"I hope that everyone who has or has already booked a trip to Egypt, whether for tourism or otherwise, even for a bilateral meeting or a cultural event, will buy a ticket and tear it up."
Paola Deffendi, Giulio Regeni's mother, said this from the stage at the "Words, Images, and Music for Giulio" event, taking place in Fiumicello (Udine), 10 years after the young researcher's kidnapping in Egypt.
Deffendi referred to the message sent by the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, "whom I thank for the truly welcome letter."
And she added: "Over the past 10 years, I've come to this conclusion: there can be no culture if respect for human rights isn't promoted within culture. Therefore, any event that's called cultural and doesn't embrace human rights isn't culture."
And again referring to the Youth Government of Fiumicello, an active citizenship activity, this "is the only government that I consider a real government, always has been."
The documentary "Giulio Regeni. Tutto il male del mondo" (Giulio Regeni. All the Evil in the World), by Simone Manetti, will also be screened during the event.
"It's true that schools, universities, and all the cinemas already want it," Deffendi explained, "but we have so many requests from abroad, including Cambridge and London." So, "I ask you to please provide subtitles or translate it into English, because everyone needs to know what's going on. Otherwise, it's like going to assemblies. Usually, only the parents of those who already tutor their children go, and then you hear all the teachers' fuss."
(Unioneonline)
