In this week's episode...
Rassegna stampa (this week's news headlines):
You may have noticed that this week we chose not to start the program with our typical intro and start instead with Francesco Guccini performing his song "Incontro" in 1973. That's because he passed away last week and we thought we would pay tribute to one of the legends of Italian cantautorato. He leaves behind an amazing discography and a resounding impact on Italian culture and music around the world.
Vittorio then updates the listeners on the happenings of the Anan Yaeesh trial that is ongoing in Italy alongside the immoral criminal prosecutions against other members of the Italian/Palestinian community including Mohammed Hannoun, President of the Palestinian Association of Italy, as well as others that are being put on trial by the Italian state on trumped up charges to silence the Palestine Solidarity movement that has been rapidly growing on the Italian peninsula. In Yaeesh case the grounds for the sentencing have been finally filed after a process that has dragged on with all the beauracratic weight over the last 2 and half years. There will be an appeal forthcoming, we will keep listeners updated on this as we have been since this case started. You can find the original statements here and here.
The 70th Anniversary of the Marcinelle Mine Disaster, the anniversary of an important commemoration has just passed - it's been 69 years since the Marcinelle tragedy when on August 8, 1956, a fire broke out in the Bois du Cazier mine that took the lives of 262 workers, 136 of whom were Italian emigrants who had left to escape the poverty of post-war Italy. These workers found conditions that were far from ideal: especially those who migrated to Belgium and France were forced to live in dilapidated, damp, dirty barracks that were practically unlivable; the emigrants were segregated because of their nationality and suffered acts of racism every day. In front of some rental houses and shops there were signs reading "No dogs and Italians allowed." Marcinelle represents a very important part of the history of Italian emigration and labor rights for us, even more so in this Italy of the Jobs Act and precariousness, where people continue to die as they did 70 years ago. People die killed by work in all those areas where work is precarious, exploited, devalued and without safety protections.
We read out the translated statement by Renato Turturro originally published on Osservatorio Repressione which you can find here.
National Day of Italian Labour in the World (Giornata nazionale del sacrificio del lavoro italiano nel mondo) 8 Agosto. Ccommerorating Marcinelle but also amazingly a Berlusconi era day, beginning in 2001. The political roots of the founder of the day originates from Mirko Tramglia. Before serving as a minister, he had a controversial past as a volunteer for the fascist Italian Social Republic (RSI) during WWII and was a long-time member of the neo-fascist Italian Social Movement (MSI). This further highlights the contested nature of historical memory and how the class struggle is waged in present but importantly in how we remember the past. This leads the crew to a discussion about the death at work rates in Italy compared to Australia and the rest of the world, some staggering numbers that in just the first 6 months of the year in Italy 400+ people have died on worksites.
Tobia rounds out the rassegna stampa by reading our translation of the recent Jeff Sparrow article published on Deepcut "Why 'social cohesion' is a dangerous phrase in Australian politics". You can find the original piece here.
Radio FILEF alumni and COMITES Secretary Massimo Calosi drops in on a phone call to talk to us about the COMITES position of the announced Italian electoral reforms that we have been reporting on for the last month which see the reduction in the number of seats of representation in parliament from Italian communities and residents living abroad reduced to 4 seats internationally. Amalgamating large sections of vastly different political realities and coditions vying for fewer seats at the proverbial table.
Song - Banda Bassotti - Barboni
As we touch on the macro we come back down to the grassroots with Massimo to talk about a situation that is very close to his heart, indeed from his home of Rome. The famous and renowned centro sociale (social centre) SPIN TIME has been forcibly expelled from the building they have been occupying for the last few decades, housing many over 70 familes and carrying out many basic functions of education, provision of primary goods and social activities. Massimo lays out right wing demagogue head of state Meloni and her attack on social centres around Italy and how this impact the now over 200 people that are camped outside SPIN TIME in a rolling protest to regain entry into the building which as you will hear in the interview has had come to side an unlikely coalition of faith leaders and community representatives.
Here are some articles to deepen your understanding of what is happening at SPIN TIME:
qua, qui and la.
FILEF Naarm - Melbourne
