Day in memory of the victims of immigration: tonight on TV “”Fire at Sea”

Day in memory of the victims of immigration: tonight on TV ""Fire at Sea"

Today marks the first "National Day in memory of the victims of immigration"

The Tragedy

Three years have passed since the tragedy of Lampedusa in which 366 people lost their lives.

It was 7 the morning of October 3 of 2013 when there was the tragedy. A Libyan vessel carrying 900 people sank off Lampedusa in front of the beach of Rabbits.

The boat, about 20 meters long, had sailed from the Libyan port of Misurata on October 1, 2013. On board migrants of African descent from Eritrea.

The cause of the tragedy was a fire on the boat.

The tragic consequences: more than 360 deaths, including many children, 20 missing. 155 survivors were rescued, including 41 minors.

Still resonate in the memory the words of the Island Mayor Giusi Nicolini. "It's an infinite horror. Never end up bringing corpses".

Or those harsh and lapidary of Pope Francis: "It comes to me the word shame; it's shameful."

The episode is undoubtedly one of the worst tragedies in the Mediterranean.

Unfortunately not the only one. More than 8000 people have died in the Mediterranean trying to escape the despair and looking for a better future.

Nor the last that affected our waters. In the night between 17 and 18 April 2015 in the Strait of Sicily died 800 other migrants.

In this story, beside the tragic face of the dead, also it emerged that of extraordinary human solidarity.

So many, significant and touching were the actions by the island community to ensure hospitality and human warmth to migrants so disastrously tried by the tragedy.

National Day in memory

Following the tragic accident several initiatives were taken.

To ensure a stronger commitment of the entire European Union on the phenomenon of migrants.

But also to keep alive the memory of that episode.

That is why the Senate has approved on March 16 this year the institution, 3 October, a "National Day of Remembrance of the victims of immigration".

Today, on this occasion, several initiatives are taking place throughout Italy.

The film and television will bring their contribution.

Tonight at 21:15 on Rai 3 will broadcast the film "Fire at Sea" by Gianfranco Rosi.

Remembrance Day falls a few days the nomination of the film to Academy Award.

The film is shot entirely in Lampedusa. The inhabitants of the island are the true protagonists of the film. In particular the young Samuel Pucillo and Dr. Pietro Bartolo, "the migrant doctor."

The documentary tells the plight of migrants who, from al

most twenty years, landed on the Mediterranean island in search of refuge.

Especially focusing on the theme of the delicate relationship between the newcomers and the locals.