The headteacher at a school in Crotone confirmed this week that the commemoration for the Cutro shipwreck on February 25 will go ahead after all. Initially it had been reported that the memorial would be blocked, reportedly due to an interpretation of government directives.
The event, "Steccato di Cutro, an open wound, the value of humanity," will take place as scheduled on the morning of Wednesday, February 25 at the "Barlacchi-Lucifero" institute in Crotone.
The school had initially found itself at the center of a dispute following an earlier refusal by the school principal to hold it. The gathering is designed to honor the 94 victims, 35 of them minors, of the Cutro shipwreck, which occurred on February 26, 2023.
The regional secretary of the trade union FLC CGIL, Alfonso Marcuzzo, told ANSA he had received an invitation from headteacher Girolamo Arcuri to organize the event under the same format as originally planned.
Read AlsoItaly: Brescia court counters Cutro decree and rules for direct protection request
Controversy shelved after initial stop
"My school has always honored the memory of the Cutro victims by hosting several initiatives. I had authorised the CGIL event. I asked my offices to request that CGIL broaden the debate. Afterwards, there was an administrative misunderstanding, which I regret," Arcuri said by way of explanation.
Marcuzzo explained the initiative will proceed as planned as "a moment of civic and human reflection on one of the most painful tragedies to strike our territory and the entire country."
In the days preceding this announcement, however, it had been reported that Arcuri had halted the commemoration citing a "lack of contraddittorio" (an opposing viewpoint), invoking a circular issued by Education Minister Giuseppe Valditara requiring pluralism and freedom of opinion to be guaranteed at events held in schools.
The decision prompted an immediate reaction from CGIL. "Remembering is not a partisan act. Commemorating is not propaganda. Faced with a human tragedy of this magnitude, who should or could represent the opposing viewpoint?" CGIL and FlC CGIL Calabria wrote.
Marcuzzo also stressed there was "nothing political that would require an opposing viewpoint."
Read AlsoAlleged smugglers convicted over Cutro shipwreck
Calls for a rethink, including from the Interior Ministry
Lawyer Francesco Verri, who represents victims' families in the ongoing trial over alleged delays in rescue operations, was also critical of the initial halt: "Memory is not a subject on which we can be divided," he said.
On the social media platform X, Nicola Fratoianni of Alleanza Verdi e Sinistra (AVS) asked rhetorically: "Should they have invited a smuggler or a Libyan torturer? Or, when a school wants to address the tragedy of rape and femicide, will it now be compulsory to invite a murderer or a rapist?" As a way of addressing the "opposing viewpoint" requirement.
However, the appeal for a rethink also came from within the government, from Undersecretary of the Interior Ministry, Wanda Ferro from the Fratelli d'Italia (Brothers of Italy) party. The pain of that tragedy, she said, "can never belong to one side alone." And, she added, the government "is not and must not be perceived as the counterparty in this matter. Nor does it have anything to hide or to fear."
Read AlsoTwo years of anti-immigrant policy in Giorgia Meloni's Italy