A procession was held on February 25 in Crotone to commemorate the shipwreck in Cutro, marking one year since the tragic event that claimed the lives of 94 migrants, including 35 minors, with a dozen others still missing.
A procession to not forget. Despite the heavy rain, the mobilization in Crotone on February 25 for those who wanted to show their support for the survivors and the families of the victims of the dinghy "Summer Love", which on February 26, 2023, at dawn, crashed into a shoal a few hundred meters away from the shore of the beach of Steccato di Cutro.
The shipwreck cost the lives of 94 people, 35 minors, and approximately 10 persons went missing.
Many people answered the call of the "26 February network," which, marking the first anniversary of the shipwreck, initiated a series of endeavors culminating on February 26 at 4 am, the exact time of the disaster, with a torchlight procession and a vigil on the beach of Steccato di Cutro not to forget and to call for "truth and justice".
The slogans of "truth and justice" and "enough deaths at sea" were chanted during the entire march, headed by a large banner that said: "Never again massacres of migrants in the Mediterranean".
The procession started from Piazza Pitagora, and reached the museum dedicated to the mathematician and philosopher.
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Democratic Party leader Elly Schlein took part in the procession
The Secretary of the Democratic Party, Elly Schlein, took part in the procession. She had been in Steccato di Cutro in the past when she honored the victims on the beach of the San Leonardo area. In this area, some signs of the tragedy are still visible.
Schlein had placed some flowers and stayed in meditated along with fishermen Vito, Antonio and Teodoro Grazioso, and Vincenzo Luciano, as well as with the Civil Protection Unit's volunteers Antonio Lorenzano and Gaetano Rossi, the first rescuers to reach Steccato immediately after the shipwreck.
Schlein spoke to these rescuers behind closed doors, assuring them "a careful inquiry on what happened to ensure that this event will not be forgotten."
"For the past year, we've been asking the same question: how is it possible that no Coast Guard patrol boats rescued a ship which was known to be in serious trouble for hours?," reiterated Schlein to journalists in Crotone.
"I am here to give my support to the 26 February network and to all organizations that still support the families of the victims and survivors," she explained.
Also read: Cutro shipwreck survivors ask for help to reunite with family
'Garden of Ali' to honor the memory of the 94 victims
On the morning of February 25, in the presence of the Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in Rome, Khaled Ahmad Zekriya, "the Garden of Ali" was inaugurated: a place at the entrance of the city that will host 94 plants -- as many as the number of victims on that day -- including tamarisks, Crimson bottlebrush, Feijoas, and strawberry trees.
The municipality of Crotone wanted to realize a timeless memory to honor the dead in the Cutro tragedy. "These days were difficult but the people of Calabria, of the city of Crotone, showed extraordinary humanity and solidarity," said the Mayor, Vincenzo Voce.
"The garden is beautiful. We wanted to dedicate it to Ali, a little boy who had initially remained an unidentified victim and registered at first with the code number Kr16m0. We thought of him when we decided to realize a place that, through the trees we planted, symbolizes the city's re-birth," he added.
Also read: Female Afghan reporter among the victims of deadly Cutro shipwreck