PM tours Italy’s quake ruins
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau solemnly conveyed his respects Sunday to victims of last summer’s killer earthquake in Italy’s Apennine Mountains.
The prime minister toured the Zona Rosa, or ground zero, of the quake, which flattened the centre of this storied medieval town. Trudeau paused for a few moments with his wife, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, before a memorial to the 299 people who died when the earthquake, 6.2 on the Richter scale, hit at 3:36 a.m. on Aug. 24, 2016. In the nine months since, the area has experienced three strong aftershocks, and hundreds of smaller ones.
“Being here is an opportunity to share the depth and closeness of the friendship between Canada and Italy and Canadians and Italians,” Trudeau said as he stood before a damaged clock tower. “It was very touching for me to be able to be here today and share with our Italian friends our solidarity and friendship.”
The tower, which has also served as a First World War memorial, was almost the only structure left intact in the town centre. A nearby 15th-century church was destroyed entirely, save for one wall. Bricks, dust, rocks and household effects, including a cloth book for a child, still had not been cleaned up as the prime minister did his walkabout.
From the moment the temblor left the town of about 1,000 people in ruins, the Italian community in Canada has been engaged in providing humanitarian aid to Amatrice and surrounding communities
Perhaps with an eye on votes from the nearly 1.5 million Canadians of Italian descent, many of whom live in Montreal and Toronto, the federal government suddenly got involved two weeks before the prime minister’s visit, offering a donation of up to $2 million if it were matched by private money from Canadians for the Italy Earthquake Relief Fund.
“Politicians don’t do anything for nothing, but this was a good gesture of solidarity,” said a woman who had come to the edge of the Zona Rosa to catch a glimpse of the Canadian leader.
The visit was important because it showed that “Amatrice does not exist any more,” said 46-yearold Laura Rocchi, who lost her uncle in the quake and whose daughter was deeply traumatized by what she called “a terrible, tragic moment” that made her town look like “a war zone in Afghanistan.”
Fighting back tears, Rocchi, whose family has lived in Amatrice for generations, recalled reaching her daughter by telephone from Rome moments after the quake and hearing nothing but screams.
“People died here,” she said. “Our heart, family and traditions are here. We will do everything possible to stay.”
Amatrice’s mayor, Sergio Pirozzi, hugged Trudeau tightly when they met and then led him through the rubble where the town once stood. The mayor, who was introduced to the prime minister two months ago at an earthquake fundraiser, said he hoped that money from Canada will be used to rebuild the town’s ancient clock tower.
Pirozzi linked Ottawa’s humanitarian contribution to the fact that parts of Canada had been built by Italian immigrants. The mayor, who has emerged as a national political figure since the calamity, expressed extreme frustration at how the Italian bureaucracy complicated the rebuilding process with red tape.
After meeting with the locals of Amatrice, Trudeau took a helicopter for the 130-kilometre journey to Rome where he and his wife were to celebrate their 12th wedding anniversary at a private dinner.
The prime minister’s weekend began at the G7 summit in Sicily. He had mixed results there, making some gains on trade and gender equality. But along with five other leaders, he was unable to convince President Donald Trump to approve the 2015 Paris climate agreement, which would cut greenhouse gas emissions.
Trudeau is to visit the Vatican on Monday for a private audience with Pope Francis. The prime minister is expected to press the pontiff to offer an apology to Canada’s indigenous community for how they were treated at residential schools run by the Roman Catholic Church.
According to an official from the Prime Minister’s Office, during his discussions with the Pope, Trudeau is also likely to raise climate change, diversity and the need to bring together different religious communities and leaders so they can better understand each other. It is anticipated that he may also invite Francis to visit Canada and its 12.8 Catholics sometime next year.
Pope John Paul II was the last pontiff to visit Canada. He did so for World Youth Day in Toronto in 2002. As a cardinal, Pope Francis visited Quebec City in 2008.
The prime minister called Andrew Scheer from Amatrice on Sunday to congratulate him on his victory Saturday in the Conservative leadership race. Trudeau will find himself sitting directly across from Scheer in Parliament after his return to Ottawa on Wednesday.