("The Age of Innocence". Photo by: Phederì sur les plaines/Flickr)

"When we arrest Roma, we receive the ovation from the politicians; When we arrest politicians we are unfair". (Luigi De Magistris)

Grows up concern around the precarious condition of Roma into the Italian area with the absolute indifference from media and government. Episodes of violence, assaults and rage increase daily, showing Roma, in essence, as executioners and never like victims. Roma are always seen the immigrant’s archetype, criminals and undesidered: this feeling increased mostly after the Italian admission of 100.000 Roma from Kosovo, in the summer of 1999, after the "ethnic cleansing" of Albanians, Nato’s air raid and military actions from Yugoslavians. An estimated 60.000-90.000 Roma live in Italy; often they appear as clandestine because to regulate theirselves they need a temporary residence permit, for a period of 1-6 months. Most of them, with the ecception of a 15 %, are not even nomad, but they aren’t yet considered as refugee: they live sedentarly in areas called "nomad-camps" aiming a flat and a normal life. In spite of this they are considered different. The "nomad theory" is often just used to stir up a "no-memebership" segregation, treating them as children, unfit to live in our society. Official governative labels create the Foucault so-called "regime of truth" :general policies of truth, ruling what has to be seen as true or false or in which kind of arguments we should believe, creating some irreal and trite sterotypes. The CERD (European Comitee against Racial Discriminations) on 7th march 2008 harshly criticized the Italian behaviour against Roma and Sinti in the area; particularly recommending to adopt a legislation for the acknowledge of Roma and Sinti as a national and linguistical minority; building an indipendent office for human rights, according to the principles of Parigi (1991); overturning the community segregation for the matter of residence, against the local measures to put away the camps outside the cities; increasing the inclusion in the scolastical system, to reduce the high pull-out rate. Moreover, they expressed concern about the assertions of some xenophobic and offensives parties towards minorities, to prevent propulsion speeches to rage and against the paradigm of the "other" based on untruthful stereotypes. There are plenty on examples. In 2000, Cernusco sul Naviglio(Milan)’s then-president , Paolo Frigerio, went on record as saying that he would have paied 5 milions Lires to spread slurry in a Roma camp, explaining his behaviour as the "only way to get back at them, an act of justice, regarding the urban blight they leave around". The Lega Nord party often use a racist language against Rom, Sinti and immigrants, expecially in their fevered meetings; during the election campaign of 2000, for example, the candidate Umberto Bossi, distributed flyers with the slogan: "if you don’t want Roma, maroccans, and criminals around you, vote Lega Nord"; despite the racist tones and the uncostitutional words, the very right party won. On march 1999, one year later the previous spectacle with Cerd, another bad impression of our country. The ILO (International Labour Organization) official report pointed out Italy as a very racist country against foreign people. The Foreign Ministry Frattini simply replyed with short answers: "are just unfair claims, unproved by concrete elements", and saying he was indignant. Nothing new for Caritas, the most important volounteering association, always on first line to fight against prejudices and discriminations. Again, Treviso’s deputy mayor, Gentilini, also called "the sceriff" on 14th september 2008, asserts to aim to strike out Romani children who steal: for this speech, on 27th september 2009 has been charged for rage instigation, and he won’t be able to speak in meetings for 3 years. His reaction to the charge has been a quiet affirmation that he was simply reporting his citizens’complaints. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navy Pillay, condemned Italy’s behaviour against immigrants: "left or rejected without verifying their actual condition, if they’re escaping from persecutions...(...) as they were garbage trucks". In the meanwhile, carry on clearing out italian Roma camps, with the usual indifference of medias: after Rome (where there are around 50 camps) and Cosenza,now in Milan, where around 500 people have been evacuated to the very est of the city, after that policemen razed the camps, breaking international human rights rules, without an actual habitative alternative. Milan’s mayor, who pointed out the help offered from the Social Service, but just to women and children, forgot to say that none of them would accept to be divided from their relatives. The rhetoric of public security, risks to flow into aggressives violence’s events and a biggest groundless alarmism. We are so far from the article 21 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union:

"any discrimination based on any ground such as sex, race, colour, ethnic or social origin, genetic features, language, religion or belief, political or any other opinion, membership of a national minority, property, birth, disability, age or sexual orientation shall be prohibited".

Local public moneys are often unused, and government just try to move camps outside the city, to not disturb the line of sight of local people. Thus,camps begin a segregation place,a passive stage of the political incapability. Which actual polities can the EU does in the face of the italian gap? Surely we need concrete policies towards the majority of them, who desire a sedentary life, a job, a flat: camps, usually without lights or health services, are realised as a cold comfort mainly for local people’s tranquillity, without examinate Roma’s needs. The Education for Romani children remain an utopia: 97 % of them can’t go to school, and the ones who tried, have been seen as mentally misfits. Marginalization is growing, and the only accepted Roma is the artist, who actually doesn’t exist. Considering the complexity of the subject, and the range of differences inside Romani culture (as languages, morals) the principal necessity is to prepare a qualified staff to act as intermediary without forget ideals of tollerance and equality, which are the ground rules of our constitutions and, above all, our conscience.