“Did the government think of us as a centre-left region?”
One hundred million people fleeing wars, fires, droughts, poverty and fame, to reveal human rights and persecution. Record numbers in 2022remembered by the Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres, which cites in particular Afghanistan, Congo and of course the Ukraine, with its almost eight million refugees. But the refugee map is much wider. More than seven years of war in Yemen has resulted in a humanitarian catastrophe, with more than 4 million people displaced from their homes. Then there is Syria, where the war has been going on for 11 years: over 600,000 have taken refuge in Jordan and more than 80,000 call the huge Za’atari camp home.
Millions displaced in Ethiopia, due to the armed conflict that began two years ago. People are also fleeing from Myanmar: to escape persecution almost a million Rohigya live in a refugee camp in Bangladesh. And they continue to flee, trying to cross the Andaman Sea, one of the deadliest in the world. Thousands of desperate migrants look to Europe, throwing their lives into the hands of human traffickers. Too often the perilous voyages of hope across the Mediterranean have ended in tragedy. The number of people who died or went missing doubled between 2021 and 2022.
The drama of forced exile tests the humanity of governments, regions and citizens. A challenge to solidarity that sees Emilia-Romagna at the forefront. On Saturday 31, at the port of Ravenna, 113 people will disembark on board the ship Oceanic Viking. “Regardless of which parties are in government” – says President Stefano Bonaccini – “we are the ones who think that every human life should be saved and welcomed with dignity”. But at the same time he spares no jabs at the Executive: “I hope he will explain how it is possible for a ship arriving in Liguria to circumnavigate the boot to get to Ravenna when it would have found so many other ports? I hope – added the governor – there is no second thought that bringing them to a region governed by the center-left does not put the regions governed by the center-right in difficulty. We are ready to do our part, on December 31st we will be there to welcome the people who will arrive”. Injurious words for the Ligurian deputies of the Brothers of Italy, who stigmatize those you impose “veiled allusions bordering on slander”.