Religion and natural disasters: ‘we have to hope’
For over a week, the inhabitants of Brienz/Brinzauls have known that the mountain above their village is crumbling. But they still don’t know how severe the damage will be. What does such a situation do to the now-evacuated villagers – and to their faith? Local priest Federico Pelicon spoke to SWI swissinfo.ch. SWI swissinfo.ch: The mountain above Brienz/Brinzauls could collapse at any minute. What does this mean to you? Federico Pelicon: I feel a lot of sympathy for the villagers. I still remember the earthquake in Friuli [eastern Italy], in 1976. At that time, my home village of Gorizia was not severely damaged, but we had to leave our house and live in a tent for months. This has come back to me in the current situation involving Brienz and its inhabitants. SWI: Lives are in danger, the population has been evacuated. But there’s nothing to protect the material existence of the villagers. How are they coping? F.P.: Two million cubic metres [of rock] threaten to fall on the...