January 15, Tuesday
Every student of the College woke up in WAR 24 state. That morning there was no document
checking, no screams, no sirens, no bombs… just a heavy silence, a strange grey atmosphere and
whispers, while going to class.
What did “they” expect us to do? What did we expect “them” to do? We had been told to carry our
ID cards, to be in alert, to run in the buildings if something went wrong. But really nothing
different could be noticed, that morning.
In fact, WAR 24, as many probably thought, wasn’t meant to be a “war-game” (what an unhappy
paradox!) or a useless war simulation, as war… is not funny at all, to be grotesquely
simulated.
WAR 24 was when our friends talked to us about war.
It was, a very little bit of it, all inside each of us when, during the unusual international
affairs session that morning, students coming from war countries decided to stand in Fore dayroom
and tell us what is like to live under that horrible sound of bombs, to live in a neighbourhood
where only few family members are left, to live without heating, water, lights, without the
possibility of going out from your home… to live seeing your friend dying.
To leave every single day with the uncertainty of whether tomorrow will come also for
you.
Tears. |
Tears and hugs.
Probably, the most moving thing was to see and hear these friends
recalling for us the terrible war events. Here. Right here, in Duino, in Fore dayroom, with all of
us who do not know what war is like.
The most moving thing, was probably thinking “they survived”.
And when Nevin’s astonished cry of “why” irrupted among us,
this became clearer: “after all this, she IS here”.
One hour of respectful silence, of harsh images and of
consciousness.
Going back to class, few words were whispered all around, still in that WAR 24 state that in
many other countries is simply called war.
Heloisa (Italy)
19.01.2007
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