Immigrants evacuated from Rosarno after violent protests

Parish Priest: “Those who took part in the revolt made a mistake”

11th January 2010: Police have evacuated several hundreds of Africans from Rosarno, in Calabria following some of the country’s worst riots in years.

The Provincial Police Headquarters in Reggio Calabria said that 428 immigrants were taken to the immigration detention centre in Crotone, 400 taken to immigration detention centre in Bari and 300 left the town using their own means to other parts of the country. 

The clashes began on 7th January night after a pellet-gun attack wounded two immigrants. Italian authorities brought in extra police after violent protests broke out. Authorities are still investigating whether organized crime provoked the riots which attracted international attention.

The immigrants who blamed racism for the attack, held a two day riot during which they burned cars, smashed shop windows, and fought with the police. Two police vehicles were also damaged. The authorities have bulldozed the encampments in the outskirts of Rosarno where the immigrants lived in inhuman conditions.

Following the forced departure of immigrants from the city, Don Pino Varrà, the Parish Priest of St. John the Baptist Church said: “Today were poorer.” He appealed to the local population to show once again the spirit of welcoming and brotherhood which they have been showing for the last 25 years since the first immigrants arrived in the area.

“Those who took part in the revolt made a mistake,” he said, adding that those who acted against immigrants are not the majority of the population. “We must rebel against violence but not through another violence,” he said.

Some 21 immigrants and 14 local residents, 10 police officers and eight carabinieri (paramilitary police) officers were lightly wounded. Ten people have been arrested following the riots. Three are local residents while seven are immigrants. 

Most of the immigrants in Rosarno worked as fruit-pickers in the region's citrus farms. They lived in inhuman conditions, often camped in abandoned factories and buildings with no running water or electricity. They are usually paid at most 25 Euros in a dawn-to-dusk work day.