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I wanted to talk about the weekend... the microwave oven we have bought, the nice dinner we had some friends on Saturday... and about the sea shells I collected during the first springtime walk at the seaside on Sunday. But I can't. It's all about the earthquake in Abruzzo at 3.32 a.m. today... I woke up at 7.15 as usual and the first thing I heard on the radio was this news. Nothing unusual, I thought, there're some minor earthquakes and earth movements all the time in Italy (it lies on the area of tectonic activity). The journalists always try to make a mountain out of a molehill, they tend to exaggerate, nothing wrong with it, I just got used to. Then, during work today, I sometimes opened the Repubblica or Corriere della Sera website to check the latest news. The number of victims was growing from five to 20, from 20 to 40 and at 4.00p.m. it reached 85. I came back home, turned on the tv and these are the images I saw:

I remained speechless... The whole afternoon program Pomeriggio Cinque which usually shows the Big Brother images, the VIPs having fun at parties or discover new romances among actors, politicians and tv presenters was dedicated only and exclusively to this horrible event. I don't have words to describe the tragedy. It's 150 peoplle killed now, other 1500 casualties and an endless number of people who unexpectedly became homeless. People who went to bed last night and woke up with terror. What did they think? Did they understand immediately it was the earthquake? How do you feel if you want to run away from your own appartment but you can't because the walls have collapsed, there is no way to get out, you are trapped and the only thing you can do is hope someone somehow will hear your screams and prays and will eventually get you out of there. How do you feel if you manage to get out by yourself and you're standing in front of the pieces of bricks and mass of concrete which the day before you were so happy to see after a long day at work or school and which you called Home? How do you feel if you survive but your family don't..?

I can't imagine answers to all these questions. I want to ask another one, though. How is it possible that in the XXI century it's still impossible to forecast situations like these? They say it's impossible. With all the intelligent technology, super potential computers, advanced machines, it is impossible??? So what's possible? Only the negative things are possible? Economic crisis, world tragedies like fires in Australia, or the earthquake in Abruzzo..? I'm angry, disgusted and disillusioned. With technology and progess. Speak soon. Jo.