Solidarity, A bridge to Idwji Island

I am thrilled and full of joy for being here again with you, today—and this not only because I care for Torre Annunziata, my hometown, a city that I deeply love and toward which I am intrinsically connected; nor just because I am sharing this moment with the boys and girls of the Liceo Statale Pitagora-Croce, a school that in my eyes is not simply a site of knowledge, but above all a place of large possibilities for you students, whose life horizon is wide open in front of you.

I am thrilled and grateful most of all because, with huge generosity and enthusiasm, you have decided to give a continuation to our first encounter by supporting “A bridge to Idwji Island”—this beautiful initiative made of music, cinema, and solidarity.

And, let me add, your response to this initiative is one I will never forget.

You have perfectly understood that “Solidarity” and “Charity” are not synonymous with “alms”. This would be a terrible misunderstanding. Solidarity and Charity express in practice Love and Justice toward our neighbor. They are equal to the courage to denounce oppressions and injustices. Solidarity and Charity represent the determination to be engaged for the common good: for we are all responsible for the good of each one of us.
As you well know, it has been ten years that I have been committed to a project that is very important to me: “Swimming the globe’s seas for a world with no barriers or borders”.

The reasons that have pushed me to devote so much of my life to such an ambitious project have evidently a lot to do with my disability: I wish to contribute to overthrow all the barriers that prevent people with disabilities from experiencing a real social integration—a full life, one filled with dignity, productivity, and satisfactions.

This goal can be pursued, I believe, only by making available new technologies. Far from remaining closed in research centers’ labs, these technologies should become the objects of policies and projects finalized to improving the quality of life of people with disabilities.

As you know, in the course of the project, I have been to Goma.

Probably, this has been the harshest and most significant experience of my life, but at the same time it has also immensely enriched me. I assume you know everything about Goma now: it is the capital city of Northern Kivu, it lies at the foothills of a gigantic volcano called Nyiragongo, in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Here, due to the violence of long tribal war, communities are shattered and values dissolve.

When villages are attacked and plundered, no one is safe: women, men, little boys and girls are all killed, without distinctions.

All this is caused by the struggle for the ownership of forest resources and of the huge deposits of gold, diamonds, copper, and coltan. The latter is an indispensable mineral for high-tech industry, of which Congo alone owns the 80% of the world’s deposits.

Due to the extraction of this precious mineral, indigenous population are dispossessed of their lands. The income derived from coltan extraction have been used to back the civil war; the environmental costs are colossal and the population’s rights are systematically and tragically violated.

To counter this catastrophe, we need simple and truthful words—we need a gaze enabling us to make a diagnosis and to propose a therapy.

As a first step, it is necessary to understand that common sense has been the biggest victim of these power struggles. Common sense is, from time immemorial, the foundation of human life. It is not an innate quality, but it rather is acquired by living. Common sense is necessary to tell what is useful from what is not—whereas for “useful” we mean “good”.

The natural logic of humans, indeed, entails the idea that growing and aging consist of acquiring the capacity of distinguishing what is good from what is evil.

Common sense suggests that nobody can remain indifferent in front of the tragedies affecting every single day the Democratic Republic of Congo. It becomes therefore necessary that Western countries, and European countries in particular, take serious and effective initiatives aimed at bringing peace to Northern Kivu, this gorgeous land.

I believe—and you will agree with me—that the most important thing in life is not to be left alone, but to be able to rely on people who share our values, projects, joys, and labors. By organizing these beautiful charity events, in days made of music, shows, and films, you have turned this idea into concrete actions.

Thanks to you, and thanks to the Association Esseoesse-Cortodino/Premio Internazionale del Cortometraggio Dino De Laurentis and to the Cinema Teatro Politeama it will be possible to raise funds to ship to Congo prosthetic implants and sanitary facilities for children, offered by Ortopedia Meridionale of Salvio Zungri—an extraordinary human being—and by other healthcare companies.

With this initiative you have—at least in part—contributed to turn into reality the dream of a peaceful life that has long animated Congo’s children, their parents, and all the people who work there with passion and dedication.

Your enthusiasm and generosity represent a future of equality and solidarity.

All this shows that, together, we can face and overcome unimaginable obstacles. Feeding hope for a better future, I wish to thank you and address you, once again, with a fraternal greeting in Swahili: Jambo Kwa Wote.

Salvatore Cimmino