Since the
beginning of May, a mobile clinic run by the organisation Emergency has been operating in Cassibile. The mobile clinic is a
bus which is parked in Piazza dei Caduti del Conto Rossso from Monday to Friday
from 16,30 to 21,30 and provides basic medical assistance to those in need. It
is a positive, but unfortunately rare, sign of humanity in a general climate of
hypocrisy and hostility. The camp run by the organisation CRI, next to the Cassibile slip road on the Catania- Gela motorway,
is slowly filling up (120 out of the 150 places have been taken). Yet the
shameful entry requirements of having a permit of stay and a work contract still
haven't been abolished.
The camp is
likely to fill up over the next few days, but if the migrants are unable to
find someone who will give them a proper contract, they lose their right to a
place to stay and the 'lavish' 7pm dinner (nearly everyone complains about the
poor quantity and quality of the food and instead prefer to cook together
elsewhere). It should also be highlighted that the CRI receive €15 a day for each place they provide. It's outrageous
that people who have come to Italy to earn an honest living, have no choice but
to work in the fields and be paid on a daily basis by exploiters who have no
scruples, only to become criminalised by those who should be there to protect
them and by the hypocritical absconding of the institutions who should enforce
contractual norms and trade union protection. Like every year, it is the
victims who continue to be persecuted, the victims rather than the
perpetrators.
For all of
these reasons, we appeal to the anti-racist associations to mobilise their
support for the rights of migrants and we appeal to the media to report the inhumane
conditions of their lives.
We adhere
to the campaign "Sign me up against illegal hiring", promoted by the Brigate di Solidarietà in Nardò last
year, where the migrants fought for their own rights against such organisers of
this type of work. And we support the promotion of a rally for the protection
of migrant rights in Cassibile in the upcoming weeks. We re-launch the appeal
to GAS (Gruppi di Acquisti Solidale- Groups for Fair Trade
Purchases), GAP and to consumer groups supporting the campaign for the
purchasing of potatoes produced without exploitation by companies who also give
their employees fair working conditions and invite them to organise social
dinners, assemblies and the book presentation of “Sulla pelle viva” (Deriveapprodi edition) in mid-
May, written collectively by the protagonists of Nardò.
Catania Anti-Racist Network, Alfonso di Stefano
Catania Anti-Racist Network, Alfonso di Stefano
