Human Rights Crisis in Italy

For those who aren't aware, right now Italy is undergoing a process of masquerading Nazi-era policies as beneficial for the whole population.

In the most recent elections held last spring, media conglom and two-time PM Silvio "I'm the wealthiest man in Italy" Berlusconi was elected again to the highest seat of government after the second Prodi government fell due to a corruption scandal that caused one of Prodi's key support groups to pull out, forcing a no-confidence vote in the Chamber of Deputies. On a related note, Prodi never played Jenga as a kid.

In a country where stability of government is valued over actual policy positions, it's not surprising that along with Berlusconi's success was the installment of Gianni Alemanno as Mayor of Rome, a victory for the Alleanza Nazionale party (National Alliance). Note: Alleanza Nazionale is little more than the latest incarnation of the Fascist Party, and Alemanno proudly wears the popular fascist symbol of a celtic cross around his neck wherever he goes.

So imagine my shock when they started going after the godless Roma (PC term for what we brashly call "gypsies"). One of Berlusconi's first acts in his third go at the PM-ship was to draft and begin institution of a fingerprinting policy for the Roma, which he later extended to the entire population amidst accusations that it was just a tad discriminatory. You can't blame him, though: who knew that rounding the homeless up in the streets and bringing them in to be fingerprinted might be construed as being targeted at a specific demographic?

This all coming on the heels of a whirlwind of violence against the Roma that would make the Corleone family blush. Less than a week past, two girls drowned swimming in the waters just off Naples. While certainly tragic, the real tragedy was the reaction of the sunbathing crowd on the beach, who barely batted an eyelash as the corpses were dragged onto the beach and then taken off in coffins.

Today, we hear about a Roma camp being set ablaze, and authorities harbor no illusions that one of the unfortunate members of the camp accidentally left the gas on before going to bed. These camps, for the record, are little more than refugee camps, but unlike many similar ones around the world, these camps are situated in the middle of major cities in a major industrialized country. Imagine if you could walk through the streets of DC and stumble across what looks like an impromptu campground with hundreds of inhabitants on the National Mall, many of them starving and diseased.

And all this in Italy, the land of wine and pasta and the Pope, where everyone has a scooter and a villa on Lake Como. Aren't fairy tales nice?

"Do it my way, make more money."
- Silvio Berlusconi, on how impoverished Italians should improve their situations