Milan like Barcelona. Together, without walls, against the racist criminalisation of migrants and the poor. For an international network of antiracist cities
27 May 2017
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ITALY
Milan like Barcelona.
Together, without walls, against the racist criminalisation of
migrants and the poor. For an international network of antiracist
cities (by S. Palidda)
27.5.17
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(Originally published in French by Médiapart on 22 May 2017 - link)
"Following the example
of Barcelona, where between 160,000 and 300,000 people mobilised
on the past 18 February in support of rights for migrants and
to promote an international network of cities against racism
where immigrants will be welcomed, around 100,000 people participated
in a demonstration in Milan on 20 May. The appeal for the demonstration
(https://www.20maggiosenzamuri.it/ in Italian, English, French, Spanish
and Arabic) was launched by the Milan mayor's office, several
personalities from all walks of life, 600 associations, NGOs
and institutions as well as 70 Italian city councils.
The importance of this demonstration is especially noteworthy
because it proved a wonderful opportunity offering the possibility
of a joint mobilisation to people and organisations ranging from
the most moderate to the more radical left, people without political
party membership and schoolkids, all the way to various religious
groups or small groups of immigrants and Italians, all of whom
were united against racism and in favour of the right for everyone
to live in peace and to open a path towards emancipation.
One could claim that it is a sort of remake of the NO's victory
in the November 2017 referendum over constitutional changes with
the addition of a large participation by migrants (especially
young people of all nationalities) and the shift of many people
who had voted for Renzi into the front of those who in fact oppose
the behaviour of the Italian government and its current interior
minister [Minniti]. Thus, the mayor of Milan, the only one from
a large city who is on Renzi's side, stated at the end of the
demonstration that: "the mayor's office does not mobilise
against laws but for laws to be changed; I know that keeping
promises is very difficult, but I commit to never direct my gaze
elsewhere when faced with the undeniable need to guarantee the
rights of migrants and of the poor. Solidarity and a welcoming
reception assures justice… we must guarantee the rights
of those who arrive and of those who are already here. As a citizen
and mayor I do not want to live in a city that is too cynical
which only thinks of itself. I want to be a builder of bridges,
not walls". And the president of the Senate, Grasso, began
talking after the mayor and stated: "those born in Italy
are Italian". These words clearly oppose not just the fascist
or Berlusconi-led right, but also the governing left which has
never voted the law to grant Italian nationality to the children
of foreigners born in Italy (Italy does not have jus soli - birthright
citizenship) and they also oppose the governmental right and
left which have never stopped adopting measures promoting a prohibitionist
drift against migrations. It is exactly what minister Minniti
has just done, as a man who is from Renzi's party, but seeks
to go further down the route which proposes the rise of a securitarian
left (following Valls' example in France).
We should recall that none
of the (pseudo) left-wing governments has ever proposed to regularise
the terrible situation experienced by hundreds of thousands of
migrant workers as well as by Italians who are forced to accept
illegal employment and conditions of neo-slavery. Instead, the
right and left alike have never stopped outdoing each other regarding
probitionist measures and the racist criminalisation of immigrants
and Roma people.
The fascist and racist right, including the Northern League and the Berlusconi milieu, very forcefully attacked this demonstration because they understood very well that it was an occasion of very strong unitary mobilisation by an extremely wide section of public opinion, including people from the centre who are rather moderate in favour of a course of action which clearly opposes the routine prohibitionism and racist criminalisation which have been dominant for a long time. This demonstration also challenged the radical left's protests because everyone was able to see that there was even involvement by mayors who had been on Renzi's side, in support of anti-racism and anti-prohibitionism. Elsewhere, the 5 Star Movement (whose father-owner Grillo is busy trying to appear prominently throughout the media) went on its own little march in Assisi to establish a "guaranteed citizens' income", after its numerous statements against immigrants and in favour of "zero tolerance" which clearly show an intention to compete electorally with the right of the fascists and the Northern League.
The Milan demonstration
also takes on international importance because it was linked
to the creation of a worldwide network of anti-racist cities
against prohibitionism in the field of migration policy: after
Barcelona, New York has already organised the NYC Immigrant Heritage
Week , Boston the Immigrant Heritage Month-I am an Immigrant
, in Chicago, the mayor Rahm Emanuel has started a Twitter account
@ChiNewAmericans to welcome migrants, and Madrid is also organising
a similar demonstration to the one held in Milan. Other adherents
to this network include London, Amsterdam, Athens, Berlin, Gdandsk,
Los Angeles, Montreal, Paris, Stockholm, Toronto and Warsaw.
Alas, on the very day of the demonstration, a 30-year-old Malian
was found, dead, at the Cannes La Bocca station on a train which
came from Ventimiglia. He had tried to hide in the space reserved
for the electrical panel on the train. Since 2015, dozens of
migrants have died while they attempted the border crossing from
Ventimiglia to France."
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