On Sunday, November 3rd, 2013, Prosecco/Prosek hosts a moving ceremony. More than 300 people reached the local Austrian-Hungarian cemetery to attend the annual ceremony in remembrance of the soldiers who, almost 100 years ago, gave their lives to protect this land.
In the cemetery rest more than 5,000 men from allover Austria-Hungary and fallen on the battlefields of Prosecco/Prosek, Piedimonte del Calvario/Podgora and Doberdò del lago/Doberdob.
Despite the weather conditions, many people, once brothers, met to discover their common past. Italian, Slovene, Croatia, German, each speaks their language. Soon, even more languages are bringing peace to those consumed by the war.
A big cross watches over them. The flags of their common, multinational fatherlands are arranged all around: there is Austria-Hungary’s flag, but also the flags of the land those soldiers have defended. Trieste’s imperial flag, Slovenia’s, the insignias of Friuli, and of the Princely County of Gorizia and Gradisca.
There are also the flag of the Emperor and that of the K.u.K. Kriegsmarine, the war navy. Soon, the black-golden flag flies in the sky: it is as golden as the flowers placed in this holy site by Free Trieste’s volunteers.
This is the first time in years that it is the inhabitants of this land to give light and dignity to this cemetery. In the past, it was Austrian organization Österreichisches schwarzes Kreuez, (Austrian Black Cross) to keep the memory of those sleeping in the valley alive.
There is a garland of olive branches near the cross: on its ribbon there are two sentences, in Austiran and in Hungarian: “Um nicht zu vergessen – Hogy ne merüljön feledésbe”. They mean “Not to forget – To never fade away from memory”. For way too long nationalisms and propagandas tried to take away from our people the memory of our common past in the House of Habsburg. It was a house in which languages and religions were not barriers: people worked together for common good.
The Movimento Civiltà Mitteleuropea organizes this ceremony every year, usually on November 3rd, the anniversary of the Italian occupation of Trieste. It is a symbolic day, because it is when those values were shattered, but it is also the day anyone can chose to revive them.
It’s almost 11, the ceremony begins: it is in many languages, and with prayers of many religions. Attending is like entering the far away past.
It is journalist Paolo G. Parovel, Presidente of Movimento Civiltà Mitteleuropea to celebrate the ceremony. This year there is the Imam of Koper-Capodistria with him: he is here to pray for the Bosniaken in accordance with their muslim faith.
Everyone gathers around the cross to honor the fallen, our fathers from many lands, who spoke many languages, and had many culture. Together, they gave their lives to fight against nationalism. First a Pater Noster for Roman Catholics, then Unser Vater, for the Evangelics, the Отче наш (Otche nash) for Orthodox-Serbs, finally, Πάτερ ἡμῶν (Pater hēmōn) for Orthodox-Greeks.
The Imam prays in Arabic, Mr. Parovel translates his words in Bosnian, and then prays in Hebrew. The last prayer, in Italian, is the pluriconfessional, universal prayer of the people of Mutteleuropa. This prayer embraces the universal values of harmony, peace, and mutual respect among all human being.
Everyone listens to the deep meditation about the meaning of our common history: nobody of the people who rest in this cemetery wanted the war. Each of them wanted a life in peace with the people he loved, working in his community. However, in the hour of need, each fought to defend his bothers:
“…among them, there are those who, even in the hellish, great and useless massacre, stood still: they deserves honor. Those who found themselves weak deserve respect. The few who made opposite choices deserve compassion”.
From 1914 to 1918, more than 1.200.000 soldiers died fighting for Austria-Hungary. In that tragic war, it wasn’t only States to fight one another. Even ideologies did: reason and humanism fought the new myths of nation and nihilism, the demons whose ephemeral victory would soon turn into defeat after the ruinous, hellish next World War.
Nobody won this useless massacre: this is the first, great defeat of humanity and civilization.
The people of Mitteleuropa have slowly rediscovered the past they had lost, especially thanks to familiar memories. We suffered as our identity was denied for too long. For too long, we were forced to pick one and only one flag. However, our history teaches that our fathers lived in mutual respect under one flag, a flag that never suffocated any of them.
We look at our past, it’s the only way to restore the ties that are cut, to find our ancestral values, and to bring them in our present. The flags and uniforms in this cemetery don’t represent armed violence, rather, the brotherhood uniting those who embraced them.
The importance of Austria-Hungary’s values is obvious looking at the world that rejected them: a world that fell into hatred and sorrow. Our multinational fatherland may no longer exist in geopolitics, but it can live again whenever we decide to let its values win..
The ceremony ends with a minute of silence, in honor of the fathers and of those who fought against them, but also for all those who, then and now, must fight that same evil. After this last sign of respect, each one follows their path, bringing those ancient values in the present world as a gently rain falls, almost as a sign of purification.
[SV]