In My Shoes

A boy walks among pairs of shoes at the premises of an NGO next to the Mória camp for refugees and migrants, on the island of Lesbos, Greece. Photo: Elias Marcou/Reuters.

Gulliver’s Travels

Marjan Hosini, 3, warms her hands over hot coal as her mother Yasamin, 25, pours tea into cups inside their temporary shelter at a makeshift camp for refugees and migrants next to the Mória camp, on the island of Lesbos, Greece. Marjan’s father, Talibshah Hosini, played some tough roles as an actor in Afghanistan before he fled. None was as hard as his family’s real-life fight for survival on Lesbos. Photo: Alkis Konstantinidis and Giorgos Moutafis/Reuters.

Schools and Societies

A migrant girl warms herself by the fire near the banks of Maritsa/Evros river, natural border between Turkey and Greece, near Edirne, Turkey. Photo: Marko Đurića/Reuters.

Visible Invisible

A visitor photographs an artwork entitled Blue Europe by Chinese artist 劉勃麟 (Liú Bólín), as a part of his solo exhibitionon “Visible Invisible” which will be on display at the Museum of Cultures (Mudec) in Milan, Italy from May 15 to September 15, 2019. Photo: Miguel Medina/AFP/Getty Images.

The Importance of Not Being Arcovazzi

The fishing vessel that sank on April 18, 2015 trapping hundreds of migrants, is installed by artist Christoph Büchel in Venice’s former shipyards as part of the 58th Biennale. Photo: David Levene/The Guardian.

The Importance of Not Being Arcovazzi

Video shows boy known as Simone saying Roma people should not “be abandoned”. [Read more].

• Lorenzo Tondo, Footage of Italian boy who stood up to fascists goes viral, The Guardian, April 5, 2019

Noah’s Ark

German NGO rescue ship Sea Watch decided to file a case at the European Human Rights Court against Italy for refusing to allow its ship carrying 47 rescued migrants to dock. Sea Watch’s spokesman Ruben Neugebauer points the finger against Italy’s far-right interior minister, who would be “taking the people on board as political hostages”. The Po Valley strongman’s hardline attitude was also harshly contested by Italian Association for Infant Mental Health (AISMI): “As infant mental health workers we reiterate the urgency of immediately landing migrants, so as to help them with the necessary health and psychological care, especially children and adolescents. Their unwarranted and inadmissible detention onboard the Sea Watch represents a further abuse perpetrated against them — specifically by Italian authorities, which instead have the duty of safeguarding the physical and psychological health of anyone is found on Italian territory”, AISMI President Giampaolo Nicolais said.

A street art graffiti by British artist Banksy. Credit: Philippe Huguen/AFP/Getty Images.

The Importance of Not Being Arcovazzi

Italy’s Democratic Party delegation finally climbed aboard the NGO rescue ship Sea Watch, which is anchored, with 47 asylum seekers (among them there are at least 13 minors), in waters close to the Sicilian city of Siracusa, Italy since a week ago, due to the refusal of the far-right interior minister to give it access to Italy’s ports. All Italy’s parties apparently agree that for this, as for what occurred with the vessel Diciotti last August, the far-right interior minister should be prosecuted and put on trial.

A boy riding a pig. Artwork by Banksy.

The Importance of Not Being Arcovazzi

Málaga, Spain: Women are helped to disembark from a migrant rescue vessel. The Spanish Maritime Rescue Service saved 183 people from dinghies and brought them to the harbour, where they were assisted by the Cruz Roja Española (Spanish Red Cross). Photo: Jesús Mérida/Sopa Images/Rex/Shutterstock.

The Importance of Not Being Arcovazzi

Málaga, Spain: A woman and her child disembark from a Spanish coastguard vessel after being rescued from an inflatable boat carrying 188 people. Photo: Jorge Guerrero/AFP/Getty Images.

The Happy Christmas

Rome, Italy: An African migrant dressed as Santa Claus stands outside an abandoned penicillin factory during an eviction by police. About 500 people lived in the abandoned building including African migrants, Italians and Roma families. Photo: Antonio Masiello/Getty Images.

The Weight of the World

Street artist Banksy is raffling one of his sculptures of a remote-control boat filled with refugees (titled How heavy it weighs), which featured in his “bemusement” theme park Dismaland, for a minimum donation of £2 ($2.50) to the charity Help Refugees, provided you can guess how much it weighs. It’s on display at the pop-up Help Refugees shop, 30 Fouberts Place, Carnaby Street, London until competition closes on December 22. Photo: Banksy (@banksy).

The Importance of Not Being Arcovazzi

Domenico Lucano, the mayor of Riace — a southern Italian town commendably known for integrating refugees — was put under house arrest on Tuesday for allegedly favouring illegal migration. He was also accused of organising “marriages of convenience” between local men and foreign women and setting up systems aimed at bypassing rules for migrants to be allowed to live in Italy. Anti-mafia author Roberto Saviano objected that Lucano was guilty only of “disobeying and saving human lives and welcoming migrants”, as Italy’s far-right Interior Minister announced a decree last week to cut funds for migrant reception and integration.

The Riace Bronzes, National Museum of Magna Grecia in Reggio Calabria, Italy. Photo: Wikipedia Commons.

Goliardic youth

On Wednesday, August 15, 2018 three young people, including two minors, shot pellets from a window in Aprilia, a town south of Rome, Italy and wounded a Cameroonian man in the foot. The incident follows the killing of a Moroccan man in the same city last July 29, when three men — who later said they took him to be a thief — decided to take justice into their own hands. With respect to Wednesday’s shoot-off, the three young people deny any racial reason.

A young man removes graffiti reading “Free Mandela” from a wall of King’s College Chapel in the University of Cambridge, Cambridge, England in 1965. Nelson Mandela was imprisoned in 1964 for opposing the Apartheid of the South African government and was not released until 1990. He later became South Africa’s President. Photo © Hulton-Deutsch Collection/Corbis via Getty Images.

• Ylenia Gostoli, 9 shootings in 50 days: Italy’s ugly face of racism, Deutsche Welle, August 17, 2018

Take a Walk in Their Shoes

Catholic Agency For Overseas Development (CAFOD)’s Sister Clara from Zambia, walks through shoes displayed outside Westminster Cathedral in central London to promote Pope Francis’ refugee campaign. Photo: AFP/Ben Stansall.

Life of Pi

A migrant waits to disembark from a rescue boat after arriving at the port of Málaga, Spain. Photo: Jon Nazca/Reuters.

The Importance of Not Being Arcovazzi

The Wikipedia page on “Racism in Italy” recaps the story of racism in Italy, from the infamous “racial laws” promulgated in 1938 till the racists attacks, shootings and murders in 2018.

The goliards

Minorities including a one-year-old Roma child shot following far-right gains, but discrimination often unacknowledged. [Read more].

• Ylenia Gostoli, In post-election Italy, violent racist attacks becoming routine, Al Jazeera, August 7, 2018

The Importance of Not Being Arcovazzi

Migrants rescued at sea wait to be transferred at the harbour of Algeciras, Spain. Photo: AFP/Jorge Guerrero.

Ministry of Ship Contractors

Vessel allegedly broke international law by returning 108 people rescued from Mediterranean to Tripoli A search and rescue charity has alleged that an Italian ship returned scores of people rescued from the Mediterranean to Libya, even though Libya is not regarded by Europe as a safe place under international law. In what would be an unprecedented case if confirmed, the Asso 28, an oil rig support vessel, allegedly saved 108 people from a dinghy and then took them to Tripoli. [Read more].

• Angela Giuffrida, Italian ship returned rescued people to Libya, charity says, The Guardian, July 31, 2018

It is against the law for one country to return people to another territory that is at war, or where they could be subjected to the death penalty, torture or other inhumane conditions. Photo: Jon Nazca/Reuters.