March 22, 2018 - A Sad Day for Refugees in Rome
Yesterday morning the police evacuated the building I visited with the MEDU Mobile Medical Clinic/RV last week (see March 15, 2018 - MEDU RV & A Really Hard Life). Below is a picture (the building is down the road with the large coniferous trees in front) and a description of what happened from MEDU's Facebook page. (See below for my description of going out with the RV to this location last night.)
Evacuation in the settlement of Via Vannina in Rome
In the early hours of the morning and without any notice, the police intervened with an evacuation operation at the occupied building in via vannina, in the tor cervara area, on the eastern outskirts of the capital. About people present were conducted in police headquarters for identification operations and then returned to the building to recover their personal effects. Despite the presence of the social services of the municipality of Rome (social operating room) during the operation, no alternative solution appears to have been proposed to people left on the street. So they reported the people met by the operators of meďu and on the other hand, up to now, it was not possible to obtain any information from the municipality. And yet in August, following the serious clashes between refugees and police during the evacuation of a occupied building in the heart of Rome, minister licr had issued a directive with which he called on the prefects to " suspend the evictions in the absence of the Alternative Solutions ".
A previous evacuation operation of the same building took place only 9 months ago, in June 2017, without producing any results, if not the acts of a situation of extreme abandonment and social marginalization: after a few days, the Building was once again populated by about 18 people, in most cases young men aged between 18 and 30, coming from West Africa - particularly from Nigeria, Senegal and Gambia - and owner of regular Residence permits mostly for international protection or for humanitarian reasons. Meďu's mobile clinic has regularly visited the settlement since October 2017, pruning health care and socio-legal guidance and access to rights and services in a context characterised by dramatic health conditions and the total absence of institutions .
The Mobile Mobile clinic will be operational this evening near the settlement to provide assistance to people cleared and to monitor the evolution of the situation.
Going with the RV to Via Vannina
I went with the RV last night to this building, and there were still several police cars and vans there, blocking anyone from entering. We parked on the corner, down the road from the building (near where MEDU's picture above was taken).
There were about 30 men (and one woman) there with large packets (for example, large balls of stuff tied up in large blankets) and shopping carts full of stuff standing there, not sure where to go. We also saw two men walk by with a generator and a couple of people carrying mattresses. They said that the police had taken them all to the police station and, after finger printing and processing each of them, allowed them to go. They also said that the police allowed them to go into the building in small groups to retrieve their things until it got dark, when they closed the building until the next morning.
All of them seemed quite discouraged and unsure of what to do. They said that they had not eaten all day, so the MEDU staff called another aid organization that said it would bring food later. Many expressed being cold (it was a chilly night), so MEDU staff gave several of them blankets, clothes, and shoes. MEDU also provided medical services and advice on navigating the immigration bureaucracy to many.
It was heart-breaking to see all of this and to talk with them. Several repeatedly asked where they should go and why we did not have any suggestions for them. A big issue is that now they have no where to put their stuff, which will be lost or stolen if they leave it to go to jobs or to work on acquiring papers needed to stay/work in Italy. Many went to other abandoned buildings nearby or to the camp near the Tiburtina Train Station. The problem is that all of these places are already overcrowded.
Nearly all we spoke with, though deeply discouraged, frustrated, and angry, were calm, polite, and civil in the way they communicated with us and others. One man, who was clearly frustrated and angry, took two or three tires and other flammable materials to the middle of the road about half-way between where the police were parked in front of the building and where we were parked and lit them on fire. He then began yelling at the police and throwing empty beer bottles into the street. The other people near us began telling him to calm down and to stop what he was doing because it would only result in him going to jail. He stopped and walked away. The police drove a car down to where we were parked and asked us to help keep everyone calm. They stayed parked there until we left. We explained that we were just there to provide help, but that of course people are upset about all of this. Below is a picture I took of the fire before the police came down to us.
Evacuations such as this, that provide no alternatives for those who are moved out, inevitably increase tensions and problems. This, in turn, leads people to "act out" or lash out, which then leads to more tension and problems. I hope something will break this cycle, but no solution seems evident at present.
Evacuation in the settlement of Via Vannina in Rome
In the early hours of the morning and without any notice, the police intervened with an evacuation operation at the occupied building in via vannina, in the tor cervara area, on the eastern outskirts of the capital. About people present were conducted in police headquarters for identification operations and then returned to the building to recover their personal effects. Despite the presence of the social services of the municipality of Rome (social operating room) during the operation, no alternative solution appears to have been proposed to people left on the street. So they reported the people met by the operators of meďu and on the other hand, up to now, it was not possible to obtain any information from the municipality. And yet in August, following the serious clashes between refugees and police during the evacuation of a occupied building in the heart of Rome, minister licr had issued a directive with which he called on the prefects to " suspend the evictions in the absence of the Alternative Solutions ".
A previous evacuation operation of the same building took place only 9 months ago, in June 2017, without producing any results, if not the acts of a situation of extreme abandonment and social marginalization: after a few days, the Building was once again populated by about 18 people, in most cases young men aged between 18 and 30, coming from West Africa - particularly from Nigeria, Senegal and Gambia - and owner of regular Residence permits mostly for international protection or for humanitarian reasons. Meďu's mobile clinic has regularly visited the settlement since October 2017, pruning health care and socio-legal guidance and access to rights and services in a context characterised by dramatic health conditions and the total absence of institutions .
The Mobile Mobile clinic will be operational this evening near the settlement to provide assistance to people cleared and to monitor the evolution of the situation.
Going with the RV to Via Vannina
I went with the RV last night to this building, and there were still several police cars and vans there, blocking anyone from entering. We parked on the corner, down the road from the building (near where MEDU's picture above was taken).
There were about 30 men (and one woman) there with large packets (for example, large balls of stuff tied up in large blankets) and shopping carts full of stuff standing there, not sure where to go. We also saw two men walk by with a generator and a couple of people carrying mattresses. They said that the police had taken them all to the police station and, after finger printing and processing each of them, allowed them to go. They also said that the police allowed them to go into the building in small groups to retrieve their things until it got dark, when they closed the building until the next morning.
All of them seemed quite discouraged and unsure of what to do. They said that they had not eaten all day, so the MEDU staff called another aid organization that said it would bring food later. Many expressed being cold (it was a chilly night), so MEDU staff gave several of them blankets, clothes, and shoes. MEDU also provided medical services and advice on navigating the immigration bureaucracy to many.
It was heart-breaking to see all of this and to talk with them. Several repeatedly asked where they should go and why we did not have any suggestions for them. A big issue is that now they have no where to put their stuff, which will be lost or stolen if they leave it to go to jobs or to work on acquiring papers needed to stay/work in Italy. Many went to other abandoned buildings nearby or to the camp near the Tiburtina Train Station. The problem is that all of these places are already overcrowded.
Nearly all we spoke with, though deeply discouraged, frustrated, and angry, were calm, polite, and civil in the way they communicated with us and others. One man, who was clearly frustrated and angry, took two or three tires and other flammable materials to the middle of the road about half-way between where the police were parked in front of the building and where we were parked and lit them on fire. He then began yelling at the police and throwing empty beer bottles into the street. The other people near us began telling him to calm down and to stop what he was doing because it would only result in him going to jail. He stopped and walked away. The police drove a car down to where we were parked and asked us to help keep everyone calm. They stayed parked there until we left. We explained that we were just there to provide help, but that of course people are upset about all of this. Below is a picture I took of the fire before the police came down to us.
Evacuations such as this, that provide no alternatives for those who are moved out, inevitably increase tensions and problems. This, in turn, leads people to "act out" or lash out, which then leads to more tension and problems. I hope something will break this cycle, but no solution seems evident at present.
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