Costa Concordia - Four Years After The Tragedy

Costa Concordia - Four Years After The Tragedy

Story by; http://www.cruisediscuss.com/

January 13 marks the fourth year of the tragedy that took the life of 32 innocent cruise passengers after the Costa Concordia sunk off the coast of Italy.

The gigantic wreck of the that had been lying on a rock off the island of Giglio is gone now. For the past seven months, the remains of the ship have been gradually dismantled and sent for recycling in a shipyard and a few days ago the huge support to keep the ship afloat were removed.

But the image of Concordia will remain for a long time in the history of the Tuscan island and the Italian Navy.  The disaster that tore thirty-two lives, injured 157 will possibly stay forever in the mind of the survivors and the families that lost their loved ones.

As for the ship's captain - Francesco Schettino, also known as Captain Coward - he was sentenced on 11 February 2015 to 16 years in prison, however, the sentence is not yet in effect and the 'brave' captain is giving interviews and cashing income from world-famous magazines such as GQ.

Even today many cruise ship passengers that survived the tragedy await for compensation for property left on board and lost when the ship sunk. Money in no way can reduce the grief but it was something that the cruise line owed to the people.

"Four years later Costa Crociere has yet to compensate the huge damage " shared Mara Parmegiani, a journalist, writer and fashion expert that was on board the Concordia during the disaster. "The legal department had assured me that by the end of 2015 I would be notified how the refund will be processed but then no one contacted me further on. Besides my case, there are other outstanding of important value, like that of a jeweler. " 

The fashion expert was on board with his precious collection of vintage clothes, as part of an Ambassodor of Fashion Made in Italy display. Glamorous dresses made ​​by the founders of high fashion - the sisters Fontana Valentino, by Antonelli to Ferré, to Gattinoni, Egon Furstenberg and Gay Mattiolo were showcased. 

A huge loss,but just from an economic standpoint, which in no case comparable to the psychological and emotional hardships that still disrupt the daily life with frequent panic attacks of the survivors. Among the most moving memories was the one of the small Daiani, the five-year old child whose little body was fished out a few days later by the rescuers.

"The memory comes back constantly before my eyes, I met her just before she died, she was in the arms of her dad on the deck packed with people; she looked at me, recognized me and gave me a pat. I was initially surprised, then I pulled out a little key ring with a teddy bear filled with rhinestones and I gave it to the girl who smiled at me and kissed me. I think Iit was her last smile ", one of the survivors shared.