Courage one can give oneself

Tea Ranno, Un tram per la vita [A Tram For Life], Piemme 2023

This story starts with the rounding up by the Germans in the Rome ghetto  October 16, 1943. However, the surprising thing is that it is told through the masterful writing of Tea Ranno (of whom we have read so much) by a direct witness, an inhabitant of the ghetto, Emanuele La Porta, who is still alive.  We have read of so many ways for Jews to survive, once again we are surprised to see how the human heart always finds new ways to expand and welcome life. It was a tram that saved Emanuele, it was the tram drivers who, in turn, over three days, with inventiveness and cold blood allowed a great little 12-year-old to escape unharmed from the merciless search of Italian Nazis and fascists. Emanuele, who is today 91 years old, was marked by the pain of losing his mother Ginotta, who was taken and never returned from the concentration camps. However, it is the words of this woman who saved her son at the cost of her life that resonate in Emanuele’s heart and mind and give him the strength to go on. Stories like these testify that courage is within everyone's grasp even in unexpected situations, we just have to grasp it to become authentic men and women.

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