The Man on the Train (Swiss Press Audio 2019, by Alessandro Bertellotti) - Swiss Press Award
RSi - radiotelevisione svizzera
Alessandro Bertellotti
It’s an evening like any other on the regional train which connects Ticino to Italy. It’s very popular with commuters and students. But this evening will endure in the memories of many. Suddenly a fire between two carriages halts the train. It is not just any type of damage. A person is burning in the flames. He came into contact with a power-line on the roof of the train. The twenty-year-old African from Mali had hidden there before entering Switzerland. Alessandro Bertellotti relates the facts in his report, as well as much more. He gives voice to direct and indirect witnesses, who are united by their shared disturbed consciences. “Something will stay in us”, says one witness. As a memorial, every day anonymous visitors lay flowers or even teddy bears on the grave of Youssouf. Youssouf – that’s the real name of the young man, who’d been named Viktor until he could be identified. Youssouf did reach Switzerland, he got as far as Balerna. But that is where he will forever stay.
Interview with Alessandro Bertellotti
