Acts of Violence in Italy Towards Black Immigrants

Italy is a nation that has recently found itself to be developing into a prime destination for immigrants. According to the National Institute of Statistics, legal immigrants in Italy has risen 17 percent, now making the immigrant population six percent of the total population. The Northern League has called for greater controls on immigrants relating to an accumulative criminal record a legal immigrant may acquire. This bill put forward by the Northern League, a very influential party in Italy, is ironic because it is arguable that they should rather be pressing a bill in which better protects legal immigrants from violence. For example, specifically black immigrants from places like Ghana, China, Somalia etc, have experienced recent violence across all of Italy. Giovanni Giulio Valtolina stated in The New York Times, “A black English person, or French person, or Dutch person, that’s O.K., but a black Italian is a very new thing.” There has been debate whether recent killings of blacks in Italy have been racially motivated. Abdul William Guibre was a black Italian immigrant of which was killed by two men who worked at the Shinning Bar, a coffee shop near the central train station in Milan. They suspected him of stealing a package of cookies and money. In response they set out for him with medal rods I hand and allegedly beat him to death. Mr. Guibre’s death has been the most severe incident in light of the recent violence towards blacks throughout Italy. Other less severe incidents have taken place as well such as a Ghanaian man injured in a scuffle with police in Parma. A Chinese man was a victim of a hate crime and was beat up by a group of boys in a Rome neighborhood. The recent acts of violence towards blacks in Italy have now come together to bring up the discussion of racism. The Parliament debated whether Italy was facing a “racism emergency” in last week’s newspaper headlines. Interior Minister, Roberto Maroni, stated last week that these attacks on black immigrants were isolated to one area in Italy and was overrated. Jean-Leonard Touadi stated in The New York Times that “there’s been a worrisome sequence of events, which can’t just be cataloged as isolated incidents.” He argues that although Italy is facing social and economical crises, rage and frustration mustn’t be placed on the foreign immigrants.
The sequence of violent acts towards black immigrants throughout all of Italy vividly illustrates the xenophobia some Italian citizens are demonstrating. These pointless acts of violence lead me to believe that it is in the hands of the Italian government to institute bills in which protect these black legal immigrants. In my opinion it is blatantly obvious that the Italian parliament is reluctant to discuss racism and discrimination evident in various parts of Italy. The recent accounts of violence illustrate to me that xenophobic Italians are worried about the increasing number of immigrants entering Italy. In my opinion, Italy as a nation is doing a poor job of transitioning from a nation of emigrants to a nation that attracts immigrants. I believe the responsibility of providing these immigrants safety and security should be placed squarely on the shoulders of the government. I believe that they should ban the magazines of which stir confrontations about immigration such as Famiglia Cristina. A magazine of which asked on its cover, “Is Italy Changing its Skin.” I believe its magazines like this that stir many different opinions and views on immigration. The government should regulate what the press produces and should forward more bills in which will at the minimum discourage the frequent acts of violence towards black immigrants.