Pope asking a meeting in behalf of the 11,000 men and women of Coast Guard, who for years are putting in danger their lives in aid operations and sometimes, instead to be thanked, they are accused to help traffickers and terrorists.
The Pope conceded a meeting which was held in a informal way in a room of Saint Marta. Everyone spoke, sharing his experience and the Pope listened carefully, and took the floor as last, thanking them and quoting the words of people who had already spoken. In its starting greetings, Lupi, as an example of the misunderstanding which affects this work of rescue and aid of human lives, mentioned the last week episode, when, after the rescue of 200 people, they were threatened with weapons by traffickers who intended to get the boat back.
“They have been accused of compliance, but instead they have been absolutely responsible, because there were 200 migrants on board and among them there were also many pregnant women. Should they had to engage in a armed conflict putting in risk the lives saved just some minutes before?”. Everyone shared his experience and Admiral Angrisano remembered that since 1991 to today Coast Guard saved more than 460.000 migrants lost in sea. Marshal Ancora added: “think about how many children were born from the people we saved”.
The Marshal Emiliano Venuti on 20 Decembers 2014 join with a rescue team on a boat out of control, dropped in the cargo Merkur 1 that, left by traffickers with automatic pilot on and which was sailing without control, risking to crash on Sicilian shores.The Marshal Venuti intervened and put the automatic pilot off, taking full control of the ship, which has been rescued. The 800 migrants were all saved. Port Captaincy of Reggio Calabria, on 24 September 2014 joined the rescue of a ship with 774 migrants Sicily Channel. Besides, the Port Captaincy helps migrants also after they have been rescued. Marianna Mari was really touched by the event: “The eyes of these people are unforgettable. During the travel their expressions change from fear to hope and to joy when they finally see the Italian shores”.
An other sailor confessed his “ fear” when on New Year's Eve, while he was at home with his family he was called in order to take part in aid on an old cargo vessel “with the blocked rudder and 900 people in sea with waves 9 meters high”, the most touching thing , the sailor said, was the applause of the migrants when I succeeded to take control of the ship.” After have listened to the concrete, touching and impressive experiences of the sailors, at the end of the meeting the Pope expressed his appreciation for the work carried out with courage and dedication. Among other things, He said that the migrants issue cannot be solved all of a sudden, but it stands more than the aid issue, but as first, when a life is in danger, we must help it: “when there is a injured, the first thing to do is to cure his injuries”. All the rest comes later.
The Pope remembered his travel to Lampedusa and praised the solidarity of Lampedusa citizens with the refugees, even if this can damage the touristic appeal of the island. He said to have sent His accountant, Mons. Krajewski, to participate to the operations of recovery of the deads after the terrible shipwreck of last year (“he came back changed, he was another man” said the Pope accompanying His sentence scrolling His hand first up and after down) and has concluded with these words: “… I admire you and I have to admit that I fell like useless comparing myself to the job which you are doing everyday, putting in danger your lives. I support you as best as I can, with my prayers and good words”.
FONDAZIONE MAKES AN APPEAL FOR MIGRANTS DEAD IN THE MEDITERRANEAN
|
13 February 2015
Fondazione Mediterraneo, in Lampedusa in this tragic moment, launched an appeal for the migrants dead in sea, praising the courage of people of Port Captaincy – Guard Coast whom put in risk their lives in order to save other human beings.
BEST PHOTO OF PEACE FOR ALFRED FRIED AWARD FOR PHOTOGRAPHY
|
10 February 2015
Call.
To what does the peace look like?
Is open the call to send contributions to the Photographic Award Alfred Fried, which rewards the best peace themed photography. Are accepted applications from all over the world, unless that the photo represents human efforts for a more peaceful world.
The deadline is for 14 May of 2015, at midnight, Central Europe Time.
The best five proposal will be rewarded with Alfred Fried medal. One of this five photographies will be chosen as peace’s picture of the year, will be rewarded with a 5 000€ amount and beside, will be exposed for one year at Austrian Parliament and included in its permanent art collection.
Introduced every year, on the 21 of September in concomitance with the UN international peace day the award is promoted by UNESCO, Photographic Society, Lammerhuber Publishing, Austrian Parliament, Austrian Parliamentarian Journalist Associations and International Press Institute (IIP). The award is dedicated to Alfred Hermann Fried (1864-1921), Austrian pacifist artist, winner of Nobel Prize on 1911.
Inaugural edition 2014 of the Alfred Fried Prize has been warmly welcomed by International Photographic Community.
The winner photo and selected in preview have been exposed in UNESCO headquarter in Paris. These photographies, as well as other 320 unique contributions, will been exposed, until March 2015, on the digital wall of new train station Hauptbahnhof Wien in Wien.
For UNESCO art is an important tool of peace. Reorganize the world and reshape it, opening new spaces for dialogue and comprehension.
Photography can strengthen a world peace culture, supporting, transmitting, unifying the world around a peace idea shared by many people.
To send your applications, and for further information, is available the official website of Photography Award Alfred Fried
© Emil Gataullin – The winner of the award Alfred Fried for Photography for 2014 has been Emil Gataullin (Russia), with a picture taken by its artwork “Towards the horizon”.
Lampedusa, 11 February 2015
THE STRUCTURE FOR THE MEMORIAL MONUMENT DEDICATED TO UNKNOWN MIGRANT HAS BEEN FINISHED
|
10 February 2015
The zinc-coated steel structure of “Totem of Peace” has been realized in GIMA factory and will host the grave of “Unknown Migrant”, in occasion of the “Mediterranean and Migrants Day” (21 March 2015) and the 150° Anniversary of Port Captaincy - Coast Guard. The monumental art work will be installed in front of Naples Stazione Marittima.
EUROMESCO NEWSLETTER
|
30 January 2015
The network of strategic studies of which Fondazione Mediterraneo joins, published january newsletter.
TECHNICAL ROOM ON USE AND MANAGEMENT OF CONFISCATED PROPERTIES
|
30 January 2015
The president of Fondazione Mediterraneo Michele Capasso and the president of Caponnetto Foundation Salvatore Càlleri joined– in behalf of Omcom –to the technical table on the use and management of confiscated properties.
Joined to the event the president of Budget Room Francesco Boccia, the prefect director of National Agency Umberto Postiglione, Police Commissioner Naples Guido Marino and the judge Catello Maresca.
INTERNATIONAL MEETING: EUROPE, MEDITERRANEAN AND MACROREGIONS TOWARDS LEGALITY
|
29 January 2015
The meeting took place in Vesuvio Hall of MAMT Museum.
After the screening of the video about the macro regional proposals and a short recap on the results of “Giovanni Agnelli Foundation” (1992 – 1996) and “Fondazione Mediterraneo” (1997) results on the opportunity to reduce the number of regions in Italy, the president Michele Capasso and prof. Abdelhak Azzouzi discussed on the topic “Macroregion: an occasion for Europe and Mediterranean” with a “An Arabian Maghreb: from crises area to development occasion”. Followed: “Legality as element for the development of macroregions”, discussed later dott. Salvatore Càlleri, Antonino Caponnetto Foundation’s President and counselor of Sicily Region on corruption themes, tenders, and struggle to mafia. “The role in Campania in the new program on Macroregions, between Europe and Mediterranen” has been faced by on. Andrea Cozzolino, European Parliamentar, vicepresident of Parliamentar Commission for regional development.
FONDAZIONE IN GHANA FOR SOLIDARITY INITIATIVES
|
21 January 2015
Fondazione Mediterraneo sponsored solidarity initiatives especially addressed to children. Jacopo Molinari, member of Fondazione, is in Ghana in order to keep on with the started projects.
SREBRENICA - PARIS – MANILA AND RETURN. FRANCIS POPE INVITES US TO CRY.
|
18 January 2015
After Srebrenica and Paris the president Capasso is in Manila with a delegation from Fondazione Mediterraneo.
“I come here in honeymoon with my dead wife Rita on january 1980 – declared Capasso – but I have never seen a million people human river. A big emotion, a big hope: for the peace, for the future.” According to the data there were about 7 millions devotes which gathered in the 60 hectares of Rizal Park, for the last day of Pope’s visit - says father Federico Lombardi, spokeperson of Vatican. The most followed mass in the history: even more than the four – five million presents for John Paul II, here in Manila, the 15 january 1995, in conclusion of World Youth Day. Before the mass, the Pope met with about 30 thousands youngs in campus of university of Saint Tomas in Manila.
“Are we crying when we are seeing an homeless baby, suffering, abandoned, abused and used by the society as a slave?". If the answer is yes, he asked to youngs, relaunching the question of Jun, ex homeless child: " Why God allow this and why so few people help us?”.
"When the heart is able to address this question and cry- said the Pope – we cannot understand, there is a secular pity which maximum make us put and hand in our pockets and donate a coin: if Christ would have had this kind of compassion would have just come here, saved 3 or four people and gone back to His Father. Papa Francesco, at the meeting opening, after had asked and get the permission to speak in Spanish said, " First of all, a sad news: yesterday- he told to the presents – before the beginning of the mass, one of the tower felt down and hit one working girl, killing her. Her name was Cristel, she was a 27 years old, young as you and she was working as a volunteer for an association called Catholic Relief Service.
I want all of us and you, young as her, to pray all together Our Virgin Mary and let’s do a minute of silence for Cristel. Let’s pray. She was an only child. Let’s pray also for his father who is coming to Manila to see her and her mother whom is coming from Hong Kong. "In today’s society women have too much to tell us- says Francis Pope - so many times we are chauvinist, but a woman is able to see things with a different look, particular gaze, to address questions we men are not able to understand, they are more careful, they are addressing questions: but the only question which doesn’t have answer has have been made by June. The word weren’t enough, so she cried, she needed tears, so when the next Pope will come to Manila, let’s made more women come, please! We need to learn how to cry.”
TWO PROJECTS FOR PINO DANIELE
|
13 January 2015
The Directorate of Fondazione Mediterraneo, gathered to commemorate Pino Daniele, confirmed the will to realize two initiatives strongly desired by the great artist too and decided during his recent visit at the Foundation the last 18 december 2014. «The last time I saw him was on the second of January, three days before his departure – remembered president Capasso, we talked at 21.00 and I told him I was in retreat in San Biagio house of worship during Christmas week. As soon as I told him I slipped in Saint Benedict cave in Subiaco he bend over with laughter and told me once again what he had said on 18 december 2014 during his visit at Mamt Museum: “Michele, you are a personaggio!”. And he proposed to realize a “Concert for Peace” every year, on 19 september, in Naples harbour, in front of the Monument dedicated to the Uknown Migrant. “It has to be an international event which has to be carefully organized. Our peace message should be universal, we cannot and we mustn’t do a carnival. On the other project, which aimed to dedicate to him “Music Hall” of MAMT museum, he was agree unless it be a place of exchange and formation for youngs in order to realize in Naples what already exists in other cities: a cultural datum point about Naples musical history as it already happens for Fado in Portugal, Flamenco in Spain and so forth. “Michele, be carefull, don’t forget about Gesualdo from Venosa: he was important to me, everyone of us owes something to him. Now it is enough, I’m not in the mood to speak at the phone. I’ll wait you in Tuscany for a couple of days, so we can talk about the details…”. These were his last words addressed to me. The two projects, if the family will agree, will start as soon as possible, beginning with the multimedia reallocation of MAMT museum.