Thematic sites - Municipality of Milan

Below is the speech given by the Mayor of Milan Giuseppe Sala on 3 March 2022, at the Garden of the Righteous on Monte Stella, on the occasion of the celebrations for the European Day of the Righteous.

Dear friends, dear girls and boys, it's nice to meet again here at Monte Stella to share this important, touching moment.

This garden dedicated to the Righteous from all over the world is a place of reflection, memory and meeting. A meeting between different cultures, between different visions of the world and of life and also between different generations, as demonstrated by the presence of many girls and boys among us.

Remembering the Righteous who sacrificed themselves or risked their lives to save other people helps us never forget the horrors and suffering that arise from intolerance, from the idea that those who consider themselves "different" must be fought.

Today we honor normal men and women, citizens like all of us, who at some point in their lives found themselves face to face with a decisive choice: for or against freedom, life, dignity.

Faced with this choice they were able to choose humanity, compassion, solidarity, even at the cost of jeopardizing their own safety.

This year the ceremony is, if possible, even more significant. This year marks the tenth anniversary of the establishment of the European Day of the Righteous.

On 10 May 2012 the European Parliament - thanks to a proposal originating from Italy and our city - decided to establish the European Day in memory of the Righteous. It was a measure of great political, human and civil value, which demonstrated that Europe is the living expression of a single family of peoples, united by common values ​​and principles.

However, it is precisely by virtue of the universal message of this day that we must focus on the dramatic situation of these days. Today we cannot help but think of the violence and suffering suffered by the citizens of Ukraine, victims of an unjustifiable aggression.

It seems absurd to have to talk, in 2022, about a war in a country that is close and friendly to us. It seems absurd that the madness of war is returning to our lives, at the gates of our European homeland. Above all, it seems absurd that, a few decades after the end of the Second World War and the Holocaust, we forget the horror, the suffering and the destruction of war.

Faced with the re-emergence of a past of pain that we deluded ourselves had disappeared forever, Europe's response for peace, in defense of those attacked, has been compact and inflexible. This is a good sign that makes us proud of what we have built over the years.

But each of us in our own small way can also do our part.

Each of us can study, we can remember the past, we can make the example of those who fought for the dignity of man. Each of us can contribute to building a barrier capable of defending us from the evil we see at work in Ukraine and in many other countries around the world, which also deserve our solidarity and our help.

Memory is the vaccine against the epidemic of hatred that we see spreading throughout the world.

Remembering, studying, learning from the example of the Righteous is the cure for growing strong and free, as individuals and as a society.

Your faces, dear girls and boys, your desire to learn, to know and to defend what good has been built by previous generations, are a guarantee for the tomorrow of all of us.

You young people are demonstrating that you are capable of aiming higher, that you have the courage to take your future into your own hands. We see it when you fight for the environment and demonstrate for a cleaner world, in every sense. We see it when you are committed to equality between people and the right of everyone to be themselves, without prejudice and without discrimination. We see it when you mobilize and take to the streets for the right to education and a quality school for everyone, which helps you grow as aware citizens.

Today's ceremony is also therefore a moment of hope and optimism.

Today we celebrate those who have contributed to building the foundations of a more just and humane world with their example and sacrifice. And at the same time we send a message of confidence in the future and entrust it to the new generations: I am sure that we leave our future in good hands.