Moderated by Maurizio Federici, the debate saw an initial greeting from Emiliano Ciotti, president of the national association of victims of carnage
Viterbo, 15 June 2024 – Success for the conference held yesterday afternoon in the meeting room made available provision by the provincial administration of Viterbo. Crowded room and an attentive audience for the meeting in which the so-called Marocchinate were recalled, that is, the violence committed 80 years ago by the French colonials in Tuscia.
Moderated by Maurizio Federici, the debate saw an initial greeting from Emiliano Ciotti, president of the national association of victims of drug abuse, who underlined the importance of a conference aimed at seeking the truth.
The first intervention was that of the journalist and writer Silvano Olmi, who listed the violence in Viterbo and in the towns of the province. “The allied soldiers in Tuscia raped a hundred women – continues Olmi – the youngest of the victims was 10 years old, the oldest was 70. The city most affected was Montefiascone, with the rape of some women and a seven-year-old child and the killing of Giuseppe Angeli, Abele Mezzetti, Luigi Carloni, Ada Andreini and their son Ivano Pelecca, just 5 years old.”
The French North Africans also struck in Viterbo, Tarquinia, Acquapendente, Onano, Proceno, Grotte di Castro, San Lorenzo Nuovo, Vetralla, Capranica, Latera, Gradoli, Marta, Bolsena, Canino and Barbarano Romano.
The second speaker was Valentina Rinaldi, who recalled the episodes that occurred in Tuscania, those killed in the Anglo-American bombings and those who died following the explosion of war orders not removed by the Allies. “In Tuscania there is still a reluctance to talk about the Marocchinate – said Valentina Rinaldi – eighty years have passed but not even the elderly, who were children at the time, want to say what they know. The fault also lies with historians who have not collected evidence on the matter from 1944 to today. Luckily there is the ANVM which does an excellent job of recovering collective memory.”
Following the interesting speech by Anna Mula, who discussed the health and social consequences of violence against women. “Rape still creates the same problems today as it did 80 years ago – said Anna Mula – such as the fear of reporting and the fear of not being believed. The rapes were accompanied by beatings and serious injuries, which were followed by venereal diseases and intimate lacerations, unwanted pregnancies and abortions. Finally, the psychological devastation of the victims, depression, states of anxiety and lack of prospects for the future.”
Finally, the national president of the ANVM, Emiliano Ciotti, drew the conclusions of the conference. “The Moroccan rapes were mass rape – said Ciotti – on which a heavy silence has fallen from the institutions and from the world of journalism and culture. Women and men who are victims of violence are not second-class citizens. We need to restore dignity to the victims and our association has found and is cataloging thousands of official documents.”
For more information you can visit the website www.marocchinate.org.
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