Rome, Feb 3 (LaPresse) – "Germany at the mercy of AfD? Do you want me to tell you my thoughts, or do you want me to show you the number tattooed on my arm for the 'crime' of being born?" said lifetime senator Liliana Segre during an interview with La Stampa. On the eve of her speech at the International Summit on Children's Rights, titled "Love Them and Protect Them", Segre also addressed U.S. immigration policies announced by President Donald Trump. "Faced with Trump's deportations, with migrants being turned away or locked up just because they are 'guilty' of being born elsewhere, I cannot help but recall the feeling of not being wanted by anyone," she explained, adding that children's fate "has always been close to my heart. I was a child too, and I will never forget what happened to me." The Vatican summit will discuss violations of children's rights, including child labor, human trafficking, and poverty. "I believe that in recent decades, there has not been a single government, or anyone in particular, that has completely ignored these issues," Segre observed. "I wouldn’t point the finger at one over another. My impression, as a grandmother, is that there is absolute indifference, a turning away from the problem. And that is terrible, because indifference is the evil I have fought against my entire life."
Meanwhile, hatred is spreading on social media, where increasingly younger individuals are present. "The only weapon against hate is love. We must give a lot of love," she emphasized. "If a child grows up knowing they were deeply loved, they will carry an inner shield, a protection that will stay with them for life. I owe this to my parents. It was crucial. It makes a difference." From the United States to Italy, regarding the tightening of migration policies, Segre reflected on her personal experience:
"I was considered 'different' since childhood. Fascist laws prevented me from going to school, and no one cared about me. No one intervened when I was imprisoned without having done anything wrong—just for the 'crime' of being born. No one moved when my family was deported, and I returned alone. And even upon my return, no one cared to understand what happens to someone who has been deported elsewhere. Today, I see ‘spectacles’ like Trump's deportations; pushbacks; camps where people are locked up just because they were born elsewhere; decisions being made about which arrivals should be sent back or placed in another small 'lager' in some semi-unknown city in nearby Albania. And in the face of all this, I can only personally recall what it means—the pain, the anguish—of not being wanted by anyone."