By: C.R.
At the Trieste cemetery at St. Anna they said goodbye to the Trieste writer and academic Boris Pahor, who died at the age of 109 at his home in Trieste last Monday. A large crowd gathered at the funeral ceremony, which was also attended by high representatives of the Slovenian government.
The last farewell from Boris Pahor took place at the cemetery in St. Anna. Before the funeral ceremony, people said goodbye to him in the mortuary, where he was one of the first to be visited by a friend, photographer, and philosopher from Paris, Evgen Bavčar. High representatives of the Slovenian government were also present. On behalf of the Prime Minister, the Slovenian Army Guard laid a wreath in farewell to the Trieste writer and academic Boris Pahor. Minister Asta Vrečko, Minister for Slovenes Abroad Matej Arčon, Minister Tatjana Bobnar, and State Secretary at the Ministry of Culture Marko Rusjan also paid their respects at the funeral.
Pahor was born in 1913 into a Slovenian family in Trieste. As a child, he witnessed the fascist burning of the National Hall in Trieste. He joined the Liberation Front during World War II, and in 1944 was sent by the German authorities to the Natzweiler-Struthof concentration camp. He was later transferred to other camps.
“A writer without borders, a citizen of the world, a man of heart”
All his life he warned of the dangers of totalitarian regimes, of which he was a victim. His most famous work is the Necropolis, in which he described the camp experience and with which he became famous throughout Europe.
He was also the recipient of numerous awards, including the Prešeren Award, the Silver Badge of Honour of the Republic of Slovenia, and the French Order of the Legion of Honour.
At the time of his death, politicians and cultural figures paid tribute to him. In his address, the President of the Republic Borut Pahor described him as “a writer without borders, a citizen of the world, a man of heart”.
The Trieste writer was buried in the family tomb. Prior to that, a church ceremony was held in the cemetery’s church – Pahor’s casket was also blessed by the Bishop of Trieste Giampaolo Crepaldi.
Source: Siol.net