L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, JANUARY 23, 2025 www.italoamericano.org 6 NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS failure. The judiciary will need to investigate the caus- es of these fires thoroughly. And considering the Ameri- can penchant for litigation, the public administration can expect no shortage of lawsuits. But legal proceed- ings in America are expen- sive, and justice isn't accessi- ble to everyone. Certainly not to people like Richard Grise, 80 years old and disabled, who had poured his life savings into h i s h o m e i n A l t a d e n a , intending to leave it to his 18-year-old son, Redford, w h o g r e w u p w i t h o u t a mother. "Now I don't even h a v e a t e a s p o o n l e f t , " Richard told me as his son pushed his wheelchair—bor- rowed from the Red Cross shelter at the Pasadena Con- vention Center—wrapped in a donated blanket to shield a g a i n s t t h e c o l d . " W e a r e left, quite literally, with our lives," the elderly father con- cluded, clutching his son's hand tightly. Did you meet any Ital- i a n s o r I t a l i a n - A m e r i- cans? Yes, two parallel stories of bravery, as both challenged the fire to try and save their homes using garden hoses. One is Sebastian Harrison, an actor known in Italy dur- i n g t h e 1 9 9 0 s f o r t h e T V s e r i e s K i s s M e , L i c i a . Together with his father, a m o r e f a m o u s a c t o r i n t h e U.S. with over 130 films to his name, he owned one of the most beautiful properties in Malibu—a complex of 12 villas overlooking the Pacific O c e a n , n o w r e d u c e d t o ashes. It was also the site of unforgettable parties for the Italian community in Los Angeles. Sebastian sent his father, wife, and child away to safe- ty, violated the evacuation order, and started watering everything he could. But it was like a defenseless David against Goliath. When he realized he was about to lose h i s l i f e , h e m a d e h i s w a y down to the beach and shel- tered among the rocks for hours, enduring winds so fierce they sent trash bins f l y i n g , u n t i l f i r e f i g h t e r s arrived. T h e n t h e r e ' s A n t o n i o Antonetti, a Venezuelan of Italian descent—a true hero. Using garden hoses with his brother and a neighbor, he s a v e d s e v e n h o u s e s i n Altadena. "How did you do i t ? " I a s k e d h i m a s h e showed us his untouched property. "When I saw the fire at the end of the street," he replied, "I understood that to save my house, I had to save my neighbor's house first, then the next one, and the next one after that." And that's exactly what he did. He opened up every garden hose in the adjoining prop- e r t i e s , c l i m b e d o n t o r o o f t o p s , a n d d r e n c h e d everything he could. In the end, he saved seven homes, though all around them was nothing but ash. Y o u v i s i t e d t h e J o b C o m m u n i t y C e n t e r i n Pasadena and shelters for the displaced. Soli- darity in a place where t h o u s a n d s h a v e l o s t everything. A t t h e J o b C o m m u n i t y C e n t e r i n P a s a d e n a , o n e s t o r y s t a n d s o u t a m o n g many—a 23-year-old man named Michael. Thin, with large black eyes and a kind smile, he told me, "I have no m o n e y b e c a u s e I l o s t m y job, but I have time. So I t h o u g h t , I c a n g i v e m y time." Such simplicity, such a big heart—like all the vol- u n t e e r s a n d d o n o r s w h o p o w e r e d o n e o f t h e m o s t efficient aid collection and distribution centers I've ever seen. T h e g e n e r o s i t y o f L o s A n g e l e s r e s i d e n t s w a s immediate. Thousands of evacuees needed everything. Most fled the fire with only the clothes on their backs, thinking they'd be able to return home within a few hours. Among the volunteers, I was deeply impressed by the positive energy of Begonya "Coco" De Salvo. Despite being one of the evacuees h e r s e l f , s h e m a n a g e d t o raise €1,000 in just an hour f r o m h e r s o c i a l m e d i a friends. She used it to buy a l a r g e n u m b e r o f p h o n e chargers to donate to her fellow displaced citizens. How difficult will it be to start over? Aside from a handful of celebrities from Malibu and Pacific Palisades, who have simply relocated, thousands of people now face an enor- mous existential crisis. The psychological stress is over- whelming, especially for the youngest and oldest among t h e m . M a n y e l d e r l y r e s i - dents may never live to see the rebuilding of their life- l o n g h o m e s , e v e n i f t h e y manage to find the resources to reconstruct. These individuals urgent- l y n e e d t a n g i b l e s u p p o r t from the city of Los Angeles, the State of California, and t h e f e d e r a l g o v e r n m e n t . Time is of the essence, as u n s c r u p u l o u s r e a l e s t a t e speculators are already prey- ing on the victims. On one hand, they've raised rents by as much as 200%, exploiting the fact that displaced fami- lies need housing close to their workplaces and chil- dren's schools. On the other, t h e y ' r e o f f e r i n g m e a g e r sums to purchase destroyed properties, taking advantage of those without the means to rebuild. The first few months are critical. For now, the emo- tional wave of this tragedy has ensured that the victims receive the attention they deserve. But what will hap- pen when this story fades from the headlines? T h e m u l t i m i l l i o n a i r e celebrities are a tiny minori- ty. Most of the Angelenos affected by this disaster can- not recover on their own. Entire families are sleeping in their cars, accompanied by their children and pets. Between showers at shelters, donated clothing, and meals provided by mobile volun- t e e r k i t c h e n s , m a n y h a v e e v e n r e t u r n e d t o w o r k t o avoid losing their jobs. The psychological resilience of these individuals is as fragile as tissue paper. There's no time to waste. If you had to choose a s y m b o l i c i m a g e , w h a t would it be? A slightly scorched but still intact Stars and Stripes flag, standing firm against the winds of Santa Ana. If you had to choose a symbolic image to represent Los Angeles today, what would it be? "A slightly scorched but still intact Stars and Stripes flag, standing firm against the winds of Santa Ana." Piergiorgio Giacovazzo CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4 Piergiorgio Giacovazzo in Los Angeles (photo courtesy of Piergiorgio Giacovazzo)

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