Chronicles of ordinary racism 2011 - Cronache di ordinario razzismo

A young north African woman arrives at the licensing centre to sit the theory test for
her driving license. The woman turns up with her face visible but a scarf covering her
head. The woman invigilating the exam demands that she remove the scarf. ‘She was
worried that she might have an earphone underneath,’ some witnesses said. ‘She was
told quite clearly that if she didn’t remove the scarf, she couldn’t sit the test. But she
said that was the second time she had done it, and the first time she did it with her scarf
on.’ Source: city.corriere.it
9 November 2010 Reggio Calabria (RC), Calabria
During the night a private security guard witnesses an attack on a foreign citizen and
calls the police. After a chase, the police succeed in catching P.L., a local citizen aged 26.
The man admits having attacked his victim with a stick because, he claims, the
foreigner had made advances to his sister over the previous few days, using the sale of
roses as an excuse to approach her. At the police station, the attacker is charged with
bodily harm resulting from assault. In the emergency room of the local hospital, the
foreigner is treated for bruising and a suspected fractured nose. Source: Ansa
12 November 2010 Pesaro (PU), Marche
Jacopo Patrignano, a student at the Nolfi high school in Fano, reports a racist incident
which took place at 2pm on the Fano‐Pesaro stretch of the number 99 Adriabus route. A
Romanian youth notices an inspector boarding and runs to stamp a ticket. The driver
informs the inspector of what has happened and the inspector charges towards him,
shooting questions at him. ‘What are you Romanian Ukrainian Moldovan Huh
What are you Give me your documents! Hand over the money for the fine,
immediately!’ While he’s asking questions, the inspector begins patting the Romanian
youth’s jacket, searching for his wallet and documents. Scared, the youth pays the fine
immediately with a €50 note but the inspector, still not satisfied, picks him up bodily
and carries him off the bus, leaving him at Fosso Sejore, half way to his destination,
despite the fact that the fine has been paid. The person who was sitting next to the boy –
a man of Asian origin – chases after the inspector and says ‘you can’t treat a person like
this just because he’s different to you!’ The inspector replies ‘shut up and just be
thankful I haven’t fined you too.’ Once off the bus, Jacopo decides to lodge a complaint
at the bus company. Source: pensieriinformazione.wordpress.com
19 November 2010 Treviso (TV), Veneto
The chairman of the provincial council, Leonardo Muraro of the Northern League,
commenting on local television on the arrest of three Serbs caught with goods looted
from a village near Padua after recent floods, states ‘they should be handed over to the
people of Padua. In cases such as this I’m all for shooting people and I would authorise
the police to shoot guilty parties there and then. Elsewhere, in serious situations, they
impose martial law. Why not here’ He is backed up by Giancarlo Gentilini, also of the
League: ‘no mercy. When disaster strikes, you’re living in a war zone and therefore
marshall law should be applied to looters: shoot them on the spot, without a trial.’ After
provoking a storm of protest, Muraro explains ‘I just wanted to make a point.’ His real
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