Compact band’s frontman Paul Ciuci believes it is everyone’s duty not to leave the tragedy at Colectiv Club to oblivion, much less to happen again.
AGERPRES: How do you see the building of a Colectiv Memorial as a symbol against forgetting? Is it important to create such a Memorial?
Paul Ciuci: I think the creation of a Colectiv Memorial is very, very necessary for the peace of all of us, of the guilty who have done nothing to prevent this tragedy, and the memory of those young should always be in our souls. We are not allowed to forget.
AGERPRES: How do you imagine this Colectiv Memorial? Should it be built at the site of the tragedy or somewhere else?
Paul Ciuci: I believe that both situations should be honoured. A memorial would be needed at the spot of the tragedy, so the people see where it occurred, because there used to be a pilgrimage place. I, for one, have left from Cluj to see that sad place, and to be honest I felt so much emotion and heaviness that, after that day, I strolled for two days all alone with my thoughts, charged with that atmosphere. This memorial should definitely be done and video and audio, too, with interviews, with that spot, in hospitals, at those who have made it to escape, with their impressions. This drama, this tragedy is very overwhelming. I find it very, very emotional and I don’t believe that anyone would stand aside not to support this approach.
AGERPRES: Given the situation of the space where the Colectiv club was situated, who and to what degree should take care of designing and erecting a Colectiv Memorial, including finding of necessary financing: the Romanian state or the non-governmental organizations?
Paul Ciuci: I wouldn’t know. I believe the state is very busy and has demonstrated that. You saw what happens, from the problems in the Parliament to all the problems countrywide. But, after all, the question is, who’s the state, who’s taking care of the future of this country?
AGERPRES: What motto do you believe should define this Memorial?
Paul Ciuci: “We are not allowed to forget!”
AGERPRES: What do you believe should be the most important lesson remembered after visiting the Colectiv Memorial?
Paul Ciuci: Tragedies happen, they happen to our families, they happen on a national level. We cannot just pay taxes for something or to somebody who doesn’t take care of the young and of the future of this country. Look at the tragedies hitting the young and the elders, alike. When dramas occur, they do not choose by age; dramas simply strike. If they found us unprepared, the pain is huge. I believe that each one of us can and has the duty to not let this tragedy to oblivion; may God forbid such a drama from ever happening again. More…