ITALY: Outrage over death of four Roma children

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Summary: The mayor of Rome has been criticised for a lack of of solutions to the housing situation of Roma, after four children died in a fire in a Roma camp.

[8 January 2011] - The death of four children on Sunday in a fire at an illegal Roma camp on the outskirts of the Italian capital sparked a wave of criticism yesterday against the state and Rome’s mayor for a lack of long-term solutions.

The five or six makeshift plastic shacks which had housed some 20 Roma were pulled down yesterday and their inhabitants were escorted to a council-run shelter after the second lethal fire in a Rome camp in five months.

Authorities had already torn the camp down several times, only to see it rebuilt by the Roma. Another two illegal camps in the area, which currently house around 40 people, are destined to be dismantled in the next few days. In August a three-year old named Marius died and his four-month-old brother was seriously burned in a camp blaze.

“It’s a disgrace for Rome and our country,” said the Catholic Sant’Egidio community, which offers aid and support to the Roma, adding that the family of the victims had been forcibly evacuated 30 times in 10 years.  Sant’Egidio called on local authorities and the state to launch a “long term policy to find places the Roma can live in dignity,” which should draw on support offered by the European Union.

Vincenzo Spadafora, head of Unicef in Italy, also urged the country to come up with a long-term solution. “We all have to do more to avoid such incidents. We are all responsible: institutions, families and organisations which have the rights and safety of children at heart,” he said.

The main opposition Democratic Party turned its rage on Rome’s mayor Gianni Alemanno, a right-wing populist, condemning his “complete failure... in three years in the position” and calling on him to change his strategy.

“The Roma issue cannot be seen as just a public order problem,” said Marco Miccoli, PD secretary in Rome, adding that Alemanno “said in 2009 he was going to expel 20,000 Roma in three months.”

Miccoli complained the mayor was merely “off-loading his responsibilities on to others” after Alemanno blamed the deaths on Sunday on “damned bureaucracy” that had blocked a project to rehouse the Roma.

Further Information:

[7 February 2011] - The death of four children on Sunday in a fire at an illegal Roma camp on the outskirts of the Italian capital sparked a wave of criticism yesterday against the state and Rome’s mayor for a lack of long-term solutions.

The five or six makeshift plastic shacks which had housed some 20 Roma were pulled down yesterday and their inhabitants were escorted to a council-run shelter after the second lethal fire in a Rome camp in five months.

Authorities had already torn the camp down several times, only to see it rebuilt by the Roma. Another two illegal camps in the area, which currently house around 40 people, are destined to be dismantled in the next few days. In August a three-year old named Marius died and his four-month-old brother was seriously burned in a camp blaze.

“It’s a disgrace for Rome and our country,” said the Catholic Sant’Egidio community, which offers aid and support to the Roma, adding that the family of the victims had been forcibly evacuated 30 times in 10 years.  Sant’Egidio called on local authorities and the state to launch a “long term policy to find places the Roma can live in dignity,” which should draw on support offered by the European Union.

Vincenzo Spadafora, head of Unicef in Italy, also urged the country to come up with a long-term solution. “We all have to do more to avoid such incidents. We are all responsible: institutions, families and organisations which have the rights and safety of children at heart,” he said.

The main opposition Democratic Party turned its rage on Rome’s mayor Gianni Alemanno, a right-wing populist, condemning his “complete failure... in three years in the position” and calling on him to change his strategy.

“The Roma issue cannot be seen as just a public order problem,” said Marco Miccoli, PD secretary in Rome, adding that Alemanno “said in 2009 he was going to expel 20,000 Roma in three months.”

Miccoli complained the mayor was merely “off-loading his responsibilities on to others” after Alemanno blamed the deaths on Sunday on “damned bureaucracy” that had blocked a project to rehouse the Roma.

 

pdf: http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=414644...

Country: 
Italy
Issues: 
Minority or indigenous children
Attachment Link: 
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