"Afghan West voices from the villages" text presented

28/01/14

On Thursday 23 January, the presentation of the book "Afghan West-Voci dai Villaggi", the reportage of "embedded" journalists Katiuscia Laneri, Samantha Viva and Elisabetta Loi, took place at the Pozzuoli Aeronautical Academy.

The event, which was the pretext to talk about the relationship between information operators and the military in areas or moments of crisis, was attended by a large number of course attendees and staff of the Institute. 

After the welcome greeting from the Air Division General Fernando Giancotti, moderated by the correspondent Pino Di Feo, the journalists Katiuscia Laneri, representing the authors of the book, Gianfranco Coppola, for the TgR Rai, the free lance Emma Evangelista, Colonel Vincenzo Lauro, for the Public Information Office of the Defense Staff, and Lieutenant Antonio Auletta, on duty at the 9th Wing of the Air Force.

The meeting highlighted the common denominator of the crises in Lebanon, in Afghanistan, the waste emergency in Naples, the earthquake in Emilia Romagna, the Lampedusa phenomenon: places and difficult moments told by expert journalists and specially trained to operate in hazardous conditions and precarious. Professionals who sometimes did not return to their homeland, did not complete an investigation or report because they were murdered, abducted or intimidated. Sent or correspondents who, if not properly prepared, could be a hindrance to those engaged in restoring stability, putting everyone's safety at risk.

In his speech, General Giancotti highlighted the importance of the event for the training of the visitors of the Aeronautical Academy because it allowed them to focus their attention on the operations that are the core business of the Air Force and on the aspects of relationship with the media, even in the most complex and delicate contexts, to communicate and be known.

The book was born following a media tour of the three journalists embedded between Herat, Shindand and Bala Boluk, and tells the current reality of the Islamic country trying to investigate the possible outcomes that the contribution of the Italian military, especially in the western part, will have on the face of the Afghanistan of tomorrow, in view of the end of the ISAF mission.

"Very little is known about the Afghan reality - said the authors - almost nothing is said about how people are trying to free themselves from crime, opium, prejudice and isolation".

Source: Aeronautical Academy - Pozzuoli - Ten. Finotti Giulio