Global Voices » Italian

Italy: More Protests Against Austerity and Information Deficit

Ylenia Gostoli — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 11:25:08 +0000

This post is part of our special coverage Europe in Crisis.

The many protest movements that followed the implementation of austerity measures in a number of European countries dealing with the sovereign debt crisis, should have taught us that when a national economy is left at the mercy of interest rates and financial markets, sooner or later you can expect its people to express their discontent. Especially in a country, like Italy, already strained by years of government mismanagement, and where to the budget and democratic deficits, an information deficit needs to be added to the equation.

Since mid-January, Italy has been swept by a wave of protests, which began in Sicily with the mobilisation of farmers, truck drivers and fishermen, mostly small business owners, later joined by the Sicilian population at large, including waged workers, students and the unemployed. The movement goes by the name of Forza d'Urto [it] (”shock force”), better known as “the Pitchforks Movement”.

The Pitchforks Movement, image from Facebook.

From January 16, trucks brought the island's roads and motorways to a standstillfor six days through at least 26 blockades, disrupting the circulation of goods and bringing business to a halt, with long cues for petrol and empty supermarket shelves.

The protests later spread to other regions [it], with strikes and blockades all over Italy. In Rome, during a fishermen demonstration in front of the Chamber of Deputies, three demonstrators were reported injured. A mass mobilisation against the austerity package implemented by Prime Minister Mario Monti and his cabinet, lamenting especially the steep rise in the price of petrol. However, during the first few days of the protests, the Italian media was largely silent, except for a few local newspapers, as Marco Cedolin points out in his blog Il Corrosivo [it]:

I media mainstream in queste stesse ore tacciono, reputando (e lasciando intendere) che in Sicilia non stia accadendo nulla che meriti attenzione, tutto tranquillo e nessun problema.
Davvero la protesta in questione è una vicenda d’importanza ed incidenza così minimale da non meritare neppure un servizietto di 50 secondi, di quelli che comunemente vengono dedicati perfino al nuovo tatuaggio sfoggiato dal vip di turno?

Mainstream media are currently silent on the issue, judging (and implying) that nothing worth of attention is happening in Sicily right now, everything is calm and there's no problem.
Is the protest of such marginal importance that it doesn't even deserve a 50-second report, one of those that are usually reserved to discussing the latest tattoo sported by some random celebrity?

The sectors on strike are protesting against the government liberalisation package, but are also united by a sense of disenfranchisement from the whole of the “political caste”: fishermen who claim to be no longer able to sustain the costs of running their business because of excise tax; truckers who can't afford to transport goods at the low fee determined by open market competition because of rising petrol costs. Because of this, the mobilisation was met with a lot of skepticism and accusations that it merely represents a set of narrow interests.

On Fuori Onda Blog [it] David Incamicia reflects this position, which tends to criticise the movement for putting all the blame on the current government, which last November inherited from Berlusconi a country with a broken economy and a shattered international reputation:

Le piazze in rivolta avevano certamente motivo d'essere fino a qualche settimana fa, quando l'irresponsabilità di “un sol uomo al comando” e la sua ostinata resistenza al potere hanno finito per rendere ancor più dura e di difficile risoluzione la pesante situazione sociale del Paese (…)

Ma oggi, proprio per evitare il tracollo definitivo, occorre che tutti giochino nella stessa squadra (…) Gli egoismi vanno rimossi senza se e senza ma. Così come l'ancora poderosa demagogia che arringa a destra e a manca.

Those taking to the squares certainly had every reason to do so until a few weeks ago, when the irresponsibility of a “one man-leadership” and his stubborn refusal to give up power only made a resolution even more difficult for the country's already tense social fabric.

But today, precisely in order to avoid an irreversible downfall, everyone needs to play in the same team (…) Selfish interests need to be removed with no ifs and no buts. The same goes for the strong demagogic discourse coming from right and left.

While those keen to seize the opportunity to voice criticism of the current government (like the far-right party Lega Nord, now at the opposition) seem to ignore that the farmers movement (or Pitchforks Movement) was actually born last summer [it], and that fishermen have been organising strikes since 2008, there persists an inability (or lack of willpower?) to define the nature of the movement, which paves the way to confusion and exploitation for different political ends.

During the strikes, mainstream media focused on alleged mafia infiltrations [it] and the death of a trucker in Asti [it], while on Facebook the pages devoted to or associated with the movement proliferated, revealing, among other things, a number of links [it] with the neofascist movement Forza Nuova, which supports the Pitchforks. Commonly used hash tags on Twitter were #fermosicilia, #forzadurto e #forconi.

The following comment by Veneti stufi [it] on what labels itself the movement's official Facebook page [it] is representative of this confusion:

Non capisco più nulla, pagine colme di rabbia e non di vera indignazione/protesta, ma quali sono i VERI FORCONI? Il sito non è attivo, ognuno in rete dice tutto ed il contrario di tutto, USATE la rete e coinvolgete le persone, non date modo di strumentalizzarvi.

I don't understand, I see pages full of rage rather than real indignation/protest, who are the REAL PITCHFORKS? The website is inactive, online everyone says everything and the opposite of everything, USE the web and get people involved, don't give anyone the chance to exploit you.

However, at the various marches organised in various cities around Sicily, including Gela (in the video) and Palermo, there were students, the unemployed and young people with all kinds of political affiliations, as demonstrated by the following press release [it] signed by the Studentato Autogestito Anomalia [it] (Anomaly autonomous student centre) e dal Laboratorio Vittorio Arrigoni [it] (Workshop Vittorio Arrigoni), two of the city's main social centres:

La protesta popolare che si sta diffondendo in Sicilia come tutte le proteste di questo tipo sono complesse, di massa e contradditorie, ma di sicuro parlano il linguaggio della lotta contro la globalizzazione, contro equitalia e lo strozzinaggio legalizzato che sta mettendo in miseria larghe fasce della societa' siciliana , contro la casta politica di destra e di sinistra (…)
Noi, militanti di centri sociali e di spazi occupati della citta' di Palermo, sosterremo la lotta di “forconi” e autotrasportatori perchè frutto di una giusta battaglia e perchè ricca di positive e “incompatibili” energie; per questo, come sempre, saremo al fianco di chi lotta contro la crisi e questo intollerabile sistema.

Sicily's popular uprising, as every protest of this kind, is a complex and contradictory mass mobilisation, but it surely speaks the language of the fight against globalisation, against Equitalia (the government body responsible for tax collection) and its legalised usury, which is reducing large chunks of Italian society to poverty, against the “political caste” of both the Left and the Right (…)
We, militants of the social centres and of Palermo's occupied spaces, will support the struggle of Pitchforks and truckers because is it the result of a just battle and because it is full of positive and “incompatible” energies; because of this, as always, we will side with those who struggle against the crisis and against this intolerable system.

According to Marco Cedolin [it], the protest deserves attention because it tries to go beyond the ideological divide:

Non so quanta “fortuna” avrà la protesta dei Forconi che sta paralizzando la Sicilia, così come non conosco le prospettive di una movimentazione che sembra manifestarsi (per la prima volta in Italia) realmente trasversale, abiurando i partiti e tentando di mettere nel cassetto le divisioni settarie fra “rossi e neri” che da sempre minano alla radice qualsiasi battaglia in questo disgraziato paese, conducendola ogni volta sul binario morto della diffidenza e dei distinguo.

I don't know what will be of the Pitchfork protest that has been paralysing Sicily, as well as I'm not sure about what to expect from a movement that (for the first time in Italy) seems to represent diverse political interests, rejecting political parties and attempting to set aside sectarian divisions between “red shirts and black shirts” that have always undermined every struggle from its very start in this wretched country, mutual suspicion and differences leading each time to a dead end.

The failure of public opinion to comprehend the nature of the protests is also, and perhaps especially, the failure of the mass media to tell the story, another legacy of the Berlusconi years (Italy is 61st in Reporters Without Borders' world press freedom index 2011-12, and one which politicians still hesitate dealing with [it]. For Davide Grasso, writing on the blog Quiete o Tempesta [it], the Pitchfork protest was:

l’ennesimo successo a metà del sistema italiano dell’informazione. Successo nel combattere le aspirazioni dei soggetti sociali che scelgono la strada della protesta ma fallimento (opposto e speculare) nel comprendere e riportare un rilevante fenomeno sociale.

yet another half-baked success of the Italian information system. Success in repressing the aspirations of those who choose the path of resistance, but failure (its opposite mirror image) in comprehending and reporting such an important social phenomenon.

Lastly, Nicola Spinella writes on Agoravox [it]:

Il celebre motto “divide et impera” rivela ancora oggi, dopo due millenni, la propria immortalità: è bastato agitare davanti al popolo il fantasma della mafia infiltrata nelle fila degli autotrasportatori, assimilarli a sigle dell'estrema destra, per ridurre la protesta ad un fuoco di paglia. Difficile pronosticare uno scenario futuro per tutta un'Italia scossa dal salasso Monti e da un ventennio di malgoverno berlusconiano.

The famous maxim “divide and rule” has today revealed, after two millennia, its timelessness: drawing people's attention to mafia characters infiltrated among the ranks of the truckers, and associating them with far-right acronyms was enough to reduce the protest to a flash in the pan. It is difficult to predict what the future holds for a country drained by Monti and twenty years of mismanagement under Berlusconi.

The dialogue between the government and the movement appears to have reached a standstill, and a new wave of protests was due to start on Monday 6 February, with sit-ins in a number of sicilian towns and cities. A few of these have been reported, but it looks like the planned occupation of seaports and oil refineries has been postponed. Long queues at petrol stations in Messina were reported on Saturday 4 February, allegedly in preparation for the strikes.

This post is part of our special coverage Europe in Crisis.

Black Women in European Politics: from Struggle to Success

Vivienne Griffiths — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 11:42:20 +0000

Nowadays, it is a common occcurence to witness African-born women having successful careers in Europe. Despite the evident challenges, many of them have also distiguished themselves in politics. Still, it was not so long ago that such success would have seemed impossible. To achieve greatness, these women have often come a long way, both literally and figuratively.

In order to better appreciate the progress made, one needs to think back to the 19th century and consider the image of black women in Europe then. For the purpose of this article, we will only address the story of women from the African diaspora who have been elected to positions of leadership in countries other than the colonial powers that previously ruled their home countries.

A history of racism

Postcard depicting Sarah Baartman, Wikipedia (public domain)

The story of the “Hottentot Venus” is symptomatic of the relationship between the West and African women in the last two centuries. Sébastien Hervieu, an Africa correspondent for Le Monde newspaper in France, tells the story of Sarah Baartman from South Africa, better known as the “Hottentot Venus”. In an article published in October 2010 in his blog afriquedusud.blog.lemonde.fr, he reviews [fr] Abdellatif Kechiche's [fr] film about her tragic story, Black Venus:

Au début du XIXème siècle, cette servante est emmenée en Europe et devient un objet de foire en raison de ses attributs physiques proéminents. Certains “scientifiques” utilisent sa présence pour théoriser l'infériorité de la “race noire”. Lorsqu'elle meurt à seulement 25 ans, ses organes génitaux et son cerveau sont placés dans des bocaux de formol, et son squelette et le moulage de son corps sont exposés au musée de l'Homme à Paris. C'est seulement en 2002 que la France accepte de rendre la dépouille de Saartjie Baartman à l'Afrique du Sud, concluant ainsi un long imbroglio juridique et diplomatique

At the beginning of the 19th century, this servant was brought to Europe and became a fairground attraction because of her prominent physical attributes. Some “scientists” used her presence to support the theory that the “black race” was inferior. When she died at only 25, her genitals and her brain were placed in jars of formaldehyde. Her skeleton and a molding of her body were exhibited at the Museum of Man in Paris. It was only in 2002 that France agreed to return Sarah Baartman's remains to South Africa, thereby drawing to a close a long running legal and diplomatic imbroglio [fr].

Sarah Baartman died in Paris on 29th September 1815. More than 100 years later, the Khoïkhoï people in South Africa called on Nelson Mandela to demand the restitution of Sarah's remains. The demand was met with the refusal of the French authorities and the scientific community citing the inalienable heritage of science and the state, but France eventually repatriated the body to South Africa where, in accordance with the rites of her people, it was purified and placed on a bed of dried herbs which were set alight.

Norway

Two centuries later, the position of black women in Europe has drastically changed. Amongst others, many have now been elected to political office.

Manuela Ramin-Osmundsen on Wikipedia (Norway) (CC-BY 3.0)

Manuela Ramin-Osmundsen in Norway is one of these women, and one of the most interesting because she shows the contradictions that still exist within some countries. She had to step down from a ministerial post in the Norwegian government just four months into her job. An article on Grioo.com sets out her career [fr]:

Originaire de l’Ile de la Martinique, à 44 ans, Manuela Ramin-Osmundsen a obtenu son poste de ministre de l’Enfance et de la Parité au sein du gouvernement de centre-gauche norvégien le 18 octobre 2007[…] Elle est mariée avec Terje Osmundsen, un homme politique membre du parti conservateur norvégien. Après son mariage, elle a pris la nationalité norvégienne et renoncé à celle de la France. Le pays n’autorisant pas la double nationalité.

Born in Martinique, 44 year old Manuela Ramin-Osmundsen gained her post as Minster for Children and Equality in the centre-left Norwegian government on 18th October 2007 […] She is married to Terje Osmundsen, a politician and member of the Norwegian conservative party. After their marriage she took Norwegian nationality and renounced her French nationality as the country does not allow dual nationality.

In an interview with Patrick Karam from the website fxgpariscaraibe.com in 2008 she explains [fr] some of the things that played in her favour in being appointed and why she stepped down following a controversy over an alleged conflict of interest in the hiring of a political appointee:

En Norvège, il y a obligation de représentation des deux sexes dans les conseils d’administration, 40 % de femmes au minimum. Nous menons aussi une politique pour inciter les hommes à prendre plus de responsabilité dans le foyer pour laisser les femmes entreprendre professionnellement. J’ai travaillé aussi sur l’enfance en danger, les violences, les maltraitances… J’ai travaillé quatre mois sans être critiquée, c’était une expérience réussie. Les critiques sont venues avec la nomination d’une médiatrice. Avec du recul, tout le monde voit que c’est une bagatelle. J’ai cédé au pouvoir de la presse.

In Norway there must be parity of representation between the two sexes within the administrative councils, with a minimum of 40% women. We are also pursuing a policy which encourages men to take more responsibilty at home, leaving women able to pursue a career. I also worked on child endangerment, violence, abuse… I worked for four months without criticism and it was a real success. The criticism began with the appointment of an ombudsman for children. In hindsight everyone can see it was something being made out of nothing. I gave in to the power of the media.

Sweden

Nyamko Sabuni, Wikipedia (CC-BY-SA)

Nyamko Sabuni [fr] is a former minister in Sweden, originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Born in Burundi in 1969, her father fled the country due to persecution. She was elected to the Riksday as a member of the parliament in 2002, and at 37 years old became a Swedish goverment minister from 2006 to 2010. An article published on congopage.com sets out [fr] her progress.

En 1981, à l’âge de 12 ans, elle est arrivée en Suède avec sa mère et trois de ses cinq frères et sœurs. Là, elle a retrouvé son père, un opposant politique plusieurs fois emprisonné au Congo (actuellement République démocratique du Congo), venu dans le pays nordique grâce à Amnesty International.

In 1981, at the age of 12, she arrived in Sweden with her mother and three of her brothers and sisters. There she was reunited with her father, an opposition politician imprisoned several times in Congo (now the Democratic Republic of Congo), who had come to the Nordic country with the help of Amnesty International.

The Netherlands

Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Wikipedia (public domain)

The Hirsiali blog presents a profile of Ayaan Hirsi Ali:

Née en Somalie en 1969, excisée à l’âge de 5 ans, Ayaan Hirsi Ali est scolarisée dans un lycée musulman pour filles. Soumise à ses parents, à son clan et à sa religion jusqu’à l’âge de vingt-trois ans, elle profite d’un passage dans sa famille en Allemagne, pour s’enfuir et échapper à un mariage forcé. Réfugiée aux Pays-Bas, elle adopte les valeurs libérales occidentales au point de devenir une jeune députée à La Haye et de s’affirmer athée. Pour avoir travaillé dans les services sociaux du royaume, elle connaît, de l’intérieur, les horreurs tolérées à l’encontre des femmes au nom du multiculturalisme.

Born in Somalia in 1969 and circumcised at the age of 5, Ayaan Hirsi Ali went to a Muslim girls school. Subjugated by her parents, her clan and her religion up to the age of 23, she took advantage of a trip to visit family in Germany to flee and escape a forced marriage. Taking refuge in Holland, she adopted Western liberal values to the extent that she became a young member of parliament in The Hague and declared herself to be an athiest. After having worked in the country's social services she knows, at first hand, the horrors tolerated against women in the name of multiculturalism.

A fierce apponent of some of the aspects of Islam and African traditions that go against basic human rights, she founded an NGO whose aims are set out, on her website Ayaan Hirsiali in the following terms:

In response to ongoing abuses of women’s rights, Ayaan Hirsi Ali and her supporters established the AHA Foundation in 2007 to help protect and defend the rights of women in the West from oppression justified by religion and culture.

Italy

The first black person to be elected to the Italian parliament is Mercedes Lourdes Frias from the Dominican Republic, in the Caribbean. This is how she is described [en] on the blogging site Black Women in Europe:

Mercedes Lourdes Frias was born in the Dominican Republic. She was the first black person elected to the Italian Parliament in 2006 where she served through April 2008. She was a member of the Commission on Constitutional Affairs and the Parliamentary Committee on the Implementation of the Control of Schengen Agreement, and the Control and Surveillance on Immigration. She works on anti-racist activities and welcoming immigrants. From 1994 1997 she was a member of the Council of the Federation of Protestant Churches in Italy. In the town of Empoli Ms Frias served a councilor for the environment, rights of citizenship, equal opportunities.

The most surprising of the black women to have been elected via universal sufferage or appointed to positions of elevated responsibility in European countries is Sandra Maria (Sandy) Cane, elected in 2009 on a Northern League ticket; the most racist and xenophobic of Italy's political parties. One of the party's objectives is the secessoin of some of the northern part the Italian peninsula (though the boundary is not clearly undefined) because the party leaders do not like Southern Italians.

The blog stranieriinitalia.it (foreigners in Italy) gives a brief outline of her career [it]:

Il primo sindaco di colore in Italia ha la camicia verde. Sandra Maria (Sandy) Cane si è aggiudicata con appena 38 voti di scarto la fascia tricolore a Viggiù, cinquemila anime in Valceresio, tra Varesotto e Canton Ticino. Alle sue spalle, una lunga storia di migrazioni. Di Viggiù era originaria la famiglia materna del neosindaco, scalpellini emigrati in Francia, dove durante la seconda guerra mondiale arrivò il padre, un soldato statunitense afroamericano. Il neo sindaco è nata a Springfield, nel Massachussets, nel 1961, ma a dieci anni, dopo la separazione dei genitori, ha seguito la madre nel paesino d’origine.

Italy's first coloured mayor wears a green shirt [the colour worn by Northern League supporters]. Sandra Maria (Sandy) Cane won the tricolour scarf of the Mayor of Viggiù, a town of five thousand inhabitants in the Valceresio region, between the town of Varèse and the Canton of Tessin, with a margin on only 38 votes.
A past with a long history of migration. The new mayor's family on her mother's side were stone masons, originally from Viggiù, who migrated to France. During the Second World War, her father, an African-American soldier from the United States arrived in France. The new Mayor was born in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1961, but ten years after the separation of her parents she followed her mother back to her home village.

This, according to the blog associazioneumoja.wordpress.com, is how she found herself [it] in politics, with a rather unlikely ideological platform:

Della Lega sono sempre stata sostenitrice, anche se mai vera militante. Quando ero ragazza morivo dal ridere a vedere i loro manifesti, curiosi e di forte impatto. Poi quindici anni fa, più o meno, mi sono avvicinata di più. […] Vedo come «molto americana» anche la Lega, per la richiesta di rispettare rigorosamente la legge, anche per i clandestini. Anche se a Viggiù, precisa, non ci sono problemi di integrazione, nè tantomeno di sicurezza. Tra le priorità, guarda al rilancio turistico del paese, con manifestazioni e attenzione alla cultura.

I have always supported the Northern League without ever being very active. When I was a little girl their posters used to make me laugh, they were curious and had a big impact. Then, around fifteen years ago I became a little more involved. […] I see it as being “very American”, even the Northern League, because they insist on a rigorous respect for the law, even for illegal immigrants. Even so, she points out that there are no problems of integration and still yet security in Viggiù. One of her priorities is to reignite tourism in the area, with events and a focus on culture.

Despite the marked progress in the inclusion of African women in European politics, they represent isolated cases as, beyond the difficulties they face due to racism or culture and religion, even within their own families and their own societies, they also have to face up to the challenges that all women across the world face [fr]: domestic violence, the challenge of bearing children, marginalisation and under-representation.

Syria: Emergency Refugees

Dieyna Ba — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 13:49:22 +0000

With large scale violence in Syria, the exodus towards neighboring countries is increasing continuously (Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey). As per Islamic Relief [it] non-profit organisation, at least 650 Syrian families (mostly from the high risk areas of Homs and Hama) are in urgent need of food, sanitation and other assistance. Currently different activities such as fundraising and other initiatives are taking place, details here.

Global Voices Most Read Posts in 2011

Solana Larsen — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 23:46:50 +0000

This post is part of our special coverage Global Voices in 2011.

Our top 20 list of most read posts on Global Voices for 2011 includes four from Japan, three from Egypt, and two from the Philippines. But only one story is about a giant crocodile!

It's been an incredible year for the reach and recognition of citizen media around the world, and that means Global Voices is no longer as lonely a media voice when it comes to reporting tweets and blog posts. Still, where mainstream media interest wanes, we're the ones who strive to continue documenting what local bloggers everywhere need the world to know.

Self Defence Forces arrive at the scene of the tsunami in Japan. Image by cosmobot, copyright Demotix (13/03/11).

Some of our proudest moments of 2011 will never be reflected on a top 20 list like the one below. This year we exceeded 500 active volunteer authors and translators of countless languages and countries, and we've published more than 2,600 long posts and 6,300 short ones in English alone.

Inevitably, many of the stories that don't get as wide a readership as they deserve are from countries that tend to be overlooked in international media. Unique coverage from across Africa, the Caucasus, Macedonia, the Russian language Internet, Latin America and indigenous rights are among some of the highlights. See the 2011 regional reviews by our editors and authors for a glance of what you may have missed.

Our Middle East and North Africa team deserves special mention this year. Throughout protests, blackouts, threats, they have managed to pull though and keep writing. The bloody images still proliferate, but our authors seek out constructive voices and angles for dialogue. So often, they've shared local humor and context that is difficult to appreciate from abroad without a guide.

Perhaps for the first time ever, China doesn't figure on our top 20 list of the year. These are particularly chilling times to blog about controversial subjects - something Global Voices authors in many other countries unfortunately also experience. This makes the stories that do come from anywhere free speech is frowned on even more precious.

Most read posts on Global Voices in 2011

Our most visited special coverage pages were:

In 2011 the world has learned more about the transformative power of online citizen media. We believe the best way to support these emerging voices on a global scale is to listen. Thanks for reading Global Voices! And please consider supporting our work with a donation.

This post is part of our special coverage Global Voices in 2011.

Italy: African workers renew their call for open dialogue

Ylenia Gostoli — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 04:29:28 +0000

Following the murder of two Senegalese men in Florence, Italy, migrant African workers released an open letter on the web [it] to renew their call for dialogue with citizens of Rosarno, where in January 2010 violent riots took place. ‘Those that in the past few days have spread fear when talking about us will be held accountable.’ they write. ‘We’re here to work and contribute to the development of this town and region.’

Italy, Senegal: Strong Reactions Follow Murder of 2 Senegalese Men in Florence

Amanda Mc Lane — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 14:06:11 +0000

[All links forward to articles in French, unless otherwise stated]

On December 14, 2011, at the initiative of Mayor Matteo Renzi, the City of Florence, Italy, decided to suspend all commercial activity for ten minutes as a protest against racism. Shop owners closed their stores for the entire day in solidarity. The catalyst for these actions? A tragic event that took place in the day before.

On December 13, Gianluca Casseri, a 50 year-old hunter, far-right activist and author of books denying the Holocaust, opened fired on a group of Senegalese in two outdoor markets in Florence. The horrific event resulted in the death of two street vendors from Senegal, as well as the perpetrator of the crime, who committed suicide after a brief shoot-out with police. The incident also left three other Africans injured and hospitalized in critical condition.

Anti-racism demonstration in Florence by Antonella Beccaria on Flickr (CC-NC SA-2.0)

According to reports of the incident published in the media, the incident created chaos and fear in the very heart of Florence. It also provoked vehement reactions and speculation as to the motives behind Casseri's killing of two strangers. Was this a case of racism or insanity?

A video reviews the homicide and provides one Senegalese man's reactions; in his opinion, this was a case of racism. The video also features comments from members of a far-right group called Casapound, which counted Casseri among its enthusiasts.

Tiziano Rugi commented [it] on the event reporternuovo.it:

Il giorno dopo la strage di Firenze, restano solo mazzi di fiori e ceri dove ieri sono morti due venditori ambulanti senegalesi. Lì, in una delle bancarelle del mercatino di piazza Dalmazia tutti i giorni, dalle otto del mattino fino a tarda sera, lavoravano Samb Modou e Diop Mor. Uccisi dall’odio razziale di Gianluca Casseri, cinquantenne pistoiese vicino agli ambienti di estrema destra che credeva nella purezza della razza bianca.

The day after the Florence massacre, flowers and candles marked the spot where two Senegalese street vendors were killed. Right there, where every day, from eight o'clock in the morning until late at night, Modou Samb and Mor Diop had their own booth; killed by the racial hatred of fifty-something Gianluca Casseri from the town of Pistoia, known for his far-right tendencies and belief in the purity of the white race.

Samu gives his opinion [it] in the comment section of a blog post about the events posted on qn.quotidiano.net:

Provo orrore per quello che è successo, ma la situazione immigrati in Italia sta diventando insostenibile e se oggi a fare certe cose è un pazzo fanatico,un caso isolato, domani, tra qualche anno, non so se certi avvenimenti succederanno per mano di pazzi. A noi italiani ci viene chiesto sempre di più e vediamo diminuire i benefici e le nostre ricchezze,la nostra libertà, i nostri figli non trovano lavoro, e questi immigrati vengono quà e fanno ciò che vogliono, impunemente, alla luce del giorno; ”poverini devono pur mangiare” dicono i soliti buonisti. Bene, quando poverini come loro lo diventeremo anche noi, e se continua così non ci vorranno tanti anni perchè questo si verifichi, allora diventerà una guerra tra poveri e non sò come andrà a finire, penso molto male.

What happened is horrible, but the immigrant situation in Italy is becoming unbearable. This event is attributed to a fanatic, as an isolated incident, but in a few years, such events may not be perpetrated only by demented individuals. We Italians are continuously forced to make sacrifices, cut back on our lifestyle, our riches, freedom; our children can't find work, and here are these immigrants that come to our country to do whatever they please in total impunity, in broad daylight; ”the poor have a right to eat too” is what you hear from the usual do-gooders. But when we'll have become as poor as them, and if things continue to deteriorate, it won't take long before a full-out war is declared between people of the poorer class, and I have no idea how it will all finish. Badly, I'm sure.

Contrasting opinions were posted in the comments section. One commenter compared the event to a massacre that took place in Liège, Belgium on the very same day, although Maria 1 did not agree with the comparison [it]:

Non mi meraviglio che tu non capisca in cosa consista la differenza: il PAZZO in Belgio ha sparato sulla folla , il PAZZO RAZZISTA a Firenze ha sparato SOLO su persone con la pelle nera!!!

Funny that you miss the major difference between the two events: The CRAZY MAN in Belgium fired on an anonymous crowd, the RACIAL MANIAC in Florence ONLY fired on people with dark skin.

An anoymous commenter agreed [it]:

credo di no. ma poverini l'unica cosa che gli dice il cervello è che la violenza sia il giusto mezzo per evadere dall'ignoranza e dalla loro depressione mentale.

FATE LA VITA DA IMMIGRATO IN ITALIA PER UN SOLO MESE, poi vediamo da che parte state!

o forse credete che solo per essere nati nella parte “fortunata” del pianeta avete più diritti o sentimenti degli altri?

I don't think so…poor people…but the only thing his brain told him was that violence is the way out of ignorance and a mentally depressive state.

TRY LIVING IN AN IMMIGRANT'S SHOES IN ITALY FOR JUST ONE MONTH and then we'll see whose side you're on. Or maybe you think that because you were born as “one of the planet's lucky” you have more rights or feelings then the less-lucky?

On his Facebook page, which has more than 1.5 million fans, Roberto Saviano, author of the best-seller Gomorra, which inspired a major-motion picture, wrote [it]:

La morte di Samb e Diop a Firenze mi ha ricordato la strage dei ragazzi africani a Castelvolturno di tre anni fa. Ricordo anche, come fosse ora, la morte di Jarry Masslo a Villa Literno nel 1989 e la strage di Pescopagano nel 1990… l'Italia è il Paese europeo con più stragi di africani e questo dovrebbe farci riflettere.

The death in Florence of Samb and Diop reminded me of the massacre of young Africans in Castelvolturno three years ago. I also remember, as if it were yesterday, the death of Jarry Masslo in Villa Literno in 1989 and the Pescopagano massacre in 1990… Italy is the leading European country when it comes to massacring Africans and that should make us stop and think.

In Dakar, Senegal, an Italian sociologist and expatriate found an original way to present her apologies to the Senegalese people. According to a video report by Serigne Diaw on the web site leral.net:

Chiara Barisson, an Italian sociologist based in Senegal, handed out 200 flyers in the streets of Sandaga as a way of offering her condolences and apologies, not only to the families of the victims killed in Florence, but to the Senegalese people as a whole. Surrounded by her Italian friends, she insisted on saying “I'm sorry” for the racist act, said The Observateur. Shop owners were said to be very touched by the sociologist's gesture.

However this comment on the video from de schwarzeraal [en] puts a different spin on the murderer's act:

Africans from the Ivory Coast have been known to burn their Senegalese neighbors at the stake; one Senegalese man killed an African from Mali over garbage and God knows what else while pretending to be in charge… in the street, a Malian killed a man from Senegal over a place in front of a TV screen, etc…crazy people are everywhere…

On December 17, the outdoor markets of several Italian cities organized protest marches, as reported [it] in one opinion piece on the blog corriereimmigrazione:

La manifestazione, che si svolgerà in contemporanea in varie città, sarà l'occasione per rilanciare i problemi che attualmente vivono le comunità migranti in Italia: “il bisogno di una nuova sanatoria, la risoluzione del problema delle truffe, il rifiuto al permesso di soggiorno a punti, il diritto al voto e alla cittadinanza per i figli degli immigrati, la problematica di chi è scappato della guerra in Libia e la denuncia dei centri di detenzione come luoghi da chiudere”. L'evento sarà inoltre occasione per iniziare il cammino che porterà verso il primo marzo 2012, lo sciopero degli stranieri

This event will take place simultaneously in many cities as an opportunity to renew discussions of the problems currently encountered by the migrant communities of Italy, “the need for a new amnesty, the resolution of problems of corruption, the refusal to create a points system for workers' permits, the right to vote and to citizenship for the children of immigrants, the answer to the question of who was fighting in Libya and the request to shut down and stop using prisons as concentration camps.” This event is also the perfect opportunity to pave the way for March 1, 2012 and the foreigners' strike.

After Milan, protests are scheduled to take place in Caltagirone, Messine, Florence, Rome, Imola, Legnano and Cinisello Balsamo, in front of CARA di Mineo (CT).

On Twitter, @Doubangar, Félicité Doubangar offered her impression of the number of participants who turned out in Florence:

Thousands of people turned out last Saturday in Florence in protest at the action of a far-right activitst who killed two street vendors of Senegalese origin last Tuesday.

And this report appeared on the Senegal 24.7 Facebook page:

Senegalese men killed in Florence: protest against racism — At least 10,000 people marched last Saturday in protest against racism in Florence (centre) where a far-right activist shot and killed two street vendors of Senegalese origin last Tuesday, injuring three others.

We want to ring in a new era of hope, so that our two brothers didn't die for nothing, a spokesperson from the Senegalese community, Mr. Pape Diaw, declared to the press.

We must work harder for peaceful coexistence and respect. It has to become a real battle, and not just a façade, he added.

The number of protesters was estimated to be about 10,000, according to police; the figure 12,000 was reported by protest organizers.

Many wondered whether this was a case of political exploitation or proof of compassion. blogunugalsene.com published [fr] posted the following update:

As this goes to press, M^e Aïssata Tall Sall is taking part in the protest in Florence, to pay tribute to the memory of the two murdered Senegalese men, with the expected presence of the Italian Prime Minister, the President of the Regional Council, the Democratic Party leader (major opposition to the current governing party). The lawyer hired by the Socialist Senegalese party will head up a pool of French and American lawyers who will defend the victims. Tomorrow, December 18th, before leaving Italy, she is scheduled to meet with other Italian lawyers who will also join the pool.

The Italian authorities reacted with strong statements and actions to the tragedy, as did the Senegalese community and Italian civil society.

Crisis Camp Italy: Using Web 2.0 to Manage Emergencies

Ciara Nugent — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 02:16:18 +0000

After Paris [fr] - Bologna. Crisis Camp [it] is now landing in Italy, as part of a European network which has developed over the last few months, and whose main goal is to “engage with new technologies which can be be of use in the management of emergency situations and crises”.

These collaborative technologies are being made possible by the emergence and refinement of Web 2.0 applications which are readily accessed and used.

The philosophy (on the level of ideas and in practice) that these applications are based on is crowdsourcing, that is to say, active and direct participation in the community. But what is a Crisis Camp? It designates an informal conference, in this case a BarCamp specialising in online resources designed to help manage a wide range of crises, from the states of emergencies caused by natural disasters to conflicts and political and social revolutions.

Crisis Camp Italy

Mapping, geolocalization, citizen journalism, data management: these are just some of the topics which will be discussed in Bologna [it] on the 19 November, 2011. The provisional programme can be found here [it]. Everyone is welcome to propose topics for discussion by filling out an online application form [it].

Following the success of collaborative platforms like Ushahidi and of various other Web 2.0 applications, harnessing social media and directly involving citizens have become essential means of dealing with increasingly unsettling emergencies, as demonstrated by initiatives established in response to the recent floods in Thailand, and which is also evidenced by the International development of the Crisis Commons network.

We asked Elena Rapisardi [it], a web content strategist and an active promoter of the event, a few questions in order to better focus the meeting in Bologna.

Global Voices (GV): Why was Crisis Camp established, what are its aims and what are its plans for the future?

Elena Rapisardi (ER): Crisis Camp Italy aims to be a coming together of people who deal with crises, emergencies and risk, and who see in Web 2.0, an approach and tools which are useful in managing and, above all else, in preventing crises. The idea is to establish a network. A network of people with shared objectives and principles, like collaboration and resilience. Crises, emergencies and risks can only be prevented, managed and overcome by the development of a resilient and collaborative community which is capable of proactively involving all relevant parties, from the scientific community to citizens, as well as institutions, the media and experts. For this reason I think that any Crisis Camp held in Italy, as was the case in Paris and elsewhere in the world, must also consider how to begin establishing links with the existing response systems. A difficult challenge as it requires patient work and presupposes a willingness, on both sides, to understand the requirements and find shared tools for collaboration.

GV: Even in Italy, is there a need, as demonstrated by the the recent floods in Liguria, for more efficient and on hand tools, with which to respond to emergencies?And are people really ready to organise themselves over the Internet?

ER: On the technological side, many useful applications exist in Italy as well. But I think that innovations in the field of emergency and crisis management require a cultural change, above all else, so that technology can play its part but does not become an end in of itself and does not lead to competitiveness. Free and open technology exists, there are large numbers of open source projects. It is, perhaps, necessary to take into account standards, open data and everyday Internet usage “practices”, and even education, as Internet access does not automatically imply Internet literacy. The point is, however, that we need to move from the emotional engagement that makes us send a photo to our friends and “followers”, in order to share an emotional response, to a conscious and proactive participation. It is not an easy change to make but meetings like the Crisis Camps can unite strengths, experiences and energy and help make the change. I think that initiatives like the use of crowdmapping to collect visual evidence of the recent floods in Liguria, organised by the Genoa and Livorno offices of “La Reppublica”, in collaboration with the Department of Earth Sciences in the University of Turin and NatRisk, are a first step towards collaborations between the scientific community and the media. There are new methods of making news and new rules to be learned. I do not believe in instant solutions, the Internet is not a question of “just click this”, the Internet is much more than a simple “click”.

GV: On a more global level, applications like Ushahidi seem to be in wide use, but are these applications really helpful or do they end up creating rumours, unreliability and information overload?

ER: The reliability of information gleaned from social media or from initiatives such as crowdmapping, is a problem which is keenly felt by all VTCs [Volunteers Technical Communities] and there are projects in place to define and establish the trustworthiness of contributors. Personally I think that we have to think in terms of preparedness, of ”entering” the Internet and establishing a reputation and position. There is no ignoring the social and communicative phenomenon that is social media. It is impossible to exclude or control it. People will keep tweeting and posting on Facebook. That's why we have to enter the stream and “collaborate” to create shared spaces, become a trusted and recognised voice. Two interesting examples are INGV and the Consorzio Lamma Toscana [it], both of whom are constantly present on Twitter and use it as their principal means of communication. Events must be followed and contributions made while they are in progress. Certainly it is not an easy task, as communication is a responsibility and the new media demands speed and a “just in time” mentality that the established information management processes of some organisations cannot cope with, not out of malice, or at least I hope not, but because they lack the capabilities to adequately manage ”post-Gutenburg revolution” information, that is to say, information which is quick, on time and pervasive.

For updates on Crisis Camp Italy and related developments, you can visit the official website [it] and follow the hashtag #crisiscampit on Twitter.

Italy: End of the Road for Berlusconi

Ylenia Gostoli — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 02:04:30 +0000

This post is part of our special coverage Europe in Crisis.

At the end of a dramatic week in its recent history, Italy has witnessed what many of its citizens thought they'd never live to see: after 17 years in power, Silvio Berlusconi, the country's embattled prime minister, handed in his resignation last Saturday.

Last Tuesday, Berlusconi's coalition lost its majority after a crucial budget vote, and the country needed to calm the financial markets in order to keep interest rates on sovereign debt under control. On Monday morning (14 November), the economist Mario Monti formally began consultations as head of the new technical government, backed by most of the country's political and financial players.

“Thank you Napolitano” and “Finally”, read the signs held up by the protesters who had surrounded all the main political buildings in Rome: Palazzo Grazioli, Palazzo Chigi, Montecitorio, Quirinale [it]. Outside Berlusconi's private residence, a choir was singing the Halleluja.

After the Senate approved stability measures [it] with a wide majority of 380 to 26 on Saturday afternoon, a crowd gathered in front of the Palazzo del Quirinale, where at 8.30pm Berlusconi was expected to formally hand in his resignation to the President Giorgio Napolitano. On his arrival, the crowd jeered and shouted “Buffoon”, as shown in this video. Italians took to the streets in Milan too, where they sung adaptations of Italian stadium anthems waving national flags, as shown in the video below:

Slogans include “resignations”, “mafioso”, as well as a number of references to the many trials against the former prime minister: “in jail”, “are you going to arrest him or not?”, and “we have a dream in our heart: seeing Berlusca at San Vittore” [an infamous prison in Milan], as if his resignation could suddenly repeal amnesty laws and resume trials that had been invalidated by the statute of limitations. Someone sings the popular WWII partisan song Bella Ciao and the national anthem. The crowd waits for Berlusconi's return after his meeting with the President, but he leaves from a side exit.

Online reactions

On Twitter, the most popular hashtags were #finecorsa (end of the road), #maipiù (never again) and #graziegiorgio (thank you Giorgio):

@ezekiel: Il centro di Roma è in modalità “vittoria ai mondiali”: gente avvolta nel tricolore ecc. #maipiù #finecorsa

@ezekiel: Central Rome is in “world cup victory” mode: people wrapped in the flag and so on. #maipiù #finecorsa

@Neclord: E domattina tricolore appena lavato e stirato alla finestra! #maipiù #finecorsa

@Neclord: And tomorrow, a freshly washed and ironed tricolor outside the window! #maipiù #finecorsa

@fabiux: Questa sera il bungabunga te l'abbiamo fatto noi. #finecorsa

@fabiux: Tonight, we gave you a bunga bunga.

Someone threw coins at Berlusconi, an act reminiscent of the fall from grace of another well-known Italian politician, Bettino Craxi, following the “mani pulite” (clean hands) corruption scandal in early 1990s. On Twitter, many alluded to this historic episode.

@civati [it] writes:

Stasera non gli tireranno monetine ma Buoni del Tesoro. #maipiù

Tonight they won't throw coins at him, but treasury bonds.

@tomasoledda [it] adds:

Nessuno lancia monetine per via della #crisi. #graziegiorgio #finecorsa

Nobody throws coins tonight. It must be the #crisis. #graziegiorgio #finecorsa

On Facebook, there were several attempts at organising the celebrations in a number of Italian cities [it]. Just before Berlusconi stepped into the Quirinale palace, ">Luca Cuman [it] wrote on a page titled “Party for Berlusconi's resignation”:

Fra pochi minuti si concretizza la seconda “Liberazione d'Italia” proponiamo il 12/11 come FESTA NAZIONALE!!!!!!

In a few minutes, the second “Italian Liberation Day” will become reality. We propose that the 12/11 become NATIONAL HOLIDAY!!!!!!

Celebrations in front of Congress buiding

On the “liberation day” issue, @tigella [it] draws attention to the fact that the day might be better compared to when Mussolini was arrested in 1943, only to be freed shortly after to form a puppet state in the north of Italy, than to liberation by partisan forces on April 25, two years later:

[ci tengo a ribadire] oggi è il 25 luglio, non il 25 aprile: occhi aperti!

[I'll say this again] today is the 25th July, not the 25th April: open your eyes!

Likewise, @Groucho68 [it] ironically addresses the fact that the Berlusconi era might not be over quite yet:

Se ne va, ma convinto di risorgere il terzo giorno. #finecorsa

He leaves us, certain he will resurrect on the third day.

Despite Saturday's celebrations then, concern about the profound political and economic crisis that engulfs the country is manifest in both the street and the web. In Rome, as well as the Hallelujah and the national anthem, one could hear “kick the banks out of the State”. Last Friday however, the hashtag #rimontiamo (”let's rise back up”, anagram of Mario Monti) was a top trend on Twitter, symptom of a general consensus that the Monti medicine, however bitter, might be necessary.

The journalist @sandroruotolo [it] writes:

#rimontiamo. Oggi si dimette Berlusconi. E' un bel giorno per l'Italia. Adesso tocca a Monti. Speriamo che ce la faccia. God Save Italy!!!

#rimontiamo. Tonight Berlusconi resigns. It's a good day for Italy. Now it's Monti's turn. Let's hope he makes it. God save Italy!

@ggrch [it] writes:

Italiani godiamoci questa notte perché da domani c'è da ricostruire l'Italia #rimontiamo #finecorsa

Italians, let's enjoy tonight because from tomorrow, we will have to re-build the country. #rimontiamo #finecorsa

Others, such as the student network Rete della Conoscenza (The Knowledge Network), are less optimistic. Referring to the expected cuts to the education budget that the government has been planning to implement, @reteconoscenza [it] tweets:

Si annuncia un'infornata di bocconiani al governo. Nelle università pubbliche non c'è niente da festeggiare… #nosaycat #maipiù

A bunch of privately educated “bocconians” in our government. In public universities, we have nothing to celebrate…

Similarly, the anonymous blogger of One Big Onion [it] reflects on the implications of a technocratic government imposed by the markets and the EU:

Dice che Berlusconi oggi se ne va. Non staremo certo qui a rimpiangerlo noi, quelli di Genova, i compagni di Carlo e dei ragazzi che stavano alla Diaz e a Bolzaneto (…)
Facciamo a questo punto una proposta, oltre al pareggio di bilancio nella costituzione ci mettiamo una regola per cui quando lo spread sale di oltre 500 punti da Bruxelles e Berlino ci mandano un commissario della Goldman Sachs come premier. Oppure che la Trilaterale con un decreto di urgenza ci vende anche Palazzo Madama assieme ai beni dello Stato da mettere all’asta.

They say that Berlusconi will walk out today. We certainly won't be the ones to miss him, Carlo's comrades at the protest in Genoa, and of those who were at the Diaz and Bolzaneto (…)
At this point, we would like to put forward a proposition. Besides adjustments to the national budget, we should add an article to our constitution saying that every time the credit spread increases to over 500 points, Brussels and Berlin can delegate a high commissioner from Goldman Sachs to be our Prime Minister. Or that with an urgent decree, the trilateral commission may sell even Palazzo Madama, with the rest of Italian state property to be put up for auction.

On Sunday 13 November, Italians woke up in the #doposilvio (literally, after-Silvio). Simona Melani's blog [it] grasps the tone of many of the online conversations on such an crucial day in the history of the country:

Stavolta proviamo a metterci a correre, noi che abbiamo 20, 30 anni. Facciamo sì che queste dimissioni siano l’inizio simbolico della nostra Italia e non la fine di un incubo. Perchè se ci rilassiamo, l’incubo continuerà. (…)
Tocca a noi, corriamo, con le borse pesanti sulle spalle perchè c’è un sacco di lavoro da fare. La prima cosa da rimettere in piedi è la Politica. Senza pupazzi di gommapiuma e imitatori da Bagaglino. Stavolta tocca a noi. Alziamo il culo dalla sedia. Twitter lo possiamo aggiornare dallo smartphone, mentre finalmente corriamo per costruire un Paese, con la presunzione gioiosa di essere migliori di quello che abbiamo visto negli ultimi anni.
It’ s the end of the world (as we know it). Abbiamo 5 minuti 5 di felicità. Mettiamoci al lavoro, finalmente.

All of us 20 and 30-somethings, this time should start running. Let's make this resignation the symbolic beginning of our Italy, and not simply the end of a nightmare. Because if we lay back, the nightmare will continue. (…)
It's our time; let's run with the heavy baggage we carry on our shoulders, because there is a lot of work to be done. The first thing to reform is our political system, freeing it from foam rubber puppets and comedians. This time is our turn. Let's get up from that damn chair. Twitter can be updated from our smart phones, as we run to build a country, joyfully presumptuous that we are better than what we've been in the past few years.
It's the end of the world (as we know it). We have five minutes of happiness. Let's roll up our sleeves.

This post is part of our special coverage Europe in Crisis.

Thumbnail and featured image shows celebrations at the official announcement of Silvio Berlusconi's resignation in front of the Quirinale presidential palace. Image by al mak, copyright Demotix (12/11/11).

Italy: Huge celebrations for Berlusconi's resignation

Bernardo Parrella — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 18:50:59 +0000

Millions of Italians (worldwide) are celebrating an historic moment: the official resignation of PM Silvio Berlusconi, now on his way to the Presidential Palace. Huge celebrations are also being planned online, with live video streaming from downtown Rome, Facebook pages, YouTube videos, on-going tweets and so on.

Italy/Tunisia: Migrants' Opinions of the Arab Spring

Ciara Nugent — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 14:18:21 +0000

Since January 2011, events in North Africa have resulted in a series of dramatic changes to the form (and effects) of global protest and citizen participation. There has been an extensive convergence of traditional protest and web activism, confirming the crucial role played by the ‘Web 2.0′ in confrontations between governments and opposition movements.

The Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) region has been (and remains) a fascinating testing ground for the media and politics and has inspired, among numerous other independent productions, a documentary film that features the voices of North African and African immigrants living in Italy. Called #Revolution, this short video was filmed in Padua and Bologna by citizen-reporters belonging to the Voci Globali association [it].

What did the revolutions mean for migrants? What part do they think the Internet played with respect to the results achieved? Differing opinions emerge from the interviews. There are those who think that the Internet acted as a springboard to the revolutions' successes, and those who maintain that social networks cannot replace public protest in the street.

Here is the #Revolution video (11+ min) [in Italian, with English subtitles]:

#Revolution will be shown in Padua on the 14 November as part of the roundtable “Tunisia, le stagioni dei gelsomini” (Tunisia, the Seasons of Jasmine) [it]. The event is included in Immaginafrica, an International festival dedicated to African filmaking launched by the History Department of the University of Padua. The festival, established in 2005, aims to promote an awareness of the complexity of the African continent in order to:

tarnish an image of Africa which is too often superficial, narrow, stereotypical and essentially negative, and which, owing to a relief-driven logic, finds too many obstacles to improving the interlocator's position. This image determines, to a great extent, the relationship with immigration, whereas recognition of different cultures' heritage, through careful and informed knowledge of their cultural expressions- to which immigrants can contribute - can be of valuable help in constructing a mutually enriching relationship,

Since it began, the festival's organisers have promoted a range of activities including the establishment of an university course in African film-making, especially francophone productions, with a particular focus on productions from Burkino Faso. The course is the first of its kind in Italy. Alongside the lectures the course aims to establish exchanges between Italian and Burkinabé researchers (like Justin Ouoro [fr], the film critc) as part of a collaboration between the Universities of Padua and of Ouagadougou. “Pégase” [fr], by Moroccan Mohamed Mouftakir, winner of Burkinabé film festival Fespaco 2011 [fr], will be also shown at Immaginafrica.

Immaginafrica 2011. Photo taken from the Kenyan short 'Pumzi'

Two other documentaries will be shown in Padua, “Laïcité, inch'Allah!” [fr], filmed in Tunisia during the revolution and “I nostri anni migliori“, filmed in Italian refugee centres in Mineo, Manduria and Palazzo San Gervasio. Participants in the round table discussion which will follow include the young historian and web activist Mehdi Tekaya, the film critic Tahar Chickaoui [fr] and Fethi Ouesleti, a Tunisian immigrant worker and the protagonist of the second documentary mentioned. The discussion will be chaired by journalist and blogger Gabriele Del Grande.

Given the results of the elections [en] held in Tunisia on the 23 October this year, should the young Jasmine revolutionaries be disheartened? The joy created by events at the beginning of this year is clearly audible in this radio interview with Tahar Chikaoui, published on Immaginafrica's website in January [the emotion in his voice conveys the historic nature of events, even to listeners who don't understand Italian].

The results of the elections have shown the Internet's limitations in terms of its ability to innovate and the complexity of social strata. The 27th of October this year, the Algerian writer Tahar Lamri [en] posted the translation of a video [ar] made by the Facebook group 10 Millions de Politiciens [ar, fr] on his Facebook page. The translation reads:

Elections are not won on the Internet/ They are not won by playing the tourist among people's problems/They're not won if, as soon as you take the microphone, you say: populism, elite, ignorant population, secularism is the be all and end all./ They're lost because the intellectual knows Brecht but doesn't know anything about the people/ elections are not won by songs. Aliens thought that Tunisia was Mars, that's the reason why they lost…

The e-book “70 chilometri dall'Italia” (70 km from Italy), edited by Voci Globali (with an introduction by Mehdi Tekaya) will also be launched at the conference. Following the success of the first edition, published this spring by quintadicopertina.com, the book has been extensively revised and updated to reflect the elections on the 23rd of October, including reactions and perspectives following the results. The e-book integrates a broad historical and political account with a selection of the most significant posts on the topic already published on Global Voices in Italiano.

We wish to thank the following people for their interviews in the documentary: Fabrice Dapnet, Mariange Sibi, Bacem Bjaoui, Tchouadeu Pouatcha Ulrich, Cheikh Ba, Hakim Jabrani, Zineb Naini, Souad Maddahi, Yassine Baradai, Diop Alioune Badara.

Camilla Corradin contributed to this translation.

Italy: “Wiretapping Bill” could drastically limit freedom of information

Bernardo Parrella — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 14:47:04 +0000

The Italian Parliament is about to vote on a very stringent “wiretapping Bill” [it] aimed at drastically limiting judicial investigations and journalism inquiries, thus blocking free speech about new scandals exposing top-level politicians, as many of such cases keep emerging. After a recent “strike” by Wikipedia Italy [it] and a pouring of protests, a provision requesting all websites and blogs to immediately rectify any content that anybody deems “detrimental to his/her own image”, has been removed.

Italy: Wikipedia Italia on strike

Ciara Nugent — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 17:22:25 +0000

The homepage of Wikipedia Italia is on strike from the evening of October 4th. Its content is blocked in protest against an Italian bill on telephone interceptions that will mean that all sites and blogs must amend their contents within 48 hours of a request by any applicant who judges it detrimental to their personal image. The details and a petition can be found here. The latest news indicates, however, that the obligation to make amendments will only apply to online publications which are registered in court. The issue is, however, not fully resolved as demonstrates a new intervention by Wikipedia Italia [Italian - all links].

Mozambique: Sant'Egidio Community Fights Back Against HIV/AIDS

Lova Rakotomalala — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 10:58:28 +0000

Lack of access to care for HIV positive people has been well documented on the African continent. Many initiatives strive to show that things could improve with collective effort, and among them is the Drug Resource Enhancement against AIDS and Malnutrition (DREAM) program.

DREAM was created in 2002 by the Sant'Egidio Community in Mozambique, and takes a comprehensive approach to fighting HIV/AIDS. Cristina Cannelli, leader of the Guinea DREAM program, explains the special relationship [it] with the African continent, especially Mozambique:

"Free care here". Image by Sant'Egidio photo service.

La Comunità di Sant'Egidio è profondamente legata all'Africa, anche perchè la Comunità stessa è una realtà africana. Esistono Comunità di Sant'Egidio in 26 paesi del continente con più di 20.000 membri africani. Un legame particolare con il Mozambico, dove nel 1992 fu firmata la pace che pose termine ad una terribile guerra civile grazie alla mediazione della Comunità, condusse a scegliere il Mozambico qualeprimo paese in cui lanciare il programma DREAM.

The Sant'Egidio community is deeply linked to Africa, in part because the community itself is anchored on the continent. The community is present in 26 African nations and has more than 20,000 members. A special relationship exists with Mozambique because in 1992, the Sant’Egidio community contributed to the peace treaty agreement that ended the civil war. That's why Mozambique was the first choice for implementing the DREAM program.

Today DREAM is present in Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya, Guinea (Conakry), Guinea (Bissau), Nigeria, Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Cameroon. The basic philosophy of the program is:

… DREAM has been created to achieve excellence: excellence in treatment and diagnostics, in computerization. DREAM demands that western standards be adopted in Africa too; the programme routinely uses viral load assessment, and has introduced Highly Active Anti-Retroviral Therapy (HAART)

A DREAM success

The sheer numbers of the DREAM activity throughout the continent are impressive: 150,000 people have been treated of which 25,000 were aged 15 years or younger, 65,000 patients have benefited from anti-retroviral therapy of which 6,000 were children. DREAM also successfully interrupted vertical mother-to-child HIV transmission for 14,000 births from HIV positive mothers.

Since the beginning of the program more than 1,000,000 people have benefited from the DREAM program via health education, water filtration, food supplies, mosquito nets, prevention programmes on television, radio and the workplace. In total, the DREAM centers have performed 1,300,000 medical consultations, 276,000 viral load tests and 540,000 CD4 tests.

Celebrating the good health of the children at the mother-to-child HIV transmission prevention centers. Image courtesy of the Sant'Egidio community.

For such a large organisation to run properly in so many countries with many different spoken languages, qualified personnel is a must, which is why the community has organized 18 workshops throughout the continent for 4,000 health professionals. Mobile teams travel to reach the most isolated patients.

In order to engage the local institutions, DREAM states that:

Some of these structures are operational thanks to collaboration and agreements reached with local health centres that have replicated the programme.

However, patients also are actively contributing by committing to actively fight the HIV pandemic by becoming volunteers:

In each and every DREAM centre, medical and paramedical personnel are flanked by local men and women who have decided to commit themselves to working for patients who come to our centres. They decided to do so when their own lives were remarkably transformed after they came in contact with our services.
There are relatively large groups of such people and they constitute an indispensable resource for the success of the programme. Most, but not all, of them are sick. They are our “campaigners”.

Italy: How technology can help manage emergencies

Ciara Nugent — Thu, 12 May 2011 21:50:26 +0000

In a crisis, how can Web 2.0 be of use to social movements and what practical help can it offer to facilitate collective action? In reality, there is no shortage of platforms which, established on a voluntary basis, using free software, harness the internet and mobile phones to gather and share information, sourced directly from citizens, a process termed crowdsourcing. Their uses range from the management of humanitarian emergencies and conflicts, as in the crowdmapping of the post-election disorder in Kenya in 2008 (the first ever use of Ushahidi), to natural disasters, like in Haiti, in Chile or during the 2010 floods in Pakistan (Crowdmap, which evolved from Ushahidi, was used), to technological crises like the recent nuclear incident at Fukushima. All of these projects, and others still in development, will be discussed in Paris at CrisisCamp Paris [Fr]( for details, see the following wiki page) from 27th to 29th of May 2011. Organised in partnership with the Crisis Commons network, Ushahidi, Global Voices and other groups, the event will concentrate on the use of technology 2.0 in the management of crises. Italy will be represented by the Open Foreste project [Italian], based on Crowdmap, and which is dedicated to the prevention of forest fires in Italy. For further information on the latter project see this article [Italian].

Japan: JPRI Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund

Scilla Alecci — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 12:54:01 +0000

An Italian student at the University of San Francisco produced a video [ita, en] to help the victims of the Tohoku earthquake. In the video Caterina explains how to make donations through the JPRI Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund.