Seventy years ago, on ’8 August 1956, 262 miners died in Marcinelle. One hundred and thirty-six were Italians.
They were not adventurers and they were not men looking for shortcuts. They were fathers, husbands, sons who had left their land and accepted one of the hardest jobs imaginable to conquer, through sacrifice, only one thing: the dignity of building a future for their families.
Marcinelle is not just the story of a tragedy. It’s the story of an entire generation of Italians who left not to be supported, but to maintain; not to ask for privileges, but to offer work, competence, and courage.
Our fellow countrymen have learned new languages, respected the laws, faced mistrust and prejudice. They worked in mines, factories, construction sites, and over time, built businesses, families, and communities. They didn’t just find a place in other countries: they helped make them richer, more modern, and stronger.
For this reason, remembering Marcinelle means going beyond the rhetoric of emigration. It means recognizing that Italy is not just a nation from which millions of people have left: it is a nation that, through its emigrants, has participated in the economic, industrial, and social development of entire continents.
That story continues today, in the extraordinary community of Italians around the world that I have the honor of representing.
Remembering Marcinelle means giving them back the place they deserve: not on the fringes of Italian history, but at the center of its greatness.
