acunzoli@tin.it on Fri, 7 Jan 2000 03:51:03 +0100 (CET) |
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<nettime> Migrants: a pretty unhappy xmas |
In spite of millennium paranoias, the world is alas going on as usual -- or maybe even worse. Our "Christian" society entered its third millennium pretending that the whole world did the same -- while we are, it's always good to remember it, an absolute minority on this planet, only we're the richest and noisiest. And in this "Christian" world in which Peter would be arrested for illegal immigration, Judas would have to declare its 30 coins on the tax return and Jesus Christ would be coldly crucified by the press as an hippie freak, the wake of blood caused by the Wall of Fortress Europe, by the absurd, dictatorial limitations to people's freedom of movement is getting everyday longer. 5 migrants died in the Italian prison camps for migrants from dec. 25 to Jan. 1. And at least another one died in the Southern coast while trying to reach the Italian shores. Here are the reports. DEATH OF A "HOST" ROME, dec. 25, Christmas. Mohamed Ben Said, 39, Tunesian, is illegally emprisoned in the camp of Ponte Galeria since 14 days. Illegally even for the fascist law instituting the "camps", because he was married with an Italian woman -- mrs. Piras, from Genua -- and father of a boy. Illegally, because he had serious problems of health. Sometimes his jaw and tongue got so swallen that he could hardly breath, he had been operated withouth much success -- and it seems he was also an heroin addict. Often he was taken to the infirmary by the Red Cross operators, where he was given the "Minias", a powerful tranquilizer which, according to some experts, is not compatible with heroin addiction. Everybody gets the Minias in Ponte Galeria, but since a week the distribution of this tranquilizer has been interrupted. Ben Said's sickness was known to everybody, despite he was in the camp from "only" 14 days, still he was kept there, never taken to the hospital, quickly visited by the Red Cross and never given anything but the Minias. The "cure" he received is well explained by one of his room mates, another Tunesian still emprisoned in Ponte Galeria: "Mohamed has been sick for many days. Two days before his dead, he suddendly fell to the ground and we called the doctors. The doctors did not come -- instead, came a lot of policemen which forced him into his bed". "The next day, Mohamed could not even open his mouth. The doctor came, gave him a pill and in the afternoon the Minias. Mohamed was in his bed, and did not eat anything for the whole day. In the evening, more or less at 11 PM, he felt really sick. We called the doctors, but nobody came. We fell asleep only at 5 AM (Mohamed died one hour later, at 6 AM). Finally, at 9 AM the doctors came, with a lot of armed policemen -- but we did not want to start a riot, we just tried to call somebody!" The end of this terrible story is even more horrible than the story itself. "Most likely, that man was here only because the foreign police had to check his position," admitted one high police officer, which asked to remain anonimous. "A Tunesian married with an Italian woman... if he would not die, he would surely have been released with many apologies." (From "Il Manifesto", dec. 28) ESCAPE FROM SLAVE BOAT. AND DIES IN THE SEAS TARANTO, Dec. 26: Another casualty in the Southern coast, another terrible story to tell. In the Algerian port of Annaba, five migrants from Tanzania hide on a boat (the Poseidonia, from Cyprus) with a crew of six Ucranians sailors They feel safe, but alas they are discovered, and there starts an horrible nightmare. In the beginning, they are locked up in a small room, then the crew starts treating them as slaves, forcing them to work on board for 3 long months without pay and with very little food, beating them up whenever they like. Finally, on dec. 19 the boat reaches Sicily, then follows the coast towards the port of Taranto. On dec. 26, in sight of the city, two of the Tanzianian migrants provide from a moment of distraction of the crew to jump outboard, in the sea. One manage to reach the shore and calls the police to free the other three still enslaved. The other, a 25 year old man, died in the attempt. The police arrested the whole Ucranian crew, charging them for murder, reduction in slavery, kidnapping. They risk life long jail. The four survived migrants were -- obviously -- taken in a camp to be later deported. (From "Il Manifesto", Dec. 28) FIRE IN A CAMP FOR MIGRANTS, 3 DEADS TRAPANI, Dec. 29: The rebellion and the attempt to escape of some clandestines extra-EU from a camp for clandestine immigrants in Trapani (Sicily) ended up in a horrible fire which killed 3 clandestines, while other 4 have been taken to the hospital with very serious burnings. Other 4 are guarded in the hospital by the police because among them there is a Tunesian accused of having started the fire. The Sicilian judges tries to clear out the mistery of a door hurriedly locked by the police when the riot broke out, and opened only when the tragedy took place. Very hard reaction of the Church of Trapani: "That camp is a lager", stated father Nino Andragna, priest of the cathedral. Immediate answer from the Minister of Internal Affair, mr. Bianco: "Our camps for clandestine extra-EU immigrants are not prisons, but neither hotels where you can get in and out at will!" That was the first page. Inside the newspaper (Corriere della Sera), you can read: "The escape took place at midnight: window bars cut, a jump in the camp's garden, eight illegal immigrants desperately running from the police hunting them. Six were captured, two made it. Then, a misterious hand locks up the door of one of the sleeping places. And, on the other side of that door, Fqik Lakhdar, a Tunesian already deported 3 times from Italy, setting matrasses on fire to force the police to open up the door, without thinking that the small, crowdy room can become a hell of fire and smoke. So died 3 of the 85 guests of the "Serraino Vulpitta", a set of buildings conceived as elder's home and partially turned into a camp for illegal immigrants. But the context of the tragedy is quite wider, because it has been preceded by continuous riots, as witnessed by mr. Francesco Palermo, one of the elders living there. "Since 3 days they were kicking on those bars". And because mr. Maritati, the high officer hurriedly sent to Trapani by the Minister of Internal Affairs, mr Bianco, stated initially that the doors were surely open, but then, in front of the many evidences and witnesses, was forced to admit that the door was most likely closed from the outside. And finally, because in the section of the "Serraino Vulpitta" turned into a camp for 85 foreigners, there is no running water. >From the "Corriere della Sera", dec. 30 For what concerns the above, 1 of the 4 heavy wounded migrants died two days later (Jan. 1), bringing the toll to 4 deads and 7 wounded. Then, our Minister of Internal Affairs, mr, Bianco, stated that the camps are not prisons, but in Trapani many witnesses speak about barbed wire at the windows, besides the bars, and policemen throwing cigarettes into the migrant's rooms. And, always according to the "Corriere della Sera" (the most important, official and burgeoise Italian newspaper), the riots broke out for the lack of water. So, that's all for the period 25 dec - 1 january. Merry Christmas and happy new year. Do you think these tragedies teached something to the EU governments, and to this trusthworty EU policeman which is the Italian government? Not at all! In this first 5 days of the new millennium, there were already 2 deads in the Otranto Channel: a young Chinese man on Jan. 2 and a Iraki Kurd, just yesterday. I'd like to end up this sad e-mail by reporting what the UN demographic experts stated yesterday about Italy and Germany: considered the slow rate of births and the ageing of the population, Italy will pass from 57 to 41 millions inhabitants in the year 2050, while Germany will pass from 87 to 73 millions people. To keep their economies to current levels, Italy will have to accept 300.000 migrants every year for the next 25 years, while Germany will have to accept 500.000 migrants every year (always till 2025). (From the "Corriere della Sera", Jan. 6) Immediate response of the Italian government: unchecked data, and anyway we cannot take 300.000 migrants a year. And to show how serious they are about it, instead of the 100.000 new permits to stay promised last october, just after another tragedy (the burning of 10 migrants on a Greek ferry), the Italians will deliver only 63.000 permissions for the year 2000, divided by quotas: 5.000 to Albanians, 5.000 to Maroccans, etc. Are they so blindly stupid to commit even an economic suicide? Hasta la victoria Giuliano # distributed via <nettime>: no commercial use without permission # <nettime> is a moderated mailing list for net criticism, # collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets # more info: majordomo@bbs.thing.net and "info nettime-l" in the msg body # archive: http://www.nettime.org contact: nettime@bbs.thing.net