Citizens of Unterammergau recently looked at the corona numbers in northern Italy with concern. There was a reason.
Unterammergau - Everyone still knows them, the terrible television pictures of Bergamo in northern Italy, when a night convoy of military vehicles transported the corona dead because the local cemeteries were overcrowded. There were days when more people died of Covid-19 in Italy than in all of China. There are currently around 29,000 fatalities. 15 km from Bergamo is the 4500-inhabitant community of Pradalunga. 46 residents died there in March, the normal number for a whole year.
This development was received with great concern by citizens of Unterammergau, because a gentle friendship has been built under the Pürschling for several years to the community in the Seriana Valley, 70 kilometers from Milan. The background is the common history of the two places, because both Unterammergau and Pradalunga have roots in whetstone making. If this traditional handicraft in Ammertal came to a standstill after the Second World War, natural sharpening and honing stones for a wide variety of purposes are still produced in Pradalunga (translated "whetstone") - around 40,000 pieces per year.
Next visit planned for April
Due to the same tradition, there have been visits and return visits by Bavarians and Italians in recent years, initiated by the Mayor of Pradalungas, Natalina Valoti, during a vacation in Unterammergau in autumn 2016. A bus to northern Italy was due to start again in April, but the corona virus initially undermined this plan. The motors of the connection are in the Pürschlingdorf Michael Spindler as Chairman of the Historical Working Group and Nicoletta Mitterer, an Italian by birth who came to Unterammergau in 1982 and was married there. Mitterer and Mayor Valoti have been in constant communication since the beginning of the Corona crisis. Nicoletta in Bavaria is fully informed of Natalina's stories: “Pradalunga hit the virus hard. In some families, two people died. Or suddenly the father is missing and the main income has broken away. "
Plan: Treat the sick in the district
Nicoletta Mitterer didn't let things go; she was looking for ways to help. So she asked District Administrator Anton Speer whether there was an opportunity to treat Covid 19 sufferers from northern Italy in clinics in the Garmisch-Partenkirchen district. Speer contacted Dr. Martin Dotzer, coordinator of the clinics. In fact, after overcoming various bureaucratic hurdles in Italy, they were about to implement this plan. Finally, Rome waived the support from Germany. They said they had enough capacity in hospitals themselves.
So far 5300 euros have been donated
Nicoletta Mitterer, however, did not give up and came up with another way to help - namely with donations. The Historical Working Group (HAK) wrote to its members, word of mouth was used. And this triggered a wave of helpfulness: 5300 euros have so far been raised. HAK, FDU, FUZ (500 euros each), landlords (300 euros) and CSU (200 euros) donated larger sums. There were also two dozen individual donations from citizens. Nicoletta Mitterer touched: "I also received an anonymous donation, there was a note that said: All the best from the heart." 500 respiratory masks each, organized by BRK managing director Klemens Reindl, were donated by district administrator Anton Speer and ex-mayor Michael Gansler. Michael Spicker from Betamed contributed 1000 euros.
The situation in Pradalunga has now eased somewhat, the infections are decreasing. And Nicoletta Mitterer "is happy and proud that my village was able to provide a little help for my compatriots during this difficult time."
Who wants to donate
can do this further: either via Nicoletta Mitterer (Klammweg 1), Michael Spindler (Hofstadelstraße 28) or by bank transfer to IBAN
IT08 B 088 6953 3900 0000 0001 900
