OCT. 17, 2014
MILAN — Every nationality is the victim of stereotyping. Some stereotypes are plausible (the Swiss are punctual), others are inoffensive (the Germans are organized) and yet others flatter (the Irish are generous).
But some stereotypes are insulting. Like the one that says Italian soldiers are spineless. A cabinet minister from another European country once told me, “Italian tanks have one forward gear — and three reverse!” Clearly, he was hoping I would laugh.
I didn’t. Italy’s military history can boast more heroes than good armies, I replied. The problem is organization, not courage. Italy may have had wars on its doorstep for 30 centuries, but it doesn’t like warfare. Our history and character make us more inclined to build bridges than burn them. We prefer healing to wounding.
If you want proof, look at the Strait of Sicily, the gateway to Europe for thousands of migrants from Libya, Syria and Eritrea who pay human traffickers a lot of money to be crammed into unseaworthy boats. Some 118,000 migrants made it to the Italian coast in 2014. At least 4,000 more died at sea by drowning, or from suffocation or dehydration. On Oct. 3, 2013, a 66-foot refugee boat from the Libyan port of Misurata sank just outside the harbor of the island of Lampedusa; 366 people died. There were 155 survivors, 41 of them children. Only one was saved with his family.
Since then, the Italian Navy and Coast Guard have rescued 139,000 men, women and children at sea. The area they patrol extends over almost 17,000 square miles, about twice the size of New Jersey. They are there as part of Operation Mare Nostrum (“Our Sea” in Latin), conducted in coordination with Frontex, the European border management agency.
On Nov. 1, Mare Nostrum will be replaced by Operation Triton, for which only eight countries — Finland, Spain, Portugal, France, the Netherlands, Latvia, Malta and Iceland — have signed up. The European Union has allocated just $3.7 million to Triton. It won’t be much use. Which means that Italy will necessarily bear the brunt of this humanitarian crisis.
And for all the ribbing we Italians get about our armed forces, I have no doubt that we’re up to the challenge. Catia Pellegrino, the commander of the Libra, an Italian Navy patrol vessel, has taken part in many rescues. “It’s not so strange to train for war and end up saving lives,” she said. “We make no distinction between Italians on Italian soil and foreigners in difficulty at sea. It’s someone who needs to be rescued.” She added, “We are at sea to serve our country and help those in need.”
A few days ago, I met some of those needy people at Milan’s central train station. They had arrived from the south and were heading north; Scandinavia was a favorite destination. Among them was Muhammad Ammam, a 23-year-old cabinetmaker from Idlib, Syria, who sailed from the port of Zuwarah, Libya. The Italian Navy fished him out of the sea after three days. Another traveler, Adham Affas, 28, told me that he had spent 12 days adrift before he was picked up. Neither tried to tell me jokes about the Italian armed forces.
The Italian talent for rescue operations and military policing is not a recent development. These are activities that require dedication, insight, adaptability, presence of mind and empathy. Italians — not just Italian soldiers — dislike regulations, which we regard as cold. We like personal relations, which to us are warm. National character is also a question of temperature.
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I have seen this in Afghanistan, Lebanon and Kosovo. In 2000, NATO troops were assigned to protect a Roma camp in Kosovo. The Roma had sided with the Serbs, and the Albanian Kosovar majority were not about to forget it. Children swarmed, adults glowered and tensions with the locals rose. The Northern European soldiers guarding the camp were unable to maintain discipline.
Then the Italians arrived. They issued no orders. Instead, they organized a soccer tournament and had the uniforms sent from Italy. The Roma children loved it. They stopped trying to run away and stayed to play soccer. Their astonished parents called on the Italian commander to ask, “What can we do for you?” They would collaborate with soldiers who didn’t order them about.
Should soldiers be soccer coaches, event organizers or babysitters? Why not, if it serves a purpose? Should they patrol the seas to save human lives? That’s their duty. For wars can be won with life jackets, as well as firepower.
Beppe Severgnini is a columnist at Corriere della Sera and the author of “Mamma Mia! Berlusconi’s Italy Explained for Posterity and Friends Abroad.”
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