Matteo Mariotti defends fundraiser after shark attack

Many in Italy will not forget 20-year-old Matteo Mariotti’s fight for survival: the backpacker from Burma was attacked by a shark while snorkeling off the coast of the Australian state of Queensland in mid-December. After the attack, he turned on his camera and filmed himself emerging from the water, bleeding, as his shocked colleague Tommaso came to his aid.

Mateo lost his lower left leg in a shark attack. He has already undergone multiple surgeries and more surgeries are pending. The Mariotti family started a fundraising campaign on GoFundMe shortly after the accident to help fund “expensive medical care.” 2,000 people have now contributed to the financial support, raising the equivalent of around 70,000 francs to date.

On her Instagram account, the 20-year-old repeatedly shows herself vacationing at sea. He kitesurfs, wakeboards on the coast of Sardinia or simply lies on a hammock. So he is often attacked in comments. “Obviously the fundraising money is designed for that. Like everyone else, you collect money to travel,” commented one.

The criticism is not new: Journalist Salvia Lucarelli already questioned the fundraising campaign in January. “When Matteo was in hospital in Brisbane, his friends started collecting money for medical expenses. I asked why the treatments are free because he has health insurance in Australia and Italy,” the reporter said during a TV show. He later said he was attacked on social media by Matteo’s entourage. .

Now the 20-year-old is speaking out about the criticism for the first time: “There are some intellectual comments from people who don’t know what they’re talking about. They saw me spending some time in the ocean and thought I was spending money there, not knowing it was my friends’ invitation,” he writes on Insta. It says his passion for the ocean will always be a part of his life. “I’m not afraid of sharks. With my family we often go to Fiumaretta on the Tyrrhenian Sea, where my grandparents have a house. I’m swimming with one leg again like I escaped a shark.”

Matteo also receives support from his friends on social media: “That fundraising story again! Matteo didn’t have to explain to anyone. At the age of 20, he lost his legs in a terrifying encounter with a tiger shark. If he smiles again, it means he’s feeling better! I don’t understand the anger that photo can cause a young man who is trying to live his life!”