Today, August 8, is celebrated the "Day of Sacrifice of Italian Work in the World", set up in the recurrence of Marcinelle's mining tragedy of 1956, for the recognition and valorisation of labor and sacrifice of emigrant compatriots.
In order to commemorate this occasion, the Honorable Minister has sent a message to the fellow countrymen abroad, which is worded as follows:

Dear Companions,
I would like to express my deepest participation in Marcinelle's tragic anniversary on August 8, 1956.
Since 2001 this event has been proclaimed "National Day of the Sacrifice of Italian Work in the World".
Each year, therefore, our busy mind is addressed to all the Italians who have fallen abroad.
We want to honor their memory.
The world of emigration, through courage, ingenuity, sacrifice, has made it possible for decades to meet people, cultures, professionalism, and nations, such as the European ones, who today share the common project of the integration of ' Europe.
That tragedy, which took away 262 miners, including 136 Italians, contributed decisively to the formation of a European conscience. This was only a year before the signing of the Treaties of the European Communities, which we celebrated this year's 60th anniversary.
That united Europe that has succeeded in the then unimaginable goal of maintaining peace on the continent for over half a century, which has promoted the development of all its member countries, and which today allows our children to travel and live in All over the continent's territory in very different conditions than Marcinelle's miners.
Marcinelle's tragedy still gives us the strength to work for a more cohesive and solidarity Europe, as the founding fathers had imagined. A Europe that derives its origin and substance from the genuine spirit of brotherhood among its peoples. A Europe that knows how to deliver a shared, united response to the great emergencies of our day. I am referring in particular to the continuous flow of desperate migrants who today, as they are, fall too often victims.
Marcinelle's tragedy induces us to reflect on the theme of work in terms of its human and social dimension. We must never forget that work without protection kills even where it takes place in places that should be less dangerous than the bowels of the earth. It must be defended, because work is synonymous with hope and the future. It is a precondition for the birth of a family and the individual growth of individuals in their relationship with the community.
Dear companions, our thoughts on this occasion are addressed to both the pioneers of our emigration and their descendants, but also to the new emigrants who are expatriating today under different conditions, although many of them are driven by the same desires and hopes. Like Fabrizia, Marco and Gloria that we lost in Berlin and London, I was the first victim of a terrible terrorist attack, the second of a fatality that might have been avoided.
Our proximity goes equally to Italians living abroad in particularly difficult contexts, such as in Venezuela, which we follow closely to facilitate the adoption of solutions to the peaceful outcome of the crisis they are experiencing.
We are proud of the contribution given by all of you, Italians in the world, to our country. Who has left and still leaves Italy, in many ways, contributes to the dialogue and to the strengthening of relations with the countries of destination, lusting to the deepest and most positive values ​​of Italianity. And in so many different ways contributed to the growth of Italy.
It is with this awareness that I address to you my most sincere thanks.

Angelino Alfano, Ministro degli Affari Esteri