David SASSOLI, EP President participates to the ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of the Migration Protocol between Belgium and Italy for the arrival of miners to Belgian coal mines. The agreement was signed in Rome on June 23rd 1946. The Bois du Cazier in Marcinelle is a symbolic place where on August 8th 1956 was a major mining accident with the death of 262 miners, of which 136 were Italians. Exctracts of the ceremony with the participation of Paul MAGNETTE, Bougmestre of Charleroi and Elio DI RUPO, Minister President of the Walloon Region.

Brussels

ceremony

EU - Italy (T)

SASSOLI, David Maria (S&D, IT, S&D, IT)

EU - Belgium (T)

MAGNETTE, Paul (BE)

DI RUPO, Elio (S, BE)

VAN CAUWENBERGHE, Jean-Claude (BE)

David SASSOLI, EP President participates to the ceremony for the 75th anniversary of the Belgian-Italian agreement "homme contre charbon": extracts from the ceremony

Exteriors Bois du Cazier coal mine, Marcinelle, Belgium, 3 shots

Arrival of EP President David SASSOLI and welcome by Elio DI RUPO, Minister President of the Walloon Region, Paul MAGNETTE, Bourgmestre of Charleroi, and Jean-Louis DELAET, Director Bois du Cazier, 3 shots

Welcome by Jean Claude Van CAUWENBERGHE, President of the ASBL Le Bois du Cazier

Interior, Bois du Cazier coal mine, views for the audience, 2 shots

SOUNDBITE (Italian), David SASSOLI, EP President, Today we are here to remember the life, the sacrifice, of many Italians and of so many Europeans who came to Belgium in search of a better future.

SOUNDBITE (Italian), David SASSOLI, EP President, The departure of so many Italians, but not only, of many Europeans, who emigrated with the hope of a better life, was for many a dramatic experience, of suffering, of humiliation, of difficulties, of hardships, even of starvation.

SOUNDBITE (Italian), David SASSOLI, EP President, You lived here, you lived where you had come, the rights of those workers were very limited. The experience of meeting others was often characterized by frustration and discrimination. We can talk about workers without protection and certainly not of full-fledged citizens. The Marcinelle tragedy of 8 August 1956 was a dramatic accident, but only one of the most striking. According to data held between 1946 and 1963, the Italian workers who died in the mine were 868. Also, we must add all those who lost their lives quietly, due to pulmonary silicosis, a lethal illness caused by prolonged inhalation of silicon dioxide found in coal mines.

SOUNDBITE (Italian), David SASSOLI, EP President,  The tragedy of the Bois de Cazier, with its greatness and impact in terms of human lives, helped to turn on a light. Not only are they migrations but also on security policies: in the workplace, on the construction of our European welfare, which is our identity card, which we must protect and strengthen.

SOUNDBITE (Italian), David SASSOLI, EP President, Many come to our countries, after dramatic travels, having experienced hard work, torture, misery, death. Death of family, friends. They come to work, as did our emigrants come. And our growing older societies need that work more and more. We must define common rules in Europe so that we do not have to die to arrive irregularly. This is a scandal, as it is working in illegal conditions.

SOUNDBITE (Italian), David SASSOLI, EP President, It's time Europe takes initiative, to redeem our history. The history about the families emigrating in Marcinelle. To acknowledge that the contemporary migratory crisis is a global challenge, where we measure our humanity.

EP President David SASSOLI laying down flowers, photos of dead miners, signing guest book, 7 shots

Uncovering of sign commemorating the 75th Anniversary of the Belgian-Italian agreement "homme contre charbon" and the visit of EP President David SASSOLI, 4 shots