To painful disputes between the Minister of Defense Ignazio La Russa and general Camporini, so sadly typical of today's Italy, I like humanity, sensitivity and depth of the letter that Matthew Miotto, the Alpine killed in combat in Afghanistan , wrote a couple of months ago after the death of four of his comrades.A letter that seems to come from a distant world, ancient, a "race Piave" that even existed - and in the hearts and minds of Matthew yet exist - replaced by La Russa and everything that means La Russa. In the letter, devoid of all rhetoric, all of this young man's Venetian pride in their roots and the pride of belonging to the body of the mountain, but there is also awareness that the same pride, the same pride in their roots, their traditions, their way of being, living and dying, also belongs to the enemy of Afghanistan, the Taliban enemy.
Matthew writes: "These people have managed to preserve their roots, after leading the armies, the largest armies marched on their homes, in vain. The essence of the Afghan people are living, their traditions are repeated unchanged, we may feel bad, archaic, but for thousands of years have remained unchanged.
People who are born, live and die for the sake of their roots, their land and it feeds on. Then you realize that this strange people from strange habits sometimes has something to teach us too. " Just because he is proud of its roots, the young Matthew understands that this feeling can be a member and belongs to other people, for other people to defend them is willing to fight and die.
The rulers, political and military, the Western countries that a decade occupying Afghanistan are refusing to understand what the young Matthew, with its strong roots, with its strong values, not far away, when you call pride, pride, willingness to sacrifice, even extreme, than those of the Afghan people, he understood perfectly.
The heart of the Afghan war, apart from the sinister interests of the person who is carrying out the destruction order to make profit on the business of reconstruction, aid bogus, tourism extreme NGOs, it's all here. It is not worth the political and military command Western stubborn in wanting to "win the hearts and minds of Afghans," because these people want to preserve their hearts, their minds, their roots, their traditions, their customs, even if we, as Matthew writes, "we can consider them wrong, archaic." The fact is that their roots are and are not willing to change with those of others, especially when imposed by the arrogance of those who consider themselves occupying a "higher culture", with violence, with bombs that kill all fighters Taliban, old men, women and especially those children, ragged but viable, notes that Matthew Miotto, thoughtful, by his Lynx (children are 40% of hospitalized Afghans).
Matthew admire these people who, despite "the best exercises, the biggest armed" being passed on to his body, he managed to keep himself, his soul. From the entire tone of the letter it is clear that Matthew was not convinced that the war which was taking part was right, it was right to fight other guys like him (also because the Taliban are the children), very different in many things, but with some essential values , pre-political, which they share: the defense of their identity, their dignity, their own roots.
He was not convinced, but as a good soldier, proud to be Venetian and proud, he did his duty until the last, with the sacrifice of life. Like a real mountain. As a Taliban. And I am sure that if by some mysterious place we can listen, this comparison does not offend. , January 8, 2010 Attachments
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