They are friends

February 26th.
In Steccato di Cutro yet another shipwreck of a boat, yet another controversy that fills the newspapers and floods the news.
The now daily landings risk turning into an argument of pure and simple clash between distant political positions.
It doesn't have to be like this.
Woe if we understand it that way.
However, the tragedy has not only triggered fierce controversies and an infinity of empty talk about smugglers, landings, rescues and non-rescues.
It triggered a speech that can no longer be postponed.
The one about immigration.
For us at the Arsenale della Pace it has been part of life for many years.
Since our house opened we have welcomed hundreds of thousands of people absolutely free.
For them we have created medical centers, schools where adults and children can learn Italian, a network of professional friends available for paperwork, to look for accommodation, to find a job.
Together with the volunteers who have been involved with us since day one, we have done it with simplicity and rationality.
We did what life put in front of us and that was necessary.
We rolled up our sleeves without looking the other way.
For us, migrants are neither a problem nor a trend.
They are friends.

Ernesto Olivero
Editorial
NP April 2023