Fiorella is a dentist, works in San Matteo della Decima and lives in Cento. The earthquake of the 29th forced her to leave her home and studio and only now is she trying, laboriously, to start over. But how much does she cost? “In the meantime, it's 280 euros to the engineer who issued me the certificate of viability of the studio – she says – but it's a very honest fee. Then there will be all the costs of fixing the cracks. At home the glass and china are all broken and I still haven't had the courage to empty the cellar. Also, I was stopped for two weeks and starting tomorrow I'll pick up a little at a time. So I'm not making money, but I don't want a shock to catch me while I'm operating on a patient. Do you know the movie the Marathon runner? People are already afraid of the dentist, I can't risk hurting them really bad...". In short, the earthquake hasn't taken away the desire to joke, but problems are daily and starting over means facing a thousand difficulties, risks and worries even for professionals who often have their studies in the red zone of historic centres.
On the morning of the 29th the doctor had just finished a filling. “Fortunately I was at the door with the patient – she says – when I felt that the ground was missing from under my feet. He, an elderly man, encouraged me and assured me that when it was over we would go down together. But I know of colleagues who were carrying out delicate interventions and who had to stop the operation in the middle, even with the risk of falling rubble. Now the fear is diminishing a bit, but I won't be able to restart immediately at full speed and I will send the most important operations to some dentist in Bologna". Is the earthquake still a daily occurrence? “Oh yes, even if you hardly feel the small tremors anymore, maybe I see the water in the bottle moving and I understand that something is happening”. And the country? “Cento, where I live, is almost a ghost town. I shop 20 kilometers from here. The historic center is closed and the residents sleep in tents, in the gardens of their own homes or in that of relatives, while there is a camp where there are mostly non-EU citizens. The civil protection had to carry out a census of the foreigners, because they came from all over the world. Every day a new face looking for a bed and a meal. They were forced to put a stop”.
Why did you turn to a private individual for usability? “Because the municipality can't do it. They were supposed to come last week, but who saw them?”. There are many activities in the same situation: in Finale Emilia alone, for example, there are 3800 site inspections to be carried out and only two teams of technicians, who manage to cover around ten sites a day. Doing everything takes a very long time. “Furthermore – says Rodolfo Musci, of Pressmair – it is becoming more and more difficult to find technicians willing to take responsibility for an arrangement. The other big problem we are dealing with is layoffs. I tried to ask the local INPS, but they referred me to the regional INPS which referred me to the national INPS, where no one answers the phone. It's Italy. However, I want to point out one positive thing and it is the battle that President Vasco Errani is leading so that waste is disposed of by the Region. If we think about what happened in L'Aquila, we have to consider ourselves lucky”.
