It is with deep sorrow that we learned the sad and shocking news of the death of Mario Carmine Paciolla.
We got to know and appreciate Mario during his participation in CABURERA. In the frame of this ENPI project he did an internship in Jordan, at Al-Hayat, and in Palermo. During his experience, he stood out for his sensitivity, strong sense of responsibility and active participation in all the activities we carried out in defense of the rights of the weakest.
Mario was 33 years old; he was passionate about international cooperation and he always showed his commitment to peace and social justice. Since December 2019, he had been working in Colombia as UN collaborator to assess the progress of the UN peace deal between the Colombian government and FARC fighters.
He should have come back to his Naples on July 20th.
His death occurred in suspicious circumstances. In the last few days he had confessed to his family his concerns and fears for something which made him feel threatened. His case has been considered to be a suicide, but such a reconstruction immediately seemed inaccurate due to the stab wounds on his body.
Mario’s death is a terrible loss for all the people working in the field of international cooperation.
Along with Per Esempio Onlus and HRYO – Human Rights Youth Organization, we share the grief of his family, friends and colleagues. We extend them our heartfelt condolences and sympathy.
We urge authorities to launch a full and thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding Mario’s death, we support the call of Mario’s parents, Anna Motta and Giuseppe Paciolla, and we invite you all to sign the petition addressed to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, so as not to dismiss Mario’s death as another unexplainable tragedy.
We owe it to his family; we owe it to Mario.
#JusticeforMarioPaciolla