After the “siege” at the Book Fair to bring “the massacre in Palestine” to the attention of the Lingotto event, The student intifada begins today in Turin. Tents will also arrive in Turin at university buildings, starting with the Polytechnic. Where the Cambiare Rotta activists announced the start of the protest at 9am: «Let’s demonstrate ours here too solidarity with the resistance of the Palestinian people and we relaunch the assembly that will be held in UniTo on Friday.”
The week promises to be particularly busy: there will also be mobilization at Palazzo Nuovo and at the Einaudi Campuswhere occupations and “student encampments” could begin. Tension is set to rise ahead of Saturdaywhen the pro-Palestine march will remember the Nakba, the Palestinian exodus.
Last Saturday, at the end of the demonstration in front of the gates of the Lingotto, the university collectives relaunched the appeal to “participate en masse” and yesterday afternoon right at the Salone, in the Bronze Room, an unusual assembly which attracted hundreds of people. The young writer Valeria Fonte, 26 years old, gave up the space that had been dedicated to the presentation of her book «Vittime mai» to host a moment of reflection and criticism: «I believe it is essential to deal with the ongoing genocide. This is his name and the Turin Motor Show prevented people with Palestinian flags from entering. It therefore seemed right to me to grant this space. We need to deal with this problem, writers must speak up and not remain silent. The “baton on the head” has become normal and we discussed this too.”
They were hundreds of students flocked to the fourth pavilion with the flags of Palestine and many remained outside the room. There was talk of war and also of the different faces of protest: «Peaceful and non-violent demonstrations are the only possible ones, but we also need more “heated” protests to be heard. If they don’t invite me again in 2025, at least I know that this year we made a splash.”
On stage too Brahim Baya, president of the mosques of via Chivasso and via Reycend and member of the Turin coordination for Gaza, who denies divisions within the protest front: «We are all moving for a single cause, that of Palestine. Everyone has their own ways, we don’t want violence and we are united on this.”
Baya invites young people to join the student intifada: «I graduated in Political Science some time ago and I am not part of this movement, but I encourage all young people to continue the mobilization as happened in the United States. The change starts from the students, history tells us. And these kids must inform themselves, not be “dumbed down” and take action. Not only for Gaza, but for all the injustices of the system”. On clashes with the police he concluded: «When the institutions don’t work or are absent they put truncheons in front. The fault lies not with the police, who are victims like us, but with those who pretend not to see.”
