Yesterday was an exciting day in Genoa, with a huge celebration that began in the afternoon at the Music for Peace headquarters, one of the collection points for the 300 tons of aid brought by the Genoese and arriving from other Italian cities and even abroad, amid a constant flow of people. Forty tons were expected, and part of it will be reserved for Sudan, where a terrible and little-discussed humanitarian crisis is underway. Volunteers worked tirelessly to pack the enormous quantity of basic necessities, a tangible sign of a wave of generous popular solidarity, contrasting with the cowardice and inertia of European governments, incapable of reaching an agreement to stop Israel.
By Maria Tomasi
In the afternoon, at the small Music for Peace headquarters, about two hundred people attended a “taste” of the evening, with speeches by, among others, Vittorio Agnoletto of Medicina Democratica, spokesperson for the 2001 Genoa Social Forum, Adelmo Cervi, Tito Magni, senator for the Alleanza Verdi e Sinistra [Greens and Left Alliance], and some young people from Ultima Generazione.
The organizers—Music for Peace, CALP [Autonomous Collective of Dock Workers], and the Global Sumud Flotilla—were not expecting the stream of people that later began arriving and then marched through the city. A truly massive crowd, departing at 9:00 PM and arriving at the old port at midnight, a human sea of 50,000 people and perhaps more, illuminated first by torches and then by cell phones, draped in Palestinian and ANPI flags, including countless children. Mayor Silvia Salis was also present, wearing the tricolor sash, expressing pride and emotion at the city’s outpouring of solidarity and humanity. Many Genoese commented that they hadn’t seen such a massive demonstration since the G8.
Silvia Salis, mayor of Genoa
Music for Peace Founder Stefano Rebora
Due to the distance, I couldn’t fully follow all the speeches from the stage, including those by Maria Elena Delia, Italian spokesperson for the Global Sumud Flotilla, and Stefano Rebora, founder of Music for Peace. Thanks to a woman from the National Association of Italian Partisans (ANPI) who helped me push my way through the crowd, I finally managed to get closer, and the emotion was overwhelming. With the stage lights off and cell phones turned on, thousands of tiny dots of light accompanied the departure of two of the boats headed first to Sicily and then to Gaza, along with red smoke bombs and flares, while the crowd sang “Bella Ciao.”
Now we must not leave them alone. We must keep our eyes on the boats sailing in the Mediterranean, increase our protests and solidarity efforts, and when the inevitable moment of confrontation with the Israeli Navy arrives, we must be numerous, with the same strength we showed last night in Genoa, to support the mission of the Global Sumud Flotilla.
Photo by Maria Tomasi
