OP-ED
Cuomo deserves praise for Mother Cabrini support
BY CHAZZ PALMINTERI
The people of New York spoke loud and clear:
when the city asked them which women
should be honored in perpetuity with a government
sanctioned statue, the overwhelming
favorite was Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini.
For reasons that are apparently too classified
for City Hall to divulge, Mayor Bill De Blasio’s administration
ignored the results of the poll they
commissioned in an about-face that can only be described
as extremely insulting to the patron saint
of immigration and the millions of Italian Americans
and Catholics who revere her.
However it’s a testament to her everlasting influence
and legacy that Governor Cuomo has proudly
volunteered to assemble a State Commission to
work with the Columbus Citizens Foundation and
the Diocese of Brooklyn to build a Mother Cabrini
Statue in New York City as quickly as possible.
Of the city’s 150 statues, only five of them are of
women. This is certainly a travesty that needs to be
corrected, and the people of New York were right to
overwhelmingly select Mother Cabrini as the first
to be immortalized.
She is the embodiment of New York values and a
unifying symbol. She founded some 70 schools, hospitals
and orphanages dedicated to caring for the
city’s poor, sick and unwanted. Today, New York’s
700,000 Italian-Americans — and any immigrant
who has sought refuge in this great city — owe her
a debt of gratitude.
I’m still scratching my head over First Lady
Charlene McCray’s decision to spearhead an initiative
to involve the public in the decision, only to
disrespectfully cast aside their votes to honor an
icon who aided the huddled masses of poor and vulnerable
immigrants on their journey through Ellis
Island to American citizenship. It’s a clear implicit
bias.
However, I agree with Governor Cuomo when he
says it’s more important to correct this injustice
than to dwell on this slight to one of New York’s
most important immigrant groups.
Few ethnic groups have immigrated in bigger
numbers to this city to escape oppression and poverty
than Italians. And I applaud Governor Cuomo
for standing up for our shared heritage, and the
heritage of New York’s massive Italian-American
community.
The Statue of Liberty is the first thing our ancestors
saw when coming to America, and now a
monument to Mother Cabrini will grace the shores
of Manhattan in the shadow of Lady Liberty,
and remind future generations of this country’s
promise.
Mother Cabrini represents the core values of
this great city of immigrants — and New Yorkers
overwhelmingly selected her as their top choice
to be honored. The city ignored their wishes but
thanks to the state, a wrong has been righted and
soon a statue of Cabrini will stand as tall as her
legacy.
Chazz Palminteri is an actor, screenwriter, producer
and playwright.
Serbian forces should be punished
for wartime rape atrocities
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April 20, 2019 is a day that I
will never forget. I was speaking
in Prishtina, Kosova at a
ceremony remembering the
thousands of women who were
raped by Serbian military and
paramilitary forces during
the brutal war of 1998. Several
hundred women were in attendance.
In the crowd, I could see
the unimaginable pain on their
faces.
When we speak of conflictrelated
sexual violence, we frequently
refer to data. We use
numbers and statistics to tell
a story. However, what we often
fail to portray is that we are
speaking of people. People with
lives that have been changed
forever. I have seen the misery
and stigma that they live with.
But I have also witnessed their
strength, courage and spirit.
Such a brave person is Vasfije
Krasniqi, who was only 16
years old when she was taken
from her family and raped by
Serbian forces. “We will not
kill you” they told her, “because
you will suffer more if
we keep you alive.” What these
criminals failed to realize is
that Vasfije would survive and
become an incredible person
who fights for justice, not only
for herself, but for all the victims
and survivors of wartime
sexual violence. As I stood next
to her that day in Prishtina, I
committed myself to helping
these survivors in their fight
for justice.
There are approximately
70,000 women that were raped
by Serbian forces in Kosovo,
Bosnia and Croatia during
the 1990s war. Astonishingly,
nearly 20 years later, the perpetrators
of these crimes remain
unpunished. Although,
article 27 of the 1949 Fourth
Geneva Convention explicitly
prohibits wartime rape and
UN resolutions clearly categorize
rape and other forms of
sexual violence as war crimes,
international and local courts
and government alike have
failed to hold the perpetrators
of these horrible crimes accountable.
Wartime rape and
sexual violence continues to
be treated as a ‘normal’ consequence
of war. These institutions
continue to behave
as if these women are merely
a casualty of war. As if their
rights, suffering and lives do
not matter.
Whether you talk to women
activists in Bosnia, Croatia, or
Kosova, they will tell you the
same thing. The survivors of
these horrendous crimes feel
abandoned in their quest for
justice.
While I will always support
reconciliation between warring
nations, we should not aim
to achieve peace at the expense
of the victims. Peace without
justice is not a true peace nor is
it a sustainable one.
We must make sure that the
perpetrators of these crimes, in
Serbia and around the world, realize
that these women are not
alone. That the use of rape and
sexual violence as a weapon of
war will not be tolerated.
That is why on Tuesday, October
29 I call on all my fellow
New Yorkers to come and rally
for justice for survivors of sexual
violence in front of the Serbian
consulate general in New
York on 62 W. 45th Street. How
many times must we say Never
Again before we finally take
action? Now is the time for justice.
Now is the time to fight injustice.
We must be relentless in
our fight against all forms of
sexual violence, whether it be
in our own home, community
or anywhere in the world. That
responsibility lies with each of
us. If you or someone you know
needs assistance with escaping
an abusive environment,
please contact my office at
(718) 931-1721. We have staff, resources
and organizations that
are ready to help.
(Mark Gjonaj represents the
13th District in the Bronx.)
TIMESLEDGER,QNS.COM OCT. 25-31, 2019 17
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