Thanks to everyone who signed Igiaba Scego’s petition!

In my post of April 15 I wrote about the Italian-Somali writer Igiaba Scego:

‘Like many in Italy Igiaba is deeply concerned about recent attempts to rehabilitate Fascism in public memory.’

I also posted the text of Igiaba’s recent petition to the President of the Lazio region, protesting against the building of monument to Rodolfo Graziani, a Facist general responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people in Ethiopia and Somalia. The post included a link to a page where the petition could be signed and I believe many readers responded.

Yesterday  I received this joyful message from Igiaba saying that the President of the Lazio region, Nicola Zingaretti, had announced that funding for the monument would be withdrawn.

The Lazio government and the president of our region remove all allusions to Graziani (the butcher of fezzan), both direct and indirect, from the memorial.

We’ve won the first fight. I’m so happy!!!

I want to say thank you again. Your post help our struggle.

We’ve Won this Round, but the Fight Is Not Over!

I Hope in the future to do something more. For examples in schools. Because Italy need memory.

Here is a link to an interview where Igiaba discusses the issue and the outcome.

Another correspondent, Ilaria Rigoli, has sent a link to the updated page at Change.org, with the following translation of the text:

Nicola Zingaretti (president of the region Lazio) says no to a monument to commemorate a war criminal and colonialist murderer

Victory
Igiaba Sciego’s campaign on Change.org to ask Nicola Zingaretti to remove the commemorative monument to Rodolfo Graziani, a fascist commander who has been included in the UN’s list of war criminals has been successful: just a few days after the petition was launched and with 13.000 supporters, today Zingaretti has announced his stop to the monument.

Here are Igiaba’s words to the supporters:
In such a difficult moment in the history of our Republic you have sent, with your support and belief, an important message to our country. All together we have avoided our beautiful Italy to become the world’s joke.
I (as you, after all) was deeply unset for that monument to a fascist commander. I coudn’t bear such an insult to my region, my country, and to the republican constitution. From the beginning of this obscenity I was feeling bad and trying in evey way to do something in order to remove or change the destination of the monument. Then, one day I launched this petition on Change.org and in a few days the fight of a little group has become the fight of a whole country.
Now my hope is that this victory will be able to start something good and positive in our country. 

Ilaria adds:

Amitav: I also want to thank you for this; I didn’t know anything about Igiaba’s petition until I read about it on your blog. I advertised your post to my network of friends, and I know many of them have signed because of it. Thank you so, so much.

It’s nice to know that my post led many people to the petition. I’d like to extend my personal thanks to all who signed it!

Amitav