"I am really happy to be here with you, also to bring you thanks in the name of Italy and the entire international community, for the contribution you are making to the cause of peace, security and international stability in this country as beautiful as hard".
"I know that today, at Christmas time, you feel the distance from home, from your family members, from your loved ones." To you all, to the staff of foreign contingents and your families, I renew the greeting and the most sincere and cordial wish of the Government. and of the country for a peaceful Christmas and a happy new year ".
These are the wishes expressed to the soldiers of the Italian contingent engaged in the UNIFIL mission (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon) by the Minister of Defense, Elisabetta Trenta who today accompanied the President of the Senate, Maria Elisabetta Alberti Casellati, to Lebanon to express her greetings and best wishes to the Italian military in the base of West Sector by UNIFIL.
To welcome the authorities at the Beirut airport, the Ambassador of Italy to Lebanon, Massimo Marottiche, together with Major General Stefano Del Col, Head of Mission e Force Commander of the UNIFIL Mission, accompanied, flying over the Blue Line (the dividing line that separates Lebanon from Israel) the president and the Minister of Defense at the "Millevoi" base in Shama, headquarters of the Joint Task Force Lebanon (JTF-L) Sector West (SW).
President Casellati was then welcomed by Brigadier General Diodato Abagnara, commander of the JTF-L, unit based on Bersaglieri brigade "Garibaldi". The president of the Senate, after one office call during which she received updates on the geopolitical situation of the area and the tasks of the national contingent from the commander of the Mission and the commander of the Western Sector of UNIFIL, she laid, accompanied by the Minister of Defense, a laurel wreath in memory of the Fallen and later met the Italian peacekeepers. On the occasion, he underlined the importance of the Mission and the fundamental role of blue helmets, in a complex and delicate scenario like the Lebanese one and in a particularly sensitive period for the whole Middle East.
The president of the Senate, in wishing a happy Christmas and a happy new year to the Italian military - that in Shama, in a tent oriented and arranged in vertical axis with Bethlehem (only 160 km away as the crow flies), have set up a very special crib, expressed his thanks for his constant commitment and for how much the activity is appreciated by the Italian people and recognized internationally: "I am therefore here to thank you for the dedication and competence with which you carry out your work, which increases the prestige of Italy in the international community and which assumes even greater importance and responsibility by virtue of the double membership you express: national and United Nations. I would like to bring to you and your loved ones the respect, trust and affection of Italy, in memory of the blood tribute shed by the Fallen, including Italians, under the UNIFIL banner. Building peace is not without cost . To all our soldiers engaged in the world and to all our Armed Forces goes our best wishes and our gratitude. I am aware of the difficulties, risks and sacrifices that your mission entails and how expensive it is for you to be away from family affections and from the homeland. However, I can assure you that Italy will never leave you alone. Our country is proudly close to its soldiers committed to peace in cont difficult summers like that of Lebanon. I renew my thanks to all of you and I offer you and your families my warmest wishes for a Merry Christmas and a happy new year ".
