ISLAM-CHRISTIAN DIALOGUE

222 THE MEMORY: LET'S PAUSE FOR A MOMENT AND LISTEN TO THOSEWHO SUFFER. 2013 During this period, various initiatives have arisen to commemorate events that are distant but close in memory (Arme- nian, the foibe, the Holocaust and many others), events that Italians rightly re- member in order to avoid their repetition with future generations. Thanks to freedom of thought and our democracy, our children have grown up open to knowing the meaning of the cu- stoms and traditions handed down over the centuries by the elders; they have ac- quired a rich identity that derives from the knowledge of their history without being caged. The message I'm sending is to draw at- tention to the condition of the people living on the southern shore of the Mediterra- nean, our neighbors subjected in the 21st century to discriminatory laws not very different from those which were practiced in Italy under Fascism. These conditions push part of the Arab population to emi- grate, leading to the extinction of some components that have contributed to the wealth and splendour of the Arab civili- zation, the same that today causes their marginalization and flight abroad: mode- rate Muslims, Jews, and Christians.