South Asian Outlook : An Independent e-Monthly | Letter from Europe: Racism in Italy

Indian Talent in Demand in Denmark

Racism in Italy

An attack on 35-year-old immigrant Indian man in Nettuno on February 1 sparked outrage in Italy and fueled a debate on attitudes toward immigrants. The man had severe burns over 40 percent of his body, said Dr. Paolo Palombo, an official of Sant'Eugenio hospital in Rome, where the immigrant was taken for treatment. Palombo told SKY TG24 TV that the patient would undergo skin grafts to help fight the danger of infection.

Italian police have arrested three young men for allegedly beating, pouring gasoline and then setting on fire an Indian immigrant who was sleeping on a train station bench in a seaside town near Rome, investigators said on February 2.

Carabinieri paramilitary police said the three suspects, who had been using drugs and alcohol, included a 16-year-old, a 19-year-old and a 29-year-old.

"We can exclude racism as a motive because they were so high," Carabinieri Maj. Emanuele Gaeta told SKY TG24 TV.

Interior Minister Roberto Maroni, told reporters the Nettuno violence "isn't a racist attack. It's something worse," he said, a lack of fundamental values in society.

During a meeting with Pope Benedict XVI in Rome last year, Italy's president, Giorgio Napolitano, said he was concerned about "new manifestations of racism" in Italy and the rest of Europe.

After the recent attack, he warned in a statement against "any display and risk of xenophobia, racism and violence."

Intolerance is on the rise in Italy.

A poll taken by the centre-left La Repubblica newspaper last year found that 86 per cent of readers agreed with the proposition that Italy faces "a racism emergency".

A few of the incidents reported:

A gang of teenage thugs shouted racial abuse as they beat up Tong Hong-Shen, a 36-year-old Chinese immigrant in Rome, breaking his nose and leaving him bloodied and bruised..

Police said the same group was responsible for an earlier, similarly unprovoked attack on two immigrants from Ivory Coast.

In the northern city of Parma, a young Ghanaian student was allegedly assaulted by traffic police who mistook him for a drug dealer while in Milan a 19-year-old immigrant from Burkina Faso was allegedly beaten to death by the father and son owners of a bar who suspected him of stealing a packet of biscuits last month.

Six African immigrants were gunned down in a suspected mafia hit in Castel Volturno, near Naples, on Sept 18, in what police say may have been part of a drug trade turf war.

Attacks on foreigners have been accompanied by anti-Semitic graffiti appearing in Rome and other cities, including insults aimed at the Speaker of the Senate, Renato Schifani, after he paid a visit to Auschwitz last month.

Gianfranco Fini, the speaker of the lower house of parliament, warned: "In Italy there exists a real danger of racism and xenophobia."

The Catholic Church and human rights groups have warned for months that Italians were becoming increasingly intolerant of immigrants.

The first black footballer to play for Italy joined the debate. "It's like we've travelled 60 years back in time," said Fabio Liverani, 32, who is of Somali descent and made history when he played for Italy in 2001.

"The level of violence is rising. When I was a boy I suffered some episodes of racism but it was essentially verbal."

Indian Talent in Demand in Denmark

To boost its economy and also to address the shortage of human resources, Denmark is all set to invite Indian skilled manpower. The country has set up a 'Work in Denmark' centre at the Danish Embassy in India to facilitate job applications from Indian professionals. Denmark is keen to take on a cross section of Indian professionals to "supplement" Denmark's captive talent. In step, a 10-15% growth in bilateral trade between India and Denmark has also been noticed. There have been several new investments from Denmark as well as Indian companies such as Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Larsen and Toubro (L&T) have been successfully operating in Denmark for the past several years