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| Pierfrancesco Vago (far left in the above photo) appeared at Cruise Shipping Miami last week and traveled to Tunis after the attacks. |
As cruise lines wrapped up their business in Tunis, Tunisia, last week after the deadly terrorist attack on cruise passengers at the city’s Bardo National Museum, they announced they were pulling Tunis off the port call schedule.
Both Costa and MSC Cruises, citing the need to protect guest safety and security, issued press releases with schedules of substitute ports.
That said, it’s clear that MSC Cruises’ Chairman Pierfrancesco Vago, who traveled to Tunisia after the attacks to meet with those injured and the families of those killed in the attack, was deeply moved by the Tunisian people and their response to the tragedy.
Here’s the jist of a heartfelt personal commentary he made on Facebook over the weekend.
My Experience
“I just left Tunis where I met with the women and men who were injured in the Wednesday coward attack.
I am leaving the country feeling that this is profoundly wrong. Tunisia is a democratic stronghold in Africa, it was a growing tourism destination.
And [to be in] a world were people who just want to visit the world and understand cultures different from theirs are attacked just feels wrong,
It feels wrong because we should all be able to visit the world freely and without fear.
It feels wrong because tourism is key in economic development of countries.
It feels wrong because we are all human beings and we should all cooperate instead of shooting each other.
The only glimpse of hope of the tragic events of this week have been the people involved in the aftermath of this crisis — the Tunisian police , the citizens of Tunis, the tour operators, the guides and bus drivers, the crew of our ship.
These are the people who assisted our guests and brought most of them back to the safety of the ship.
These are the people I am thinking today– hoping that the future will hold a world which feels right.
I cannot bear that look of their eyes which stared into emptiness. I never saw that look ever.
I cannot think that that look is real, that that look reflects the world we are living in. [These] are my thoughts.”
