Chronicles of ordinary racism 2011 - Cronache di ordinario razzismo

The following day Orlando revisits the subject, 293 stating that: “A bloodbath was
narrowly avoided in the makeshift shacks. The aim of those firing the shots was to ‘get
rid of’ the group of Romanian nomads”. He insists on the grave nature of the tragedy
based on the new inspection carried out by the Carabinieri:
“We find the unmistakable traces of lead bullets lodged into a white panel, used as
cladding, and, in the cardboard next to it, some larger holes most likely caused by handgun
bullets. The widely scattered holes in the panel probably attest to the use of a 12‐
bore sawn‐off shotgun loaded with buckshot. It could have been a bloodbath, because
the assaulters fired random shots into the night […]. The victim, who happened to be
outside the shanty, was hit in the head by the deadly shower of bullets and died on the
spot. By pure chance, none of the other people in the surrounding area were caught in
the shots’ trajectory: the four women, the victim’s nine‐month old daughter and a
second man”.
On 10 December, after a third weary and repetitive article appears on the “Gazzetta”,
Petre’s coffin leaves by plane. At last some of his relatives are interviewed, and one of
them states: “Nobody came to our aid that night, we called to cars passing on the
nearby road for help but nobody stopped. I had to run as far as the supermarket in
Abate, where they know me…” The women offer confirmation: “When we rushed out
to ask for help, we ran into the middle of the road with our hands raised to show that
we were wounded, but nobody stopped and no one helped us until the Carabinieri
arrived”.
The article leaves us hanging: “the investigation continues”.
From this point onwards, only five days after the incident, no more information
regarding the murder is released. Daniele Barbieri 294 includes it among news that has
“vanished” off the face of the earth. Online research yields an entry on a Nazi blog 295
that quotes the ANSA paragraph, commenting in block capitals: “We have much to
learn from our Sicilian brothers!”. After ten days of silence, on 22 December, Riccardo
Orioles refers to the case in “Il Fatto Quotidiano” 296 , but in order to discuss a politician
rather than the young Romanian: this article is picked up by other bloggers who
complain about the fact that nothing more has been heard regarding Petre Ciurar. No
journalist has attempted to probe into it further.
Who knows when and how the Carabinieri and the Judiciary bench wrapped up the
inquiry. And who knows whether the mafia carried its own investigation in order to
regain effective control of the area.
In our opinion, the case of Petre Ciurar marks the effacement of the value of a human
life: purely because he was a “Romanian”, and, what’s more, a member of the “Roma
ethnic group”. Citizen of a recent EU member‐state in the eyes of the law but, in those
293 Usato anche un fucile a canne mozze Si cerca una banda di giovani (A sawn-off shotgun also used. Police search for a gang
of young men) (http://www.gazzettadelsud.it/ NotiziaArchivio.aspxart=164168&Edizione=13&A=20101208)
294 “Delitti razzisti e media distratti” (Racist crimes and inattentive media) (https://danielebarbieri. wordpress. com/
2010/12/12/delitti-razzisti-e-media-distratti/)
295 http://www.stormfront.org/forum/t761902-23/.
296 http://www.ilfattoquotidiano.it/2010/12/22/il-politico-e-il-ragazzo-rumeno/83251/.
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