"Life has lost its battle against death, but memory wins the battle against nothingness"
(Tzvetan Todorov)

The Association for the Arandora Star Victims was created at Bardi in 1968 with the help of many fellow citizens who decided to commemorate the ship victims by building a chapel in the local cemetery. Among the 446 Italian victims, 48 were actually breadwinners from Bardi who certainly were not violent people and who were not part of any "fifth column": they were, instead, emigrants who had been working hard for years, through hardship, in a foreign country.

The Association, since 1985, has been led by Beppe Conti (the nephew of Guido Conti, who lost his life in the tragedy at 32, without having the chance to see his newly born son).

The memory we wish to preserve is not one of hatred and vengeance, but one of love, of hope, of harmony and of brotherhood for the loved ones we mourn - for all the victims. Our wish is that the forgotten tragedy of the Arandora Star becomes more widely known. And we call for a "Remembrance Day", to be held at the presence of both the British and the Italian Authorities, in which all the tragic events and all the victims could be remembered with dignity.

We believe that the tragedy of the Arandora Star is directly connected with the issue of emigration: therefore our intention, together with other cultural associations and local authorities, is to print or reprint other books about emigration from our area. The activity of the Association also includes meetings in schools and in those towns which were involved in the tragedy. We try to make contact with writers, journalists, professors and anyone who can help us.

For more information please contact:

Beppe Conti
Via P. Cella, 36
43032 Bardi (PR)
ITALY
Beconti@libero.it

The chapel to the victims of the Arandora Star in Bardi, Italy