Against all racism - we reject the politics of oppression and exploitation

The Republic recognises and guarantees the inviolable rights of the person, whether as an individual or within the social groups where the human personality is expressed

Article 2, Constitution of the Italian Republic

Italy, land of emigrants in times not so long past has become a place of immigration - though in smaller measure than in other European countries, the presence of foreigners has become consistent.

So, in our daily relationships - family, school, work, trade - we meet people from a different background, with different cultures and concerns. We didn't immediately realise, but our life has changed: we learn languages and far-away places, and for those who understand the value of diversity, these new experiences enrich us greatly.

For the economy, people who have immigrated support important sectors: construction, agriculture, family and we all know that without their contribution there would be economic and social collapse. These people - immigrants - from different origins but with the same humanity, should have been welcomed to a society in evolution, respectful of the rights of all, but that isn't what happened. The economically powerful used them as cheap labour, in the black economy, at times forcing them into conditions of slavery. The Italian government used women and men from the immigrant communities to offload the responsibility for the current conditions that are difficult for all, building up fear and hostility in citizens, and then imposing emergency laws that limit the freedom of us all. For some time, we have been witnessing a veritable turn towards racism. Today, in Italy, racism is spreading because those who practise it find support in the xenophobic policies of the Berlusconi government, which , with the approval of the Security Law (DDL 733), has without ambiguity taken the path of incitement to hatred against "the foreigner", "the different".

There are dynamics, fed by the strong impact of the platform of extreme right-wing parties on government policies and on the public perception. The media also manipulates and legitimises racism and xenophobia, exploting the multicultural process that the Italian society is experiencing. Doudou Diène, special rapporteur of the UN in his report on the situation in Italy with respect to the phenomena of racism, social discrimination and xenophobia. The growing incidence of discrimination and violation of fundamental human rights against the immigrant population in the country is evident. We note that racism and xenophobia persist in attitudes towards immigrants, asylum seekers and refugees, including the Rom. We call on the government to intervene effectively to combat the climate of intollerance and to guarantee protection to migrants whatever their status may be. From the report of the International Labour Organisation, 2009 The turning back of immigrants, as it is being effected today in the Mediterranean, is not in line with Italian law, since Italian law, though it does indeed provide for expulsion but with some guarantees: the person must be identified, must receive an expulsion order and can appeal. Turning back of immigrants on the seas is indiscriminate and collective, and calls into question the right to asylum. Laura Boldrini, spokeksperson for the Italian section of the UN High Commission for Refugees.

The measures and the proposals that have been adopted attack the most elementary human rightsand are a list of barbarities:

• The crime of clandestinity, which makes a crime of a condition of life that is linked to a particular mement in the existence of a migrant, is a dangerous step towards the normalisation of social inequalities and towards the legalisation of racism.
  
• The policy of expulsion and the criminal agreements with Lybia cause veritable slaughters of innocents
• The facility for the public health services to denounce illegal immigrants is completely contrary to the ethical code of doctors and to the constitution (art. 32: “The Republic safeguards the health as a fundamental right of the individual and as being in the interest of the collectivity and guarantees free care to the poor. ”)
• The registration of those without fixed address, a first step towards the discrimination of a sector of the population that evokes memories of the horrors of the fascist and Nazi past.
  
• The institution of the CIE (Centre of Identification and Expulsion) in Lampedusa;
• The instituion of vigilante patrols, which ferment a climate of suspicion and are contrary to the right of all to be protected with the instruments at the disposition of the democratic institutions.
  

As Women in Black, we reject these racist measures as fatal to our freedom and we refuse:

• the ideology of intolerance
  
• xenophobia and racism
  
• The politics of exclusion of the "other" that transforms others into enemies
  
• The violence contained in any law and in any attitude that denies the humanity of the "other",
  
• The "security scam" that not only threatens our freedom and our lives, but also masks the real causes of social insecurity, traceable to the logic of the neoliberal system, which makes work precarious, increases poverty, destroys the social state, makes it impossible to plan for the future
  

We will not obey laws in which we do not recognise ourselves because they violate the most elementary human rights.