Editor's Note: We are starting a new series every Friday highlighting reports from students "Chez Vous". If you would like to be featured, please submit art, photographs, or writing to Dr. Dooley and Cecilia Fiorindo.
By Cecilia Fiorindo '21
Cara Italia,
I am writing to you because I know times have been tough, and I am truly sorry to have not been with you through this chaos, but I know I have left you in good hands.
A lot of people have been asking me about you, you know?
The world knows you are wounded, scarred. And yet, you are still fighting a battle unlike any other in our history. You have survived war and tragedy in the past millennia, and this is just another fight, another difficulty you will overcome, I am sure of it.
Strength is part of who you are, of who we are. Your people fought to be united, and they will sacrifice their lives for you again. In the midst of this crisis, those at the frontlines are not soldiers or partisans, but instead they are countless doctors, nurses, ER workers, police officers, essential workers and leaders who are giving everything they have to help you survive, heal, and prosper again.
You are not alone in this fight, unfortunately, and so many others are suffering with you. All around the world, you are an example, the image of a fierce fighter who is inspiring others to persevere. Those who asked me about you a few weeks ago are now looking up to you to help their own communities, and I could not be more proud of you.
I hope that, in this hardship, you remember your loving, generous, charismatic, people.
This famiglia of 60 million people who are beyond proud to belong with you, and who rejoice, celebrate, mourn and cry in unity, for you and with you.
Most of all, I hope you remember our amore per la patria. That common love we have for you, for your breathtaking Roman sites, for your small streets, for your hills, for your endless Mediterranean summers, for your bustling city centers, for your warmth, for your food, for your wise elders, for both your Alps and crystalline coasts, for our history, for our flag, for our ability to stick together to overcome arduous times, and give everything we have in your name.
Despite the darkness of your situation, your terraces are still bursting with life, with traditional songs, claps, smiles, recognitions for those who keep fighting for our health globally, and celebrations for everything our country, and the world, can still be grateful for.
We, your people, are singing your hymn from our windows, waving the verde speranza* of your flag with joy, hopeful to embrace you, and one another, closer than ever before.
Te lo prometto, Italia, che andrá tutto bene.**
Tua,
Cecilia.
Hopeful video from Italy:
Translation Notes:
*Italy’s flag is a “tricolore” (3 colors): green, white and red. The green symbolizes hope, and is widely recognized as a unique color called “verde speranza”, or “green hope/hopeful green”.
** “I promise you, Italy, that everything will be okay”. ‘Andrá tutto bene’ is the motto Italy has adopted during the COVID-19 crisis, as thousands of people are leaving post-its around their towns with this phrase, while kids write it under rainbows they hang from their windows.
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