A 17-year-old touches Switzerland with her eulogy

During her speech, Morisoli stood on a podium in a large hall in Martigny, a small town with 22,000 inhabitants in the French part of the canton of Valais. The funeral service was moved here, to the Rhone Valley, 50 kilometers from Crans-Montana, because there was snowfall in the mountains and it was easier for the international guests to travel to Martigny.

1,000 guests sat in front of Morisoli, including relatives of the deceased and injured, representatives of the Swiss state government, and top Swiss and international politicians. French President Emmanuel Macron was also present. From Germany, the Prime Minister of Baden-Württemberg, Winfried Kretschmann (Greens).

“And yet, despite all the doubts, despite all the fears, our generation continues to move forward. It continues to fight for what it believes in,” Morisoli said. “Never forget what you are fighting for. Never forget who you are fighting for.” She appealed to young people to confront the feeling of powerlessness and helplessness that could arise from the catastrophe at “Le Constellation”.

Some people in the audience were visibly fighting back tears. The French President also seemed deeply touched by Aline Morisoli’s words. Hundreds of thousands watched the celebrations on television screens. “We cannot add days to life, but we can add life to days,” Aline Morisoli concluded her speech with a quote from the British nurse and founder of the modern hospice movement, Cicely Saunders, who died in 2005. Applause erupted after Morisoli’s performance.

Aline Morisoli’s speech received a great response in a country that has been questioning itself since the disaster. “Young people found heartbreaking words,” wrote the “Neue Zürcher Zeitung”. “The boys stand out at the funeral service,” was the headline in the CH Media newspapers. Young voices have urgently warned that “the failures of adults can have fatal consequences for a generation that is already growing up in a fragile world.” And the “Zürcher Tagesanzeiger” wrote: “Three young people become a symbol of the national day of mourning.”

In newspaper forums, too, the Swiss were impressed by the power of the young people’s words. “Aline touched me extremely,” someone wrote. Another said: “Aline is very impressive and gives me faith in the boys. Thank you for your words.” You could also read words like these: “Aline, you are a wonderful, emphatic, strong, great young woman (…) Thank you for these comforting, moving words” or: “The three speeches were heart and soul, the ones spoken by Aline, spoken with her whole body, were the most for me.”

The 17-year-old high school student from a village not far from Crans-Montana managed to win the hearts of many Swiss people with her speech. “I am so proud of my daughter,” her mother is quoted in the newspaper “Blick”. Morisoli was in Crans-Montana on New Year’s Eve and actually wanted to continue partying in “Le Constellation” later, but left it alone – unlike a friend who lost her life in the restaurant that night, as the media reported.

Aline Morisoli experienced the disaster first hand as an eyewitness. Despite the events, her daughter is a positive person, says her 52-year-old mother. “That’s what their words should be – for all young people. And they shouldn’t criticize anyone.”

Bar operator is taken into custody

Almost two weeks after the devastating fire in the “Le Constellation” bar, the Swiss public is now dealing with the disaster. The owner of the bar in question, Jacques M., has to be in custody. The responsible coercive measures court in Sion (Sion) in the canton of Valais approved the public prosecutor’s application on Monday.

“After such a tragedy, every leaf must be turned,” demanded the President of the Center Party, Philipp Matthias Bregy – himself from the canton of Valais – in a TV broadcast. And the co-president of the Social Democrats, Cédric Werrmuth, announced that the shared responsibility of the municipal and cantonal authorities in the process would have to be examined: “There must be no taboo.”

In the fire on New Year’s Eve in the bar “Le Constellation” 40 people, mostly very young people, died. 116 were injured, around 80 are still in hospitals, including in Germany, with mostly severe burns.