Gino Cecchettin said Tuesday he hoped
his daughter Giulia's death at the hands of her ex boyfriend
Filippo Turetta on November 11 might be the impetus to work
against gender-based violence.
"May Giulia's memory inspire us to work together against
violence, may her death be the impetus for change," Cecchettin
said in his message to mourners at Giulia's funeral in Padua.
"My daughter Giulia was exactly as you have got to know her: an
extraordinary young woman, cheerful and lively, never satiated
with learning," he continued, adding that she had "embraced the
responsibility of family management after the untimely loss of
her beloved mother" Monica last year.
"Femicide is often the result of a culture that devalues the
lives of women (who then become) victims of those who should
have loved them; instead they are harassed, forced into long
periods of abuse, until they have lost their freedom, before
they also lose their lives," said Cecchettin.
"How can this happen? How could this have happened to Giulia?.
"There are many responsibilities, but the educational one
involves everyone. I turn to the men first of all: we must be
the first to show that we are agents of change, against gender
violence," he added.
"I love you so much, and Elena and Davide (Giulia's sister and
brother, ed.) love you too," said Cecchettin.
"I do not know how to pray, but I know how to hope. I want to
hope together with you and your mother, and all of you here
present, that this rain of pain will fertilise the soil of our
lives, and one day it will sprout, and produce its fruit of
love, forgiveness, and peace. Goodbye Giulia, my love," he
concluded.
Following the message, the coffin was carried out of the church
to long applause, bell-ringng, key-rattling and shouts of
"Giulia, Giulia!", including from the 8,000 mourners gathered
outside who had been asked by the family to make noise for a
minute in a challenge to indifference towards femicide.
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