August 6 – I would have been

haunted until death,
even beyond, by those cries
desperate for help

In June, 2019, the Italian Government in Rome passed a new bill that punished non-governmental organisation rescue boats bringing migrants to Italy without permission with fines of up to €50,000 and possible imprisonment for crew members.

Carlo Giarratano, a Sicilian fisherman continues to help the boat people of the Mediterranean in spite of the new decree. (Sicilian fishermen risk prison to rescue migrants: ‘No human would turn away’ by Lorenzo Tondo, Sat 3 Aug 2019 in The Guardian)

“No seaman would ever return to port without the certainty of having saved those lives,” says Carlo, whose family has sailed the Mediterranean for four generations.

“If I had ignored those cries for help, I wouldn’t have had the courage to face the sea again.”

“I’d be lying if I told you I didn’t think I might end up in prison when I saw that dinghy in distress,” says Carlo.

“But I knew in my heart that a dirty conscience would have been worse than prison. I would have been haunted until my death, and maybe even beyond, by those desperate cries for help.”

“I wonder if even one of our politicians has ever heard desperate cries for help at high sea in the black of night,” Gaspare says.

“I wonder what they would have done. No human being – sailor or not – would have turned away.”

How far that little candle throws its beams! So shines a good deed in a naughty world.

So says Big Bill (Merchant of Venice: Act 5 Scene 1) but maybe more recognized as being said by Willie Wonka.

I am encouraged that somewhere, by someone, the small miracle of ‘doing the right thing, because its the right thing to do‘ is taking place.