L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, AUGUST 19, 2021 www.italoamericano.org 4 LUCA FERRARI BARBARA MINAFRA NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS D isbelief set in even before sadness. Deep sadness, in fact, to accept the sudden death of a man used to overcome the most impossible of challenges. In this annus horribilis, at the very moment when darkness is falling again on Afghanistan, a place he al- ways kept close to his heart and where three of his hos- pitals operate, war surgeon Gino Strada has left us. He was the founder of Emer- gency, the NGO that, for the past 30 years, has brought free medical care and struc- tures to the most dangerous and hopeless war zones on Earth. "Ignoring a person's pain is always a cowardly act of violence." Gino Strada was- n't a type for compromises. His words always had the edge and wisdom of some- one who had seen and lived horror and death. But his coherence always made the difference. For years, I have taken part to awareness- rising activities in one of t h e m o r e t h a n 1 7 5 E m e r g e n c y l o c a l g r o u p s working across the country, embracing the association's solidarity ideals in full. It's the late morning of Friday, the 13 th of August. T h e n e w s s p r e a d o n l i n e . Common people, friends, supporters take to the web to honor a man who, with his matter-of-fact, direct way of doing things, con- t r i b u t e d i m m e n s e l y a n d crucially to human rights, and saved 11 million lives, "one every minute," as we can read on the website list- ing all his ambitious pro- jects, and telling the world about his dream to build peace, starting from taking care of people. "It's a sad day. One of the few – and honest – free minds of our country has left us. Along with a small part of my past," Andrea writes on his social media profile. Emanuela has simi- lar thoughts : "You were a master in coherence, hon- esty and concreteness, you taught me the importance of doing, and doing well, for the wellbeing of all. A little something – our little something, as Teresa used t o s a y ( S a r t i , S t r a d a ' s wife), to make the world a b e t t e r p l a c e . T h a n k y o u , and safe travel, wherever you may be now. You are and always will be in my heart, that of a simple vol- unteer." Messages of mourning come also from the highest representatives of the State. "Gino Strada – President Sergio Mattarella writes – brought the ideals of life w h e r e w a r w a n t e d t o impose violence and death. H e i n v o k e d t h e i d e a l s o f Humanity where confronta- tion and battle wanted to obliterate respect for the individual. His testimony, which he gave until the very end of his life, contributed to enrich our common her- itage of values like solidari- ty and altruism, expressed, s o m e t i m e s r o u g h l y b u t always with generosity, by working to protect the most u n f o r t u n a t e , t h e p e o p l e most exposed to the conse- quences of all the conflicts s h e d d i n g b l o o d o n t h i s planet. Coherent with our Constitution, which repudi- ates war, Gino Strada made of this idea the inspiration o f h u m a n i t a r i a n a c t i o n s developed both in Italy and a b r o a d a n d , b r a v e l y , h e o f f e r e d a n a l t e r n a t i v e t o c o n f l i c t b e t w e e n a n d among people." In his own message, Prime Minister Mario Draghi points out t h a t : " S t r a d a s p e n t h i s entire life by those who suf- fer the most, working with professionalism, courage and humanity in the most difficult areas in the world. Emergency, which he had f o u n d e d w i t h h i s w i f e T e r e s a , r e p r e s e n t s h i s m o r a l a n d p r o f e s s i o n a l legacy." Born on the 21 st of April 1948 in Sesto San Giovanni, Milan, Gino Strada gradu- a t e d i n m e d i c i n e a t t h e U n i v e r s i t à S t a t a l e d i Milano, specialized in trau- ma surgery and completed h i s t r a i n i n g i n t h e U S , w o r k i n g o n h e a r t a n d h e a r t - l u n g t r a n s p l a n t a t S t a n f o r d a n d P i t t s b u r g h universities. He furthered his education in England and South Africa. Between t h e 1 9 8 0 s a n d t h e e a r l y 1990s, the time of the USSR c o l l a p s e a n d t h e w a r s i n Yugoslavia and Rwanda, he w o r k e d f o r G e n e v a ' s International Red Cross in P a k i s t a n , E t h i o p i a , A f g h a n i s t a n , P e r u , D j i b o u t i , S o m a l i a a n d Bosnia. After that, he was Continued to page 6 Gino Strada, war surgeon, at work (Photo courtesy of Emergency) F a r e w e l l t o G i n o S t r a d a , t h e doctor of the forgotten

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