Naples. On the sand, two starfish...
Roberto Malini | 21.07.2008 14:54 | Anti-racism | World
Two children of the Roma ethnic group drown in Naples. Next to their lifeless bodies people continue to sunbathe, have fun and swim in the sea.
Pictures on:
http://www.everyonegroup.com/EveryOne/MainPage/Entries/2008/7/20_Two_children_of_the_Roma_ethnic_group_drown_in_Naples.html
Pictures on:
http://www.everyonegroup.com/EveryOne/MainPage/Entries/2008/7/20_Two_children_of_the_Roma_ethnic_group_drown_in_Naples.html
Monday, July 21, 2008
Two children of the Roma ethnic group drown in Naples. Next to their lifeless bodies people continue to sunbathe, have fun and swim in the sea.
Pictures on: http://www.everyonegroup.com/EveryOne/MainPage/Entries/2008/7/20_Two_children_of_the_Roma_ethnic_group_drown_in_Naples.html
by Roberto Malini - Gruppo EveryOne (transl. Glenys Robinson)
Naples, July 19th - Two young girls of the Roma ethnic group drowned yesterday in front of Torregaveta beach along the Neapolitan coast, in a setting of racism and horror. The press reports the tragedy based on witness accounts: an accident. Four young girls, all of the Roma ethnic group and aged between 11 and 13, were begging on the beach, when suddenly they decided to take a dip in the sea.
They were unable to swim, the sea was rough and they drowned in front of more than 70 bathers. No one went to the girls’ rescue, while the emergency services called to the spot saved two of the girls and recovered the lifeless bodies of the other two. The children came from the “gypsy” camp of Secondigliano. But the dynamics of what happened – as reported by the press – are unconvincing. There is something strange about the fact that four young girls who are non-swimmers would throw themselves fully-clothed into a rough sea (which can’t have been that rough seeing there were many other people, including several children, in the water at the same time). There is something strange about the fact that four young girls would dive into the waves in front of dozens of people, forgetting all about their traditional modesty. Unconvincing too is the fact that in a climate hostile to the Roma people, they would stop begging for money in order to abandon themselves to a joyous, carefree activity without fearing what people around them would say. It appears that several people present on the beach filmed the tragic event with their video phones and that the police have acquired some of these images. We have asked the authorities if we can take a look at these videos and meet the two surviving children in order to throw light on a case that has its dark side. But the most shocking aspect of all this (and this is visible to everyone from press photos and TV pictures of the moments after the bodies were recovered) is the attitude of the people on the beach. No one appears the slightest upset at the sight and presence of the children’s dead bodies on the beach: they carry on swimming, sunbathing, sipping soft drinks and chatting. Unreal, cruel scenes, indicative of how racism has transformed the Italian people into a inhuman people, educated by propaganda to consider the Roma people on a level with animals, unworthy of sentiments of pity and pain. The lifeless bodies of the two children killed by the sea and racial hatred lie on the sand, before dozens of eyes, yet no one seems to have realised what has happened. They continue to enjoy the warmth of the sun and the sea’s waves. Two jellyfish, two dead fish lie – motionless – on the sand. “The Roma people are just a scourge,” say the politicians, the authorities, the journalists. The tragedy that took place on Torregaveta beach is not worthy of shedding a tear for, not worthy of wasting a prayer on.
On the sand lie two starfish.
For further information:
Gruppo EveryOne
Tel: (+ 39) 334-8429527 - (+ 39) 331-3585406
www.everyonegroup.com ::
info@everyonegroup.com
Two children of the Roma ethnic group drown in Naples. Next to their lifeless bodies people continue to sunbathe, have fun and swim in the sea.
Pictures on:
http://www.everyonegroup.com/EveryOne/MainPage/Entries/2008/7/20_Two_children_of_the_Roma_ethnic_group_drown_in_Naples.html by Roberto Malini - Gruppo EveryOne (transl. Glenys Robinson)
Naples, July 19th - Two young girls of the Roma ethnic group drowned yesterday in front of Torregaveta beach along the Neapolitan coast, in a setting of racism and horror. The press reports the tragedy based on witness accounts: an accident. Four young girls, all of the Roma ethnic group and aged between 11 and 13, were begging on the beach, when suddenly they decided to take a dip in the sea.
They were unable to swim, the sea was rough and they drowned in front of more than 70 bathers. No one went to the girls’ rescue, while the emergency services called to the spot saved two of the girls and recovered the lifeless bodies of the other two. The children came from the “gypsy” camp of Secondigliano. But the dynamics of what happened – as reported by the press – are unconvincing. There is something strange about the fact that four young girls who are non-swimmers would throw themselves fully-clothed into a rough sea (which can’t have been that rough seeing there were many other people, including several children, in the water at the same time). There is something strange about the fact that four young girls would dive into the waves in front of dozens of people, forgetting all about their traditional modesty. Unconvincing too is the fact that in a climate hostile to the Roma people, they would stop begging for money in order to abandon themselves to a joyous, carefree activity without fearing what people around them would say. It appears that several people present on the beach filmed the tragic event with their video phones and that the police have acquired some of these images. We have asked the authorities if we can take a look at these videos and meet the two surviving children in order to throw light on a case that has its dark side. But the most shocking aspect of all this (and this is visible to everyone from press photos and TV pictures of the moments after the bodies were recovered) is the attitude of the people on the beach. No one appears the slightest upset at the sight and presence of the children’s dead bodies on the beach: they carry on swimming, sunbathing, sipping soft drinks and chatting. Unreal, cruel scenes, indicative of how racism has transformed the Italian people into a inhuman people, educated by propaganda to consider the Roma people on a level with animals, unworthy of sentiments of pity and pain. The lifeless bodies of the two children killed by the sea and racial hatred lie on the sand, before dozens of eyes, yet no one seems to have realised what has happened. They continue to enjoy the warmth of the sun and the sea’s waves. Two jellyfish, two dead fish lie – motionless – on the sand. “The Roma people are just a scourge,” say the politicians, the authorities, the journalists. The tragedy that took place on Torregaveta beach is not worthy of shedding a tear for, not worthy of wasting a prayer on.
On the sand lie two starfish.
For further information:
Gruppo EveryOne
Tel: (+ 39) 334-8429527 - (+ 39) 331-3585406
www.everyonegroup.com ::
info@everyonegroup.com
Roberto Malini
e-mail:
info@everyonegroup.com
Homepage:
http://www.everyonegroup.com
Comments
Hide the following 3 comments
RIP.
21.07.2008 18:36
is tragic- daily I read similar comments in some Irish Political Websites, where
it seems a badge of honour or cool to be identified as a bully - to laugh at
the plight of the Romani.
They are no men-
The people in our media who turn their back on the language of Facism
are collaborative in tragedy. but it seems really easy to be rich, educated to
a high level of private school , full of beer and to display bullying tendencies
in support of Morani and Burlusconi. its shaming.
We teach our kids fair play and solidarity- keep telling the story.
C
animals, indeed all beings deserve love and care - Italy has lost its soul
22.07.2008 12:07
sorry to hear about italy
Differing reports
22.07.2008 12:31
It's an interesting article.
But I'm not sure about the suggestion of a conspiracy theory or foul play. The accounts I've read suggest that: it was a scorchingly hot day, so wading into the water may have been a necessity rather than a luxury activity; the sea was not rough when they waded in - they were hit by a sudden wave; they did not "dive" into the waves but only walked into a shallow depth.
It would be a shameful if the Italian media did continue their anti-Roma diatribes.
The case has had wide coverage in the British media (Independent, Times, Guardian, Telegraph, Mirror, etcetera) but the tone, in the broadsheets at least, has been highly critical of Italian attitudes to the Roma.
As The Indepedent's reporter Peter Popham put it..
"It was a tragedy that could happen on any beach. But what happened next has stunned Italy. The girls' bodies were laid on the sand. Some pious soul donated towels to preserve the most basic decencies. Then beach life resumed.
The indifference was taken as shocking proof that many Italians no longer have human feelings for the Roma, even though the communities have lived side by side for generations. Attitudes have been chilling for years, aggravated by sensational coverage of crimes allegedly committed by Gypsies, and a widespread confusion of Roma with ordinary, non-Roma Romanians.
The government has launched a high-profile campaign against the Roma community, including fingerprinting the entire population. The move has been condemned as a return to the racial registers introduced by the Fascists in the 1930s."
Norville B