Dear US friends,
From the bottom of our heart, thank you.
Easter time should be a time of hope and resurrection for everyone. Let us express Italy’s gratitude to you for making this possible, even in a time of such despair and sorrow for our countries.
Today, everyone in the world is fighting not only the virus but also the uncertainty and the fear for the future that it brings to our lives. We are proud to say there is something that can neither be doubted nor denied: the real, deep and long-standing friendship between Italy and the USA.
Thank you, President Donald Trump, for showing support and announcing a massive wave of medical equipment to help our country fighting this common enemy. Thank you, First Lady Melania Trump, for your call to our President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella’s daughter, Laura, expressing your condolences for all the loved ones we lost. Thank you, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, for keeping the promises you made. Thank you, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, for the constant coordination and assistance from the Defense Department.
Many thanks to the US Military forces, for donating equipment and working alongside the Lombardy Region in such difficult times.
Most importantly, we want to thank all the US companies that have come to rescue of Italian hospitals, NGOs, institutions, and citizens over the last weeks.
Your support may not have been loud, but it was constant and precious, and Italy won’t forget it.
Our sincere thanks go to Samaritan’s Purse, for opening a 68-bed field hospital in Cremona and working tirelessly to take care of hundreds of patients; to Biogen, for donating 10 million $ to the affected communities and the Italian Red Cross (IRC); to Eli Lilly, for donating 1 million € of insulin to hospitals; to GE Healthcare for donating an ultrasound machine to Policlinico Milano; to Coca Cola, for donating 1.3 million € to the IRC; to Pfizer Italy for sending medical equipment worth 2,5 millions €; to Gilead Sciences for donating 1,5 million € to the Italian Civil Protection (ICP) and further 500k € to populations in need; to McDonald Italia and Ronald McDonald’s Foundation, for giving 1 million € to Ospedale Fiera Milano and Ospedale Buzzi; to PWC, for donating 500k € to hospitals in Lombardy; to Bristol Myers Squibb, for its 1 million € donation to Lombardy Region and the IRC, and its shipment of 1400 protective equipment; to MSD Italia, for donating tech equipment worth 1,5million € plus 650K € to the IRC; to Medtronic, for sharing its ventilator designs specifications; to Microsoft Italia, for giving 70k € to Fondazione Rava and 30k € to the IRC; to Amazon Italy, for its 2,5 millions € donation to the ICP and 1 million € to non-profit organizations; to Morgan Stanley, for its 88k € donation to the cities of Florence and Brescia; to Cornig, for donating 100k test tubes to the ISS; to the ISSNAF and the Adriatic LNG, for their fund-raise campaigns; to Whirpool, for its 300k € donation and further 50k € from its employees; to IBM Italia, for donating 250k € and for its initiative to promote and facilitate smart learning in the Italian schools; to eBay Italia, for its 300k € donation to the IRC; to Netflix, for donating 1 million € for the creation of the Support Fund for TV and Cinema; to Uber, for its free-races for the Spallanzani hospital in Rome; to Airbnb, for its contribution to the hospitality sector; to Black Rock, for its 500k $ donation to the Banco Alimentare; to Google, for its contribution for remote-learning together with the Italian Education Ministry; to NIAF, for its continued support, and to AmCham Italy, for coordinating and directing all the generous donations from US companies in Italy. So far, the private sector has donated more than 25 million $. A powerful testimony not only of the ties existing between our governments but also between our people and companies. A bond that is deep, and unique.
We do remember that, on March 14th, President Trump posted on Twitter a video of the Italian Frecce Tricolori across the sky, writing “USA loves Italy”. Now we know this wasn’t just a tweet. Neither propaganda nor any disinformation campaign can jeopardize the deepest and unchanged friendship between our countries.
Together, we will prevail.
