Every battle that each of us faces in life, marks it, changes it and improves it. The battles are made to be faced and won, the times, the places or the people that you have next to you don't matter, you can only fight certain battles.
The epopee of men who exceed their limits is full of history, but today we want to tell that of a modern hero in gray-green who with his alpine pen is an awareness that very few have at his age are fighting and winning.
It was January 18, 2011 when the life of the corporal Luca Barisonzi changed forever: wounded by an Afghan insurgent he was paralyzed, alongside him his brother in arms Luca Sanna lost his life. Transportation to the nearest medical outpost, repatriation, hospitals, doctors and treatment.
Luca Barisonzi, just over three years after the events that have changed his life, agrees to meet me at his home in Gravellona Lomellina, where he lives with his family, his company of life and his alpini, who do not leave him never alone.
The first Marshal in Role of Honor Barisonzi is twenty-four years old, the writer has one more than he decides to give us, so that the conversation is easy for both.
Luca why did you decide to be a soldier?
"Because I could have done anything. When I was a child I moved to Gravellona with my grandparents, the place is quiet. Here during adolescence, all the boys dream of doing something great in life and then I thought and I reflected I realized that I could do everything I wanted, I was free to choose who I was, I knew that in many parts of the world, in countries that were light years away, this freedom was not given to anyone or just a few, so I decided that freedom of to be any man I wanted to have had to have it all, so I made the decision to become a soldier, wearing a uniform doesn't mean just training, it means responsibility, sacrifice and will, having a purpose, that was it, my purpose was to bring freedom to kids who couldn't be what they wanted ".
.jpg)
As he speaks, Luca has a glow in his eyes that is a glow of pride, the pride of those who consciously choose to wear the uniform, who has the tricolor in the heart and a sincere reason to make the choices he has made.
We should all have at least some awareness of this guy, the same one who does not regret anything and if he does not, he still feels the weight that the duty to wear a uniform entails. The marshal, however, is not only a soldier of the Italian army, he is first and foremost an Alpine, one of those who appear to have been born with the Bantam anchored to his head.
"I chose to become an Alpine because they have a history and values in which I reflect a lot, they have always been close to needy populations, they sacrifice themselves for values that I believe are fundamental. Surely also the love for the mountains has had a key role, confronting yourself, overcoming your limitations and once on top of knowing you've done everything to deserve that goal! ".
The Alpine troops have always been known for the spirit of body that distinguishes them, they seem more like a big family than a specialty of the army. Luca agrees with me and with a smile he tells me that "When I left the hospital and returned home, many colleagues came to see me! Alpini who came from all over Italy just to shake my hand and tell me they were close to me, with these people I only had an alpine hat in common and yet many made hundreds of miles to be with me for just a moment, it made me feel part of something extraordinary and gave me incredible strength, they gave me that extra something to continue fight. No one has abandoned me, they have all remained close to me and not only to me but also to my family ".
I smile at this extraordinary demonstration of solidarity, a story that as an Italian fills me with pride, I am not moved for a short time but the eyes become a little 'lucid, cry in front of a guy with so much force seems strange.
The Alpini, are not just people with words and, after assuring Luca that he would not be left alone in this new life, they went into "operational" mode.
They raised funds for several months, made concerts and participated in village festivals, they collaborated with all the weapon associations we have in our country, they asked us citizens for a contribution to an important project: a home automation for Luca, so that his life was easy even when he was alone in the house.
That project "A house for Luca" is the summit of the mountain for the ANA - the National Alpine Association - and they all reach it together as only a large family can do. The 19 Maggio 2012 in the general emotion and according to the highest Alpine tradition are given the keys of the new Barisonzi house, a house tailored to the needs of Luca. The building was completed in record time thanks to the commitment of the Alpine volunteers and to the contribution and trust of many Italians. This project allowed Luca to guarantee a life as close to normality as possible and to live surrounded by the affection of his second and very extended family.
How can you explain your experience to journalists who have little or nothing to do with the military world?
He thinks about it for a moment. "It's not easy, honestly. Before, when the incident was still fresh, it didn't hurt so much to remember and tell, but I was always afraid that those who listened to me would misunderstand my message. It's easier to tell my experience to other soldiers. we wear the same uniform and sometimes the same experiences, going on a mission marks you, they can understand, we are brothers. However, despite the pain of the story is strong, I think I have to keep talking, for Luca - my colleague and friend who doesn't the fact - and for all my colleagues who still leave everything here to go and take a bit of my dream to places they can't even imagine.
What is the message you want to get to the reader and hear your story?
"I would like people to understand that what we do, we do it for them too because We are this country. To fight for the rights of other people is a duty of those who have those rights in their own home every day, to fight and curb those who they would like a world where not all but a few decide, this is also something we do for our country, because one day someone seeing our flag can associate it with freedom, the same that led me to wear a uniform! terrorism is fought in Afghanistan, Iraq and a few other countries, but what happens down there influences what happens here: if we allowed them to win, we would do harm to our country too ".
Would you return to the mission if you were given the chance?
"YES - the answer is straightforward, without hesitation - the work of the military did not strike me very much about the mission, I expected it, they train us for this! But I found myself faced with a strange and new reality: poverty! real poverty, of children who can't even drink from puddles. If you give them a bottle of water it's as if you've given them a brand new Xbox game here. "
Would you recommend a guy like you to be a soldier?
"Being a soldier is not a job you can recommend is a vocation, a bit like a doctor. If the guy in front of me wants to serve his country and be the guarantor of the freedom of others, then I'd tell him that a uniform is already on if he finds it. So many of those who sign up today think it's a game, like those with which they entertain themselves in front of the TV. There are no additional lives and when you're tired you can't pull the plug and start again later. "
Mind I ask this question to Luca, next to his mother. Strong and proud woman like her son, she has very deep eyes and a welcoming smile.
I address you directly and ask you how they may have faced a situation like this.
He smiles and shrugging his shoulders tells me "it's not that we had a choice, we had to accept the news and there was no time to collect the pieces. We are his family we rolled up our sleeves immediately to be with him, but we knew the situation it was serious, we knew it even before him. We travel in stages, to small obstacles overcome, we live in a phase of serenity and others of difficulty that we regularly overcome all together.I'm a person who never gave up, until I find myself before me the word "END" is not over for me and thank goodness I have passed this on to my children. Luca has a different life, but his life is not over it has only changed. I and his family live by his successes and its conquests, as any parent does for the life of their children! ".
There is no sadness in the response of this very strong mother, there is only a veil of tears in the eyes that do not come down, as you say "it is not the end" so we both reject the tears and concentrate on something more positive.
In a story like that of Luke even love finds space, not just any love but that of his life.
It is a story that seems to come from the pen of a romantic writer but it is all true, the extraordinary strength and unparalleled courage of the woman who has been next to Luca every day since he found himself in Italy with a new life to live is true. . I often see you in photos with a girl who I think is your life partner, can I ask you how did you meet and how did she deal with all this? "Ours is a very strange story, when I was on a mission an American colleague shows me the photo of my current partner, a friend of hers, I don't say it was love at first sight but almost. Jokingly, I tell him that as soon as I return to Italy from the mission I take a plane and go to the States to meet her, but in the end I did not wait and I wrote to him on Facebook.This happens in November and until January when I am injured as soon as we can we write and talk.
She understands that something has happened from the messages my friends left me on my personal page, translates them into English and only then understands the gravity of the situation. Contact my brother through the same social network and he tells him about my situation and what I'm experiencing. It seems absurd, but after a few days I see her arrive in the hospital, in my room. He took the first plane and arrived in Italy landing in my life. Since then she has always remained beside me, a true angel! He could have chosen to turn his back on me and leave, but he is still here! "Around the table where the interview takes place, we all smile and even if we didn't say anything, we are aware that this is a great miracle that life wanted. put next to Luca and his family.
We decide to say goodbye, with this love story of other times but that still shakes the minds of those who listen to it.
Luca is one of those guys who fight, fight for himself for his partner and for the family, fight for his country that wants to return to serve faithfully as soon as possible, fight for his colleague and friend caporal major Luca Sanna that does not he is here to enjoy his achievements.
He is a Luca warrior, one of those very rare to find and with the spirit of a true Italian. An example that deserves to be known and supported because he did not wait for the future to come and overwhelm him, he as a true Alpine the future if he is building it day after day, without fear and no regrets with the knowledge that he has become what he wanted: a military man, a man and a great example. As I head towards the exit, I ask if he wants something in the article to talk about something in particular, he doesn't hesitate for a moment and tells me: "You could talk about the Spinal Unit and the Life Space project of which I am Sponsor. an important project because at the Niguarda hospital it will serve to expand the social recreation spaces of the spinal unit that has been helping me since I returned to Italy to improve day after day ".
Even at the end of our chat Luca never forgets others and their problems, he commits himself in spite of everything to continue to bring a little serenity to the lives of others.
"Alpini once, alpini forever" is Luca this embodies it to perfection!
Denise Serangelo
