A wreath of flowers at sea to remember those 94 victims, including 35 children, who exactly three years ago, on the night between 25 and 26 February 2023, in this very place, Steccato di Cutro, lost their lives a few meters from the beach, swept away in the shipwreck of the gulet Summer Love on which they had embarked in search of a better world. Those who threw the wreath of flowers into the water were Shah Shariq, a young 26-year-old Pakistani man who was on the sunken boat that night, and Vincenzo Luciano, the fisherman from Cutro who was among the first to arrive on the disaster beach that night. Together with them, at four this morning, there were other survivors of the shipwreck, family members of the victims who had arrived from some northern European countries and many ordinary people. Everyone gathered in a moment of prayer for the people who lost their lives, for those who were never found again.
«I climbed onto the roof of the boat – says Shaah Shariq – I saw lights indicating the beach. Then the waves knocked me into the water and I don’t remember how I got to the beach. It was a bad moment, many women, many children died.”
«I’m better now but it’s difficult to forget what happened here. It was bad. There were families, women, children who didn’t make it. It was too bad…”. Muhammad Shariq Shah, a twenty-six year old Pakistani, was on board the gulet ‘Summer Love’ which sank exactly three years ago in Steccato di Cutro. This morning at 4 he returned to the beach of Steccato di Cutro to participate in the vigil in memory of the victims of that massacre, promoted by journalists Vincenzo Montalcini and Bruno Palermo.
Muhammad speaks little, he prefers to remain silent and look at the sea which today is calm and peaceful, his eyes are shining: «That day it was a bad sea – he repeats – when the accident happened I climbed onto the roof of the boat and I saw two fishermen who were directing us to reach the beach with their lights. Then the waves knocked me into the water and then I don’t remember how I got to the beach. Two of my friends are dead.”
A simple and silent ceremony characterized by a moment of prayer. First the young Pakistani survivor of the shipwreck himself prayed in Arabic, then it was Don Matteo Mioni, chaplain from the Reggio Emilia prison who came specifically for the initiative, who hoped that “through solidarity, sharing and acceptance this can become the generation of hope”. The priest then invited those present to spread spikenard oil on the hands of nearby people as a sign of sharing.
Muhammad Shariq Shah together with some family members of the victims and the fisherman, who was among the first to bring help, threw a wreath of flowers into the sea. For Vincenzo Luciano, in fact, the pain continues to renew itself: “I can’t forget, these days I remember those mornings, not that morning, every morning until the last body was found.” «Memory means commitment, a commitment that we have made six months after the massacre», said Vincenzo Montalcini. «This is the place and time to remember the broken dreams of 94 or more people 80 meters from the shore. Pain must be a proactive memory. We prayed to a single god – he explained – in different ways to renew the promise we made not to forget the people who die at sea in search of a future and hope. The commitment must be to demand truth and justice for these people.”
Don Matteo Mioni, chaplain of the Reggio Emilia prison, defines Steccato as “a sacred place where 94 brothers lost their lives due to our selfishness, our closure, stupid laws and barbaric mentalities”. According to Alba Bonetti, of Amnesty International, “the closeness that the Crotone community expresses towards these family members restores the humanity that was broken on this beach”.
For some of the victims’ families, who arrived on a long journey from Germany, «when you choose not to save, we can say that what happens is no longer natural, but is the result of a precise political choice. This sea, however, was not just water: it became a wall between indifference and responsibility.” A woman from Afghanistan, who lost her brother, his wife and her three children in the shipwreck, is keen to remember that «it wasn’t a holiday, it was a necessity, to escape in order to survive, to have a chance at life. They had left with a dream of hope, to live in safety and peace. No family – he concludes – would ever want to be forced to abandon their children in the waves.”
Occhiuto, condolences for the victims of Cutro and reflection on the governance of migratory flows
“Three years after the Steccato di Cutro shipwreck, it is necessary to honor the memory of the 94 victims of a tragedy that remains an open wound for Calabria and for the entire country. In those dramatic moments, our region was able to respond with its own dignity and humanity, offering concrete and immediate solidarity thanks to the commitment of the mayors and local communities.
Even in the following years, marked by new and complex landings on our coasts, the contribution of the first citizens was decisive in guaranteeing welcome and assistance, without ever lacking the necessary support. The anniversary of that enormous tragedy, however, today requires institutions, at every level, to reflect on something that goes beyond mourning. A clear-headed and responsible analysis is essential to ensure that similar events do not happen again.
Structural solutions and solid international cooperation are needed, capable of governing migratory flows in safe conditions and promoting development and stability in the countries of origin. The Mediterranean cannot be the cemetery of migrants. At sea every life must be saved, with the same determination with which we must fight against smugglers, who are true merchants of death.
Truly honoring the memory of the victims means transforming pain into a constant commitment to legality and the protection of human life.
Calabria claims its strategic role in the Mediterranean, but strongly requests that the issue of migration return permanently to the center of the European agenda, with pragmatism and adequate resources, so that the management of such a complex phenomenon does not fall exclusively on the coastal regions”. Words of President Roberto Occhiuto.
The commemoration at the Garden of Ali
A commemoration ceremony took place this morning at the Ali Garden on the occasion of the third anniversary of the Steccato di Cutro tragedy, which occurred on 26 February 2023, which profoundly shook the entire country. A moment of intense and participatory reflection, in the name of memory and collective responsibility. The ceremony was attended by civil and military authorities, representatives of associations and a delegation of students from the Rosmini Institute, who with their presence testified to the importance of keeping the memory alive, especially among the new generations.
Ali’s Garden is not just a symbolic place, but a space that concretely expresses closeness to the victims. It is a garrison of memory and civil conscience, created to transform pain into daily commitment and collective responsibility. In his speech, Mayor Voce highlighted: “today we find ourselves united by a profound feeling of memory and responsibility. We are here to remember all the lives broken with a thought that is aimed in particular at children. The pain that this tragedy has left in our consciences cannot and must not be transformed into silence. Ali’s Garden was born precisely with this spirit: to be a living place and the roots of the trees sink into memory, in memory, in hope. I address, once again, sincere and heartfelt thanks to all the women and the men who, in the difficult days of three years ago, worked tirelessly, making their time, skills and heart available. I think of the rescuers, the police, the volunteers, the healthcare workers, the associations and the many citizens who, with concrete and silent gestures, demonstrated the most authentic and supportive face of our community”.
Prefect Franca Ferraro expressed sincere and profound closeness to those who still suffer from that tragedy, addressing a sympathetic thought to the families of the victims, expressing feelings of authentic solidarity in the memory of those who are no longer with us. Particularly touching was the moment dedicated to the students. A student from the Rosmini Institute, speaking on behalf of all his classmates, expressed a profound feeling of closeness to the deceased children. The ceremony concluded with the placing of a bundle of flowers in Ali’s Garden, a simple but meaningful gesture, which wanted to represent the shared will of the community: to make memory a concrete commitment.