Io sono l'Italia - I am Italy

Last year we are cried out Je suis Charlie or Je suis France when France was attacked by violence and terrorism. Now it’s time to support our Italian friends who suffered a horrible earthquake this week in Central Italy. The pictures that have reached us through the news and social media speak for themselves. So far 247 people have been found dead but the number is probably going to continue to rise as more victims are being pulled out from the debris. Since this was a vacation area for many people, there may be many unaccounted folks who just happened to be vacationing in this region during the summer break.

Central Italy, (yellow star) where the earthquake hit on Tuesday

Since Malta is close to Italy, we follow the news there very close, not only through the many TV channels we receive but also because we always had close affinity to Italy, even though they bombed us during World War II. We forgave them ever since, and we follow Italian soccer, entertainment, films, songs and fashion, not to mention the cuisine. Many of the buildings and churches in Italy are very old and historic, and that is one of the reason you see a lot of rubble after an earthquake. But people love their quaint houses and I guess many of the homeless will hope to settle in the same area since that is where their roots are. Let us pray and hope no more aftershocks will affect the region, and that the number of casualties will remain at a minimum. And let us pray for safety for all rescue workers and those helping in the recovery process. Io sono l'Italia - I am Italy.