A-Infos (en) Italy, FDCA, Cantiere #36 - Review - HUMAN BEINGS EQUAL - Paola Perullo (ca, de, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

The idea of developing research into the roots of racism stems from the 
authors' need to understand that the origins of racism, understood both 
in its individual and social and cultural expressions, lie not in 
violent behavior, but in thought. This unconscious and non-material 
dynamic of aggression consists in devaluing (denying) and rendering 
non-existent (nullifying) whatever is perceived as different in others. 
This type of reaction to diversity, often hidden, cuts across Western 
culture and societies. This book, in fact, is aimed at the study of 
racism in the West, with particular reference to Italy and Europe. This 
stems from the belief that the West is the only part of the world that 
has developed, systematized, and perpetuated racist beliefs that have 
had serious consequences, such as exploitation, slavery, trafficking, 
and other forms of violence against "other" peoples, evident in Europe's 
colonial history as well as in subsequent fascist and Nazi history. This 
supports the thesis that racism still has a decisive influence within 
European society today, both in a blatant manner, such as that flaunted 
by many far-right politicians, and in a subtle, creeping, and widespread 
form that is more difficult to escape.
The authors' aim with this research is linked to the hope of providing 
some insights into the more subtle version of racism, which is less 
easily visible and at the same time so deeply rooted and internalized 
that it often manifests itself without any overt expression in behavior 
or words. The topic of how racist ideas can make one ill is also 
interesting. This contribution begins with a study on the impact of 
racism on the mental health of asylum seekers and refugees. It affirms 
the belief that racism is, first and foremost, a misguided, 
unfortunately collective, disease that afflicts some human beings, 
negatively impacting humanity as a whole.
Every day in our country, we witness racist incidents from citizens, the 
media, and institutions, such as insults to athletes of African descent 
by their own fans, newspaper headlines that primarily point to the 
non-Italian origin of the perpetrator of a crime, and throughout Europe, 
we see governments spending billions to "defend borders from invaders." 
We know that in Italy, so-called "regular" immigration from non-European 
countries currently consists largely of people seeking protection (RPI), 
the only channel for regularization for those fleeing situations that 
pose a risk to their own and others' physical and psychological safety 
(whether violence or poverty), seeking refuge in our country.
Furthermore, the number of those arriving in Italy is limited. The 
arrival of fewer than 135,000 applicants for international protection 
(estimated for 2023) is described, for some unclear reason, as an 
"invasion." Analyzing the numbers of sea arrivals, we see 158,000 people 
arriving by sea in 2023. Migrants, especially refugees, fleeing dire 
situations, ask for nothing more than to work to rebuild their lives. 
Their desperation is exploited, and they end up exploited and forced 
into new forms of slavery, of which the most widespread form is the 
gangmaster system in Italy. In any case, the much-vaunted negative 
influence of these people on the labor market is refuted by economic 
studies demonstrating that immigration, on the contrary, creates jobs 
and reduces unemployment, thus increasing the coffers of the National 
Institute of Social Security (INPS). Instead, their lives continue to be 
made difficult by perpetuating practices that hinder their integration, 
such as the bureaucratic process for citizenship. A WHO report on the 
mental health of refugees in Europe highlights that upon arrival, the 
prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is 10 times higher 
than in the host country, while other conditions have the same 
prevalence in both populations. However, after five years, the 
prevalence of all conditions, including PTSD, depression, anxiety, and 
psychotic disorders, increases in refugees. Why? Until a few decades 
ago, studies claimed that the higher incidence of PTSD was linked only 
to significant pre-immigration traumas, such as war, torture, or 
environmental disasters.
Today, we must recognize that the development of PTSD can be linked to 
significant traumatic events, but also to repeated microtraumas that can 
occur at all stages of the migration journey, including during the stay 
in our country.
At this stage, exposure to risky conditions depends entirely on us. When 
it comes to explicitly racist events and identifiable as such, it is 
certainly easier for the victim to understand the causal relationship 
between the stimulus and the resulting discomfort.
However, something else can happen on a daily basis that more subtly 
damages the psyche of these people: exclusion, the denial of their 
identity and sometimes their very existence. Microaggressions have been 
called those seemingly innocuous attitudes or phrases ranging from 
inconsideration to apparent appreciation that make the people who 
experience them feel bad. Overt violence is easier to identify and 
reject, while unexpressed racial prejudices confuse the mind; one feels 
bad but cannot understand why.
Being racist, therefore, does not necessarily mean having overtly 
violent attitudes and behaviors, but having a thought (sometimes 
unconscious) that is altered and altering towards the other human being 
who is different, a thought of inferiority-superiority, a thought 
according to which the different human being is not as human as the one 
who welcomes them. From this perspective, I believe it's important to 
reflect on what we ourselves are driven by the constant insistence that 
there's something dangerous about strangers, even if we don't know them, 
and the resulting call to rally behind a sense of belonging to feel 
strong and defend ourselves from the potential aggression of others. 
This false unity, based on fear (linked to a delusional perception of 
diversity), leads society to distance itself from strangers and close 
itself off from discussion, becoming rigid and rigid in its own 
positions, and increasingly impoverishing itself both humanly and 
culturally. And speaking of cultural enrichment, Dudù Kouatè is an 
internationally renowned musician, a griot, the son of a griot, and the 
custodian and heir of a thousand-year-old tradition he brought to Italy, 
arriving in Messina in 1988. He became an intercultural mediator and is 
now a museum mediator at Brera. An interview with him is included in 
this book on the origins of racism. When asked, "What does racism mean 
to you?", Dudù replies: "Racism is a term I've had the opportunity to 
reflect on and discuss with other people, colleagues, during the various 
stages of my training as an intercultural and museum mediator. I've 
interacted with people from different cultures and backgrounds, and each 
of them had their own experience of racism. Skin color is often referred 
to when addressing the topic, foregrounding the concept of race, which 
doesn't exhaust the topic because there is only one race, the "human 
race," and only those who lose their humanity insist on this fact, 
incapable of going beyond and deeper. In reality, there are different 
forms of racism: institutional, generational, political, and then 
there's "instinctive" racism, which is the most common and widespread of 
all, a consequence of the conditioning of the social, family, and school 
environments in which people live.

Since racism often carries a strong hateful charge, I believe someone 
must have a valid reason for being Unfortunately, this isn't the case 
when people of the same political or cultural background follow the 
ideology or tendencies of their group, and their behavior demonstrates 
that they too are in no way capable of justifying their racist behavior. 
Evidently, as is well known, the governments of various countries relate 
to a political and economic dimension that is very different from human 
relationships between people.
If we want to be honest with our consciences, we cannot ignore the 
burdensome and violent past and present of our history. Often, a feeling 
of superiority precedes racist action, which provokes obvious reactions: 
hatred, verbal and physical violence. For me, racism is that thought 
that gives people the feeling of being at risk, of losing something 
material or immaterial, or that their comfort zone is threatened by the 
arrival or presence of strangers and foreigners. The feeling that says, 
"They're taking away our jobs, our women..." because mixed cultures 
scare them. When asked, "Are you Italian now?", they reply, " I am a 
citizen of the world with a Senegalese passport. For many years, I have 
worked in schools with young children, and my mission is to dismantle 
all the prejudices instilled by adults. I try to teach them to think for 
themselves, to interact with their peers based on what they have in 
common: their humanity and sensitivity.
(From the book ESSERI HUMAN UGALIA a research on racism    edited by 
Carolina Carbonari, Rossella Carnevali, Filippo Montanelli, Ada 
Montellanico, Simone Roffi. L'Asino d'oro Editions).

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