A gloomy context in which Europe is preparing to celebrate Monday 6 March la Day of the Righteous. First of all because of the war in Ukraine, but also because of the other 59 conflicts (among the most serious) underway on the planet and of which little or nothing is said. Bearing in mind the crisis in Iran, between civil riots and increased nuclear threats, and the heavy repression against women in Afghanistan.
Among the most important initiatives of this year, the celebration on March 3 in Milan at Garden of the Righteous from all over the world and that of the 9th in Rome at the Senate of the Republic.
Never as on this occasion has the role of journalists been fundamental, he says Gabriele Nissim, president of the Gariwo Foundation, an acronym for "Gardens of The Righteous Worldwide", under whose impetus the day of the Righteous was established in 2012 by the European Parliament. "Where autocracies and new dictatorships are asserting themselves, the first measure is to silence freedom of the press and of thought", writes the president of Gariwo in the comment for the website of the Italy section of Franconian journalists (Upf) of which he is the vice president and who joined the celebrations with great participation.
The theme chosen this year is extraordinarily timely: “Saving the human within man. The Righteous and personal responsibility”.
Four new plaques in the Garden of the Righteous in Milan
In the Garden of the Righteous on Monte Stella in Milan, at 10 am on 3 March, four new plaques will be affixed, to commemorate Gareth Jones, the first journalist who documented the Holodomor, the terrible starvation massacre caused by Stalin against Ukraine; Alfreda “Noncia” Markowska, Roma woman who had her family exterminated by the Nazis, but managed to save a large number of Roma and Jewish children; sir Hersch Lauterpacht, British jurist, inspirer during the Nuremberg trial of the principle of personal responsibility in the face of inhuman orders; Akram Aysili, Azeri writer, who denounced his country's violence against the Armenians paying with exile in his own land.
They will be present Philip Colley, great-grandson of Gareth Jones, Dijan Pavlovic, founder of the Kethane Movement in Italy, Gabriel cox, nephew of both Hersh Lauterpacht and Peter Kaciukian, honorary consul of the Republic of Armenia in Italy. Together with the president of the Gariwo Foundation, Nissim, the mayor of Milan will intervene, Giuseppe Sala.
The Day of the Righteous in Rome
A Roma instead the celebration will take place at 16,30 pm on 9 March in the Capitulary hall at the Cloister of the Convent of Santa Maria sopra Minerva.
After the greetings of the foreign affairs minute, Antonio Tajani, and that of the ambassador of Armenia, Tsovinar Hambardzumyan, the work of the conference will take place on the theme: "Building democracy in our time, fighting discrimination, persecution and hate speech".
The Senator will introduce Francesco Verducci and together with Nissim the historian will intervene Anna Foa, the senator Roman Lucius and the professor of Pedagogy of the Catholic University, Milena Santorini. While video messages of Josef Wancer, of the Auschwitz Foundation and that of Paolo Gentiloni, European Commissioner.
A symbolic way to remember those who have done good by saving lives
The Gariwo Foundation began its activity in 1999 in Milan with the meeting of the four founders: the president Gabriele Nissim, historian and author of books on the Righteous, the Honorary Consul of Armenia in Italy Peter Kuciukian and the philosophers Ulianova Radice, who passed away in 2018, e Anne Maria Samuelli, Head of the Teaching Commission.
The commitment is to "make known the Righteous by educating in personal responsibility: we think that the memory of the Good is a powerful educational tool and serves to prevent genocide and crimes against humanity".
For this reason, the "Gardens of the Righteous" have been created all over the world. The first was born in Milan in 2003, after twenty years and hundreds more, comes the one in Naples which will be inaugurated on March 30th.
