June 29, 2009, 11:48 PM. Freight train 50325 (operated by the then
Trenitalia Cargo Division, part of the FS Group) departed from Trecate
in the province of Novara and headed for Gricignano in the province of
Caserta, carrying 14 tanks full of LPG belonging to the GATX company,
when it derailed at the Viareggio station. The derailment, as years of
trials and expert reports have revealed, was caused by the failure of a
bogie axle on the first tank car. The car left the tracks and struck an
iron rail marker that regulated the track curves, tearing the tank,
allowing the gas to escape into and around the station. The subsequent
triggering of the gas (the origin of which was never determined)
triggered a massive explosion that devastated much of the station and
nearby homes. This holocaust resulted (in some cases with prolonged and
painful agony) in the deaths of 32 people-including very young
children-injuring around a hundred people, and devastating a neighborhood.
What happened immediately after the massacre-the approach of the railway
workers (who would later form the "June 29 Assembly" along with part of
the city) to the victims' families-gave rise to a mobilization of
solidarity and unwavering determination to shed light on a dark affair.
Mauro Moretti, then CEO of FS Holding and a key figure in the FS Group,
displayed arrogance and insensitivity in the face of deaths and
injuries, while also ruthlessly targeting railway workers who were
beginning to report irregularities and the RLS, the workers' safety
representatives. Riccardo Antonini, an employee of Rete Ferroviaria
Italiana, paid the price for standing alongside the families in the
reporting process with his dismissal. The infamous "hare's foot," for
example, which the railways cited as the trigger for the rift rather
than the picket line, and the fact that axle maintenance was not the
responsibility of FS Italiane: these were pieces of a puzzle that used
the Chinese boxes of national and international companies as a means to
shift the responsibilities that insistently weighed on the tragedy.
Profit prioritized over safety, the true cause of everything, created an
irreversible situation for all those who died, were injured, or had lost
loved ones. Security, as mentioned, was almost a nuisance in those
Chinese boxes where no one was responsible for anything. Maintenance,
inspections, everything was left to chance: what mattered was generating
wealth.
The great crimes occurred not only before the disaster, but also clearly
afterward, in institutional politics and in trials, without forgetting
those public squares where the forces of "law and order" allowed
themselves to use violence, specifically during the inauguration of the
Rome Tiburtina train station, using shoving and repressive practices
against family members who were waging a battle that concerns the entire
community. We also recall the first ruling of the Court of Cassation
that "quashed" the workplace accident established in the first two
levels of judgment, thus allowing the companies, and therefore the
rotten capitalist system, to get away with it when it comes to judicial
truth.
Many events have occurred during these 16 years of mobilization, but
first and foremost, we must absolutely mention the family members of the
Il Mondo che Vorrei Association: Daniela Rombi, mother of Emanuela, who
died after unspeakable suffering from burns; Marco Piagentini, father of
Luca, four, and Lorenzo, two, and husband of Stefania, all of whom died
horribly in that cursed explosion. He survived despite the fire, despite
the devastation of his loved ones and his body, having undergone sixty
reconstructive surgeries for the severe burns he suffered, a living scar
that continues to fight stubbornly, along with the others. These family
members, along with the June 29 Assembly, were the true architects of
the conviction of Mauro Moretti and other top railway executives.
Convictions obtained with incredible tenacity: that "shred of justice in
their pocket," as the family members say, which represents a historic
event in Italy.
Throughout this time, Viareggio has effectively been a school of
activism for all those railway workers who care about truth and
security. For example, last Sunday, June 29th, on the 16th anniversary
of the Viareggio train disaster, we were present as the Cub Rail
editorial team and as the "Ferrovie* contro la guerra" (FCG) collective
at the meeting, scheduled before the demonstration, on "School,
railways, peace and security. Let's talk about it with railway workers
and teachers." A debate that linked militarization to security,
employers' arrogance to military arrogance, profit versus human rights.
The contribution of school and railway personnel was important. Among
other things, the recent scandal at the Tombolo station (located on the
line between Pisa and Livorno) was mentioned. Here, in order to complete
the new tracks and switches connecting the Navicelli Canal, the railway
infrastructure, and Camp Darby (the largest US arsenal outside of the
United States), the FS suspended civilian rail traffic for war purposes
during the late morning hours of June 10-20. The leaflet distribution
that followed, organized by the FCG together with the Livorno
Antimilitarist Coordination, sparked outcry and indignation among the
population and also gained some following in the press. It is therefore
clear that the contribution of railway workers, even against the
escalation of war, will be important. During the debate, Daniela Rombi -
president of the Association Il Mondo che Vorrei - also stated: I cited
the railway workers' strikes as a prime example of the struggle for
safety that must be supported with all our strength.
A very important moment, in which family members, as has always been the
case, support railway workers in the long journey ahead to improve
working conditions. These family members, now that the trial is
practically over and those responsible have been identified, continue
their work on the issue of workplace deaths and railway safety, in
support of the railway workers' struggles, as a form of proactive
reconversion and organization of their grief. A unique example, one to
be embraced entirely.
An embrace that, after all, has materialized every year since that
damned massacre, on June 29th, demonstrating that the silence can and
must be broken. Throughout the day, from five in the morning to
midnight, and especially during the evening procession, the trains
passing through the Viareggio station whistle. Those who witnessed it
know how moving it is. It's something the railway workers organized with
great difficulty compared to Ferrovie; it's a solidarity effort, a A
whistle meant to be a raised fist against the injustices and massacres
committed in the name of profit, a hug to the victims' families.
Andrea Paolini - Railway Worker
https://umanitanova.org/strage-ferroviaria-di-viareggio-il-treno-fischia-ancora/
_________________________________________
A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C E
By, For, and About Anarchists
Send news reports to A-infos-en mailing list
A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
Trenitalia Cargo Division, part of the FS Group) departed from Trecate
in the province of Novara and headed for Gricignano in the province of
Caserta, carrying 14 tanks full of LPG belonging to the GATX company,
when it derailed at the Viareggio station. The derailment, as years of
trials and expert reports have revealed, was caused by the failure of a
bogie axle on the first tank car. The car left the tracks and struck an
iron rail marker that regulated the track curves, tearing the tank,
allowing the gas to escape into and around the station. The subsequent
triggering of the gas (the origin of which was never determined)
triggered a massive explosion that devastated much of the station and
nearby homes. This holocaust resulted (in some cases with prolonged and
painful agony) in the deaths of 32 people-including very young
children-injuring around a hundred people, and devastating a neighborhood.
What happened immediately after the massacre-the approach of the railway
workers (who would later form the "June 29 Assembly" along with part of
the city) to the victims' families-gave rise to a mobilization of
solidarity and unwavering determination to shed light on a dark affair.
Mauro Moretti, then CEO of FS Holding and a key figure in the FS Group,
displayed arrogance and insensitivity in the face of deaths and
injuries, while also ruthlessly targeting railway workers who were
beginning to report irregularities and the RLS, the workers' safety
representatives. Riccardo Antonini, an employee of Rete Ferroviaria
Italiana, paid the price for standing alongside the families in the
reporting process with his dismissal. The infamous "hare's foot," for
example, which the railways cited as the trigger for the rift rather
than the picket line, and the fact that axle maintenance was not the
responsibility of FS Italiane: these were pieces of a puzzle that used
the Chinese boxes of national and international companies as a means to
shift the responsibilities that insistently weighed on the tragedy.
Profit prioritized over safety, the true cause of everything, created an
irreversible situation for all those who died, were injured, or had lost
loved ones. Security, as mentioned, was almost a nuisance in those
Chinese boxes where no one was responsible for anything. Maintenance,
inspections, everything was left to chance: what mattered was generating
wealth.
The great crimes occurred not only before the disaster, but also clearly
afterward, in institutional politics and in trials, without forgetting
those public squares where the forces of "law and order" allowed
themselves to use violence, specifically during the inauguration of the
Rome Tiburtina train station, using shoving and repressive practices
against family members who were waging a battle that concerns the entire
community. We also recall the first ruling of the Court of Cassation
that "quashed" the workplace accident established in the first two
levels of judgment, thus allowing the companies, and therefore the
rotten capitalist system, to get away with it when it comes to judicial
truth.
Many events have occurred during these 16 years of mobilization, but
first and foremost, we must absolutely mention the family members of the
Il Mondo che Vorrei Association: Daniela Rombi, mother of Emanuela, who
died after unspeakable suffering from burns; Marco Piagentini, father of
Luca, four, and Lorenzo, two, and husband of Stefania, all of whom died
horribly in that cursed explosion. He survived despite the fire, despite
the devastation of his loved ones and his body, having undergone sixty
reconstructive surgeries for the severe burns he suffered, a living scar
that continues to fight stubbornly, along with the others. These family
members, along with the June 29 Assembly, were the true architects of
the conviction of Mauro Moretti and other top railway executives.
Convictions obtained with incredible tenacity: that "shred of justice in
their pocket," as the family members say, which represents a historic
event in Italy.
Throughout this time, Viareggio has effectively been a school of
activism for all those railway workers who care about truth and
security. For example, last Sunday, June 29th, on the 16th anniversary
of the Viareggio train disaster, we were present as the Cub Rail
editorial team and as the "Ferrovie* contro la guerra" (FCG) collective
at the meeting, scheduled before the demonstration, on "School,
railways, peace and security. Let's talk about it with railway workers
and teachers." A debate that linked militarization to security,
employers' arrogance to military arrogance, profit versus human rights.
The contribution of school and railway personnel was important. Among
other things, the recent scandal at the Tombolo station (located on the
line between Pisa and Livorno) was mentioned. Here, in order to complete
the new tracks and switches connecting the Navicelli Canal, the railway
infrastructure, and Camp Darby (the largest US arsenal outside of the
United States), the FS suspended civilian rail traffic for war purposes
during the late morning hours of June 10-20. The leaflet distribution
that followed, organized by the FCG together with the Livorno
Antimilitarist Coordination, sparked outcry and indignation among the
population and also gained some following in the press. It is therefore
clear that the contribution of railway workers, even against the
escalation of war, will be important. During the debate, Daniela Rombi -
president of the Association Il Mondo che Vorrei - also stated: I cited
the railway workers' strikes as a prime example of the struggle for
safety that must be supported with all our strength.
A very important moment, in which family members, as has always been the
case, support railway workers in the long journey ahead to improve
working conditions. These family members, now that the trial is
practically over and those responsible have been identified, continue
their work on the issue of workplace deaths and railway safety, in
support of the railway workers' struggles, as a form of proactive
reconversion and organization of their grief. A unique example, one to
be embraced entirely.
An embrace that, after all, has materialized every year since that
damned massacre, on June 29th, demonstrating that the silence can and
must be broken. Throughout the day, from five in the morning to
midnight, and especially during the evening procession, the trains
passing through the Viareggio station whistle. Those who witnessed it
know how moving it is. It's something the railway workers organized with
great difficulty compared to Ferrovie; it's a solidarity effort, a A
whistle meant to be a raised fist against the injustices and massacres
committed in the name of profit, a hug to the victims' families.
Andrea Paolini - Railway Worker
https://umanitanova.org/strage-ferroviaria-di-viareggio-il-treno-fischia-ancora/
_________________________________________
A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C E
By, For, and About Anarchists
Send news reports to A-infos-en mailing list
A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
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