Blue helmets for culture: a training course on personal security in Pisa
Next stop Palmyra, or Mosul and Niniveh in Iraq in the aftermath of the destruction caused by militants affiliated to Dae’sh to monuments that belong to all mankind. Today was the first of a five-day course organized in Pisa by the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna of Pisa and the Tuscania Regiment of the Carabinieri, to train the task force of “blue helmets of culture” at the center of an agreement between the Italian government and UNESCO in matter of personal safety connected wit their task.
The task force is formed by sixty people – military personnel, art historians and restorers -called to work in an area of extreme safety hazard and who therefore must receive adequate training on how to act in areas of high risk and how to minimize the danger of ambushes or accidents. The course includes theory lessons and a series of practical exercises, which include typical situations which the blue helmets might encounter during their mandate. To make a few examples, how to react in case of a sudden attack or in the presence of “snipers”, how to approach an illegal checkpoint, how to plan activities within a hazardous area.
“The task force of the ‘blue helmets for culture’ – explained Andrea de Guttry of the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna who is coordinating the course together with Colonel Antonio Frassinetto, Commander of the Regiment Tuscania – represents a fundamental contribution of the Italian Government to the preservation of cultural heritage worldwide. The destruction wrought by ISIS in Palmyra have shocked everyone and require bold action, delicate and urgent at the same time, to avoid jeopardizing a world heritage which belongs to all mankind”.
Turin, which is also the base of other UN training schools, is hosting the headquarters of the task force. The agreement was signed last February as part of the global UNESCO coalition “Unite4Heritage”. Italy made clear that is ready to deploy the group to Palmyra and is waiting for the green light from Paris.
