ROME - Since the Calabrian tragedy in which as many as 67 migrants died last week, authoritative governmental figures have continued reiterating the same excuse for the loss of life “With the force 7 sea it was impossible to intervene," a long chant that has now officially been debunked. 

 The reason that nobody intervened in time to help the immigrants was said to have been the extreme weather that took place a week ago, the Minister of Interior Matteo Piantedosi and the undersecretary Wanda Ferro were among the first to say this. The fabrication was then repeated by the governor of the Calabria region Roberto Occhiuto. And again by Fabio Rampelli, Vice President of the Chamber, and by the group leader of the Brothers of Italy in Montecitorio, Tommaso Foti.

 However, this was quickly called into question after a press release in which the version of the Military Forces was provided which never even mentioned anything related to the weather. The Coast Guard has also broken its silence and released the information that on the day of the tragedy the weather was only Force 4, which is comparable to a ‘moderate breeze’ according to the Beaufort Wind Scale. 

 Even if the weather had been Force 8, the Coast Guard has both the equipment and the skills to navigate the sea during extreme weather and storms, said Vittorio Aloi, the commander of the Crotone port authority. Therefore the completely fabricated excuse about the weather would have never been an actual justification, however, the fact that it was a lie demonstrates that the tragedy could have been prevented or at least been less destructive. 

 At press conferences regarding the tragedy Piantedosi, Wander Ferro, Occhiuto, Rampelli, Foti, and Giuseppe Fazarana, the Guardia di Finanza had all blamed the weather. 

 Brothers of Italy had even gone as far as going on the attack and accused the ‘militants on the left’ who had been critical and weary of the circumstances surrounding the tragedy of "presenting themselves on talk shows as experts on migratory phenomena to throw mud not only on the government with very serious declarations, but also on the many servants of the State who with dedication, sacrifice, courage, are committed every day to save lives.”

  Rampelli, deputy of Fdi and vice president of the Chamber, attempted to defend the actions of Piantedosi saying “What should he have said? Perhaps he should have encouraged the smugglers to take off with sea force 7?”.

 According to Alberto Balboni, exponent of Fdi and president of the constitutional affairs commission, the excuse “simply served to avoid the things that have been said in recent days, given that this morning I kept listening to this record which is the government saying 'no, don't intervene' according to some." 

 Although the spotlight is on the governmental figures for spreading misinformation surrounding the incident, fingers are also being pointed at the Coast Guard for having the means available to save the immigrants and evidently choosing not to. 

 Many are now starting to see the incident as a collaborative decision between the Coast Guard and the government to passively let dozens of people including children die.

 jp-sz