I lucani hanno da impartire agli americani una bella lezione in inclusione. Due casi a confronti: Ali e Michael.

First of all my heart goes to the family of Michael Brown, the 18year-old African-American killed in Ferguson, Missouri, USA. God help the family out of this dark period it is going through. If you do not want to disturb your sentiments, do not ask me why he was killed, do not ask me why a police man should fire 12 rounds of bullets on an unarmed young man whose fault was being black-skinned and just walking along the street of his community. There is just no any other reason. Nothing else.

I didn’t really see the television interview carried out on Ali but I was informed about it by my family. You need to see the pride on the faces of my family members when they announced the much appreciated RAI-3 news focusing on Ali. The hair at the back of my neck stood up when almost all the shop-owners of the City Centre of Potenza brought out their deep sense of solidarity to Ali when he was discharged from San Carlo Hospital. One of the shop owners called me aside and asked me, humbly, what can he and his family do substantially to help Ali. I literally felt I was falling behind. To be sincere with you, I didn’t think of doing much since I had already been to the hospital to express my solidarity and well wishing. But as I said earlier, the not yet 40year-old son of the owner of this family run business calling be aside and asking me in a tender, low and serious voice, asking me how he and his family can help. I gathered myself up from the surprise and crop up some suggestion on how to help and that without thinking twice it was carried out. Again surprisingly this young man tell me now to tell Ali who sent the donation: of course I didn’t keep my promise. I told him. Another surprise? Ali didn’t seem to be surprised, he smiled and just said ‘’I know those guys would go to this length to help’’.

Basilicata is one of the Italian regions and Italian people – thank God is a very high percentage – who really give the image and the sense of what being an Italian is. When I go back to England where I was brought up and chat with my friends and acquaintances about where I live and the people’s hospitality they are usually not surprised about my choice of spending my life in Italy. Everybody abroad appreciate the hospitality of Italians as people add that to the beauty of the country, it’s superb food and all the ‘‘Made in Italy’’ products, you will understand why people keep coming back to visit this diverse and attractive country.

Of course there are some bad eggs in the country but luckily they are few. The social disorder at Tor Sapienza will in no way tarnish the image of Italy to people like me but I am sore that Mr Salvini is cashing in on it. Pure speculation and exploitation of the bad situation. The Italian television is adding fuel to fire, cloning Salvini, by giving him the power of ubiquity thus appearing on several channels at the same time.

So, lets go back to Ali and Michael. Ali was ill and went through heart surgery and the whole city was mobilized towards making him feel ‘’at home’’. On the other side of the Atlantic, a young Michael who is as black as Ali was just walking along the street trying to go back to his family at home when he was brutally killed though he had his hands up to show he was unarmed. So, what world are we in? We are talking about a country up to whom we all look when it comes to liberty and freedom, the country that ‘‘exports’’ democracy, the country who is considered to be the most civilized in the world, the country which is considered as a symbol human rights advocate. A country where the United Nations offices are located: a dream country. A dream country which becomes a nightmare country when we hear stories of a policeman not even been indicted for killing a teenage African-American. No wonder the widespread of the protesters was in every nook and corner of the country, from New York City to Boston, from Los Angeles to New Orleans, from Washington DC to Canada, to name but few.

This country instead doesn’t seem to know that we, the rest of the world, are watching from outside. We are watching how a wing of the party is boycotting and literally rendering powerless the first ever black, African-American president of its country. A decision taken right from the first day Mr Obama won the first mandate and got worsen when he went on to win the second. The main objective is to let him go into history book as the one with the least legacies to be remembered by.

We may only hope that the Lucanian blood flowing in the veins of Mr De Blasio – the Mayor of New York – would eventually spread, that little bit needed, around the wide and extensive land of America as a country and thus take Lucanian hospitality and lessons to Americans to learn from.

Enjoy!