Show producer and concert organiser Catalin Catana told AGERPRES that a Colectiv Memorial would be needed since people, tending after their everyday matters, are tempted to forget and he added the lesson that should be learned after the tragedy is the one of civil solidarity.
He thinks the state should make a major contribution to achieving the Memorial and a proper motto would be “Together We Resist”, which is also the name of the assistance group he is part of, a civil entity set up after the Colectiv nightclub tragedy.
AGERPRES: How do you see the building of a Colectiv Memorial as a symbol against forgetting?
Catalin Catana: Yes, we would need such a thing. Unfortunately, as we tend after our everyday matters, many of us are tempted to forget. Such an initiative should be hailed by its symbols, even if we — those who lost many friends there — are aware that nothing will bring our friends back. Also, I think the families of the victims will neither find comfort, maybe just a glimmer of hope that such a thing will not happen in the future…
AGERPRES: How do you imagine this Colectiv Memorial? Should it be built at the site of the tragedy or somewhere else?
Catalin Catana: Obviously, a symbolic monument should be raised at the site of the tragedy. But since it is not an area with much traffic, I believe something more stately should be done in a more central area, with intense traffic, so that it should more forcefully remain in the civic conscience.
AGERPRES: Given the situation of the space where the Colectiv club was situated, who and in what degree should take care of designing and constructing a Colectiv Memorial, including finding of necessary financing: the Romanian state or the non-governmental organizations?
Catalin Catana: The state — by its various institutions — bears much of the blame for what happened at the Colectiv. By virtue of this fact, the state should contribute in a decisive manner, at all levels, to achieving this memorial. The state should look at this memorial not only by the angle of one moment, but also in terms of the social implications and the assistance to be indefinitely given those who stood to suffer from this tragedy. I am convinced there will also be support from some NGOs. More…