EveryOne Group addresses a letter of appeal to Pier Luigi Bersani (Secretary of the italian Democratic Party) and Martin Schultz (leader of the Party of European Socialists): “Intervention is necessary against the ethnic persecution of the Roma people in Pesaro”. The problem of “left-wing” racism.
“Left-wing intolerance has become a serious and widespread phenomenon, typical of the kind that distinguishes the politics of a centre-right allied with racist movements”, say the group’s activists. “We are becoming more and more worried. On November 2nd of this year, the family of Anton Caldarar, (a young Roma man who is taking care of his mentally disabled wife) was evicted by the police from his makeshift home:
the umpteenth episode of institutional cruelty which violates the European directives and the EU’s Charter of Fundamental Rights. No social assistance was provided by the Pesaro local authorities, in spite of Anton and his family’s presence in the city for seven years, and despite his situation being reported to Social Services several times by EveryOne’s activists.
According to the human rights organisation, over the last few years in the chief town of the Marche region an authentic persecution of the Romanian Roma has been underway. Many of these people have lived in the city for almost a decade. “We are surprised at the level of intolerance, especially if we consider that Pesaro is administered by a party from the centre-left, and that the Scavolini basketball team – an important symbol for the city - has often distinguished itself for antiracist initiatives.
Some of our members lived in Pesaro for over a year and often had to intervene after episodes of racism and unprecedented ethnic violence: beatings, threats, abuse, refusal to offer medical aid, the eviction from makeshift shelters of pregnant women, children and the sick in the middle of winter. This situation has often been the subject of parliamentary inquiries and questions. We even had a meeting between Luca Ceriscioli (PD), the mayor at the time, and some Roma families,” say Malini, Pegoraro and Picciau. “We handed over a dossier that documented (back in 2008) the Roma’s social exclusion and serious medical conditions.
The Mayor and the council made a public commitment to initiate a housing-labour programme and provide medical assistance for the seriously ill members of the community, but, unfortunately, things didn’t turn out that way at all. None of the promises made were kept, and instead an authentic ethnic cleansing operation was undertaken, directed at the Roma families. EveryOne’s activists also received threats, and after a “verbal” warning from the Police Chief (later removed from his post) were subjected to all kinds of pressure.
Dramatic moments on the morning of february 25th during the Factory eviction
It is important that other people make themselves heard, because the few Roma left in Pescara are being subjected to a ruthless repression, and it is now obvious that the local authorities aim to get rid of them all, not merely due to racist sentiments, they know that every Roma citizen present in Pesaro is a witness to the brutal crimes against humanity being carried out by local politicians and authorities.
They are aware that sooner or later those guilty of these crimes may be summoned to answer to their actions in the courts of justice. Everyone Group’s letter appeals for urgent action to be taken by the Italian and European Left-wing leaders. A copy of the letter has been sent to the EU Commission, the European Council, and to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
In the photographs: Martin Schulz and Pierluigi Bersani, the tragic moments of the Factory eviction in Pesaro
