They Shall NEVER Succeed!!!

I would have posted something happy about our second day in Trieste but today is truly a tragic, and horrific day for both Italy and the United Kingdom.

One of the first sights we met when driving out of Palermo airport during our visit to Sicily in 2011 was the monument to Falcone and Borsellino. Indeed, the airport is named after these two heroes who had the bravery to stand up against the mafia. Today is the twenty-fifth anniversary of Falcone’s death when his car was blown up by a gang of Mafiosi unhappy that Falcone had been so successful in bringing to justice their particularly disgusting form of organised crime.  What remains of the wreck of the car in which Falcone and his wife were blown up in has been travelling round Italy as a memorial to what happened and as a warning of what unopposed terrorism can do:

At the same time today we hear of something so unimaginably horrendous that the United Kingdom is, too, plunged into a day which will always be remembered.  Ariana Grande is a young singer born in the USA but, like so many other famous female singers there, of Italian descent, (like Madonna, Laura Nyro, Lady Gaga, Melanie, Shakira, Alicia Keys to name just a few.) As a teenage actor with her role of ‘Cat Valentine’ Ariana attracted a great following, largely of young people, and her transformation with her incredible voice quality and span into a fine singers has given so many children and young adults a wonderful role model to follow.

It was this future generation, many accompanied by their parents, who attended the start of Ariana’s tour in the UK. That’s what is so particularly tragic and so difficult to get one’s head round in what happened last night in Manchester and what will mark this day, 23^rd May, for ever.

These bastard terrorists want to strike fear not only towards our governments’ security, but equally to our life styles. They want to prevent young people from growing up feeling secure with their friends, with their music, with all the activities and things they like.

This those murderers will never achieve. The heart-ache, the almost unsustainable pain, the inconceivable shock and, above all the blood of young innocent victims, will strengthen the resolve of all who believe in a tolerant, positive, cosmopolitan world to stand up for, nurture and never give up hope in those ideals which genuine humanity stands for.

Terrorism has no nationality or religion – it has no place on our planet! We may be affected by what terrorists do but we shall never be changed in our highest core values by them. ALL TERRORISM IS A PATHETIC ADMISSION OF FAILURE.

NON PASSERANNO MAI!!

“Uccisi perché? Per il sogno di un gruppo di esaltati che giocavano a fare la rivoluzione, si illudevano di essere spiriti eletti, anime belle votate a una nobile utopia senza rendersi conto che i veri “figli del popolo”, come li chiamava Pasolini, stavano dall’altra parte, erano i bersagli della loro stupida follia. “

(Trans: Why were the victims killed? To fulfil the dream of a group of self-exalters who played at being the revolution, deluding themselves in thinking they were the chosen spirits, souls elected to enter a utopia without realizing that the real “children of the people”, as Pasolini called them, were on the opposite side. These terrorists are truly the targets of their own stupid madness. ”

Mario Calabresi

All our hearts go out to the families and victims of this latest atrocity to hit our planet. Let’s, however, be positive and finish this sad post with one of Ariana’s best songs: