Italy, We have 99 Problems and Covid-19 is not the Worse One
Silvia Romano is free. The news breaks the Internet on Saturday, May 9, at 5 pm. Giuseppe Conte, the Italian prime minister, announces it with a tweet.
Romano is an aid worker of the Italian charity Africa Milele Onlus. In 2018, she went to Kenya to follow a project in an orphanage in the village of Chakama. After being seized by gunmen, she was later sold to Somalian terrorists of Al Shabaab. Abducted for 18 months, during which she had to change her “prison” several times, Romano has been finally released near Mogadishu, the Capital of Somalia.
What followed were the images of Silvia landing in Italy, welcomed by family and state representatives. A huge smile on her face and a long traditional Kenyan dress, the Jilbab: “I am good, they treated me well”, she said, letting also know that now her name is Aisha, since she has decided to convert to Islam.
Wait, what? Islam? How does she dare! She is Italian!
Few seconds after her arrival, social networks have started questioning why was she wearing that dress and why was she smiling. Why did she continue to touch her womb? Was she pregnant? Maybe she had an affair with a terrorist, she is now here to deliver her baby and then go back to Africa. How much did we pay for her release? Plus, she doesn’t seem peaked at all. Are we sure she didn’t agree with the terrorists to get the money to live happily ever after?
After a couple of hours from Romano’s arrival, Italy had discovered that the Covid-19 lockdown hadn’t changed Italians. All those rainbows hanging from windows, the slogan “everything will be ok”, the solidarity for the health care workers, the money raised to help hospitals and the people singing together on balconies were all gone. We discovered we were still the same: close-minded, narrow-minded and sexist.
Italians are close-minded
Silvia Romano has been kept in several apartments in remote places of Kenia and Somalia. You might assume she got clothes from her captors, who presumably gave her what they had: traditional clothes. You do not think of Al Shabab as fashion victims and shopaholic, do you?
The releasing operation took several days and was carried out by the Italian intelligence. These are crucial moments where you do not want anything to go wrong. Or the price to pay will be higher than money.
In 2005, when the journalist Giuliana Sgrena was freed after a 1-month abduction, the Italian Agent Nicola Calipari died trying to protect Sgrena when they were driving to reach Baghdad’s airport. The last thing these men think when carrying out such difficult operations is to stop at a shop to buy new clothes.
And even assuming Romano was provided with western clothes, why does a veil still scare Italians so much? She has immediately declared that she had become Muslim, thus the choice to keep her Jilbab. Italy is a secular state. People are free to wear a Catholic veil, a Kippah or a burqa. Dresses do not define us as Italians as long as decency is respected.
One might now question what is decency, but this is another story.
Italians are narrow-minded.
The main concern of Italians was the payment of a ransom. It seems the sum was some 4 million euros.
As reported by a Facebook user, the newspaper Libero as well as Senator Salvini and other right parties have started ranting about the sum payed. Funny enough that Libero has received 53 million euros of public money in 14 years and Lega, Salvini’s party, has to give back to the State 49 million that he even refuses to talk about. Not to mention all the big tax evaders that generally negotiate the payment of a part of the money once they are caught with their hand in the cookie jar. And the list goes on.
Italians demand Romano to give back those 4 million with petitions and Facebook groups but have no problems with all the money pocketed by politicians, newspapers, and tax evaders.
Italians are sexists.
Romano was harassed because she is young and strong. She went to the other side of the Mediterranean to volunteer and help children in need. And she is a woman.
Need a proof?
Luca Tacchetto, kidnapped in December 2018 in Burkina Faso. Freed after 15 months, he came back with a long beard, symbol of Salafism. Nothing to complain about.
Alessandro Sandrini was kidnapped in Siria in 2016 where he had escaped after being charged of grand larceny and armed robbery. Freed after three years and the payment of a ransom by the state, nobody even remembers his name.
Sergio Zanotti, entrepreneur, was kidnapped by Al Qaeda in Siria in 2016, freed after three years and, again, the payment of a ransom. Still nothing to object.
All the three men have returned to their lives without being questioned or even worse insulted. And all the three men have converted to Islam.
On the other side, if you are still not convinced that Romano was insulted because she is a woman, here is the story of Simona Torretta and Simona Parri, two aid workers of the Onlus “Un ponte per”. Kidnapped in Baghdad in 2004 and freed after 21 days, they were literally covered with insults especially when they declared that they wanted to go back to Iraq.
Greta Ramelli and Vanessa Marzullo, two young aid workers were kidnapped 2015 and freed after 5 months. Insulted, harassed and even threatened.
All these women have been insulted on Facebook and called: idiots, criminals, friends of the terrorists, maybe even collaborators and lovers.
Insults come from all kind of people: men, women, young, old. For Romano, the hate has being going on for days and the state is now considering the possibility to provide her with protection. That, of course, Italians are going to pay!
At the beginning of March, we went out on our balconies, singing and applauding. The image we showed the world was that of a country that finds pride in being all together.
After two months we have discovered that we haven’t changed at all. On the balconies, with us, there was also a big, fat elephant. Let’s face it, before everything collapses and we find ourselves under the weight of debris and hypocrisy.
