Another Garden of the Righteous has been created in Verona, once again in the garden of a high school. We are talking about the Fracastoro Institute in Via Ca’ di Cozzi (Borgo Trento area). The school has dedicated three trees to three people who have distinguished themselves in the fight against injustice: Armin Wegner, a German writer in exile who testified to the truth of the Armenian genocide; Azucena Villaflor, a victim of the Argentinean dictatorship who denounced the fate of the desaparecidos through the Madres de Plaza de Mayo movement; and Felice Sena, a deputy brigadier at the Verona police headquarters who courageously saved hundreds of Jews from deportation.
The initiative was organised on the occasion of the International Day of the Righteous, celebrated on 17 March, under the patronage of the Innerwheel Club of Verona Bee Lab and in collaboration with the Gariwo Association, which creates Gardens of the Righteous all over the world, following the example of Yad Vashem in Jerusalem (there are almost a hundred gardens that have been created over the years in Italy and all over the world).
The event was attended by students from the Agli Angeli boarding school, where there is already a Garden of the Righteous, and from the Engim vocational school in Verona, which has inaugurated a Garden of Courage on its premises. It is made up of 72 plants dedicated to those who gave their lives for justice, including judges Falcone and Borsellino.
The Garden of the Righteous is a place to keep alive the memory of those who risked or lost their lives to prevent genocide and other crimes against humanity, and it will be the guardian of future generations of students. It will be a reminder to them that goodness is a choice that must be nurtured with daily care, just as one does with a plant.
