English Opinion

I absolutely adore Italy. The country is beautiful, the people are incredibly friendly, the food is gorgeous and I married my husband there almost two years ago now. We often talk about moving to Sorrento or the surrounding area because it is a fantastic country but we are both well aware of the natural lay of the land, so to speak. Hell, we could see Mount Vesuvius, the volcano that buried Pompeii, from our hotel room. Italy is located on two of the most volatile tectonic plates on the Earth’s crust… as nature proved again a few days ago.

The earthquake that reduced L’Aquila, a 13th Century city, to rubble measured 5.5 on the Richter Scale. The death toll currently stands at over 270 with a further 1,000 being injured and 28,000 being homeless as a result. They are currently being forced to sleep in tents with nothing but basic amenities because they have nowhere else to go. My heart goes out to them, especially those that have lost their entire families. People are still being pulled out of the rubble, with one rescued alive today, but the huge aftershocks are not helping matters at all… and neither is their PM.

Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi demonstrated today just how out of touch he is with the people of L’Aquila. His comments are absolutely astounding:

They have medicaments. They have hot food. They have shelter for the night. Of course, their current lodgings are a bit temporary. But they should see it like a weekend of camping.

Does Berlusconi have any idea what his people are going through, what it feels like to have lost everything you have ever worked for in just a few moments? Does he know what it feels like to sleep four in a bed in a makeshift tent when the temperatures dip below freezing? Does he know what it’s like to see your whole family wiped out? No, the priviledged leader has no idea. He only opens his mouth to change feet anyway but this time he has seriously insulted his own people in as callous a way possible. I hate to say it but he actually makes Gordon Brown look good.

My thoughts are with the people of L’Aquila and I hope they can rebuild their city and their lives in the coming months and years.

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