Fontevecchia recalls the martyrs of Marcinelle
63 years ago the death of 262 miners, 60 from Abruzzo
Abruzzo and emigration.
On 8 August 1956, in Marcinelle, Belgium, 262 miners died at a depth of over 900 meters, killed by a devastating fire.
Of the 262 dead miners, 136 were Italian, half of them came from our region.
There were 60 Abruzzese who died in the bowels of the earth: young people coming largely from a cluster of countries clinging to the Maiella: Manoppello, Lettomanoppello, Turrivalignani, Farindola.
Abruzzo in particular, had been starved and emigrated abroad to live. Shameful was the campaign to attract our boys abroad with false promises, the silence of the Belgian government on the tragedy, a shame that is still on the conscience of that nation that, first, betrayed its history
To them, heroes without names, we must at least ONE REMEMBER, to the young, who are reliving the drama of emigration instead, we need a better future.