«Dear Roberto we are at your side». There were many traders and residents of San Salvario who arrived at the Neighborhood House yesterday to show solidarity with Roberto Arnaudo, 55 years old, director of the Development Agency, attacked by a group of pushers whom he had just “disturbed” while they were at “work” in the Ginzburg flowerbed. For some time Arnaudo, soul of the former public baths and glue of many social initiativeshas decided to combat the “drug dealing market” in the small green area of via Morgari, where now even 15-year-old children, almost all of Central African origin, sell heroin, cocaine and especially crack.
Arnaudo was not intimidated and he permanently moved his office to the small square. Which yesterday afternoon, after a long time, was occupied by a small crowd of inhabitants. The “old guard” also sat on the benches, led by the captain by Mrs. Elena Tassone, which has been coming to us in those gardens since 1961, when the municipal baths were still open. «We have no illusions that this can change the situation, but we want to send a signal – he explains Filippo Dionisio, who manages the bar inside the Casa del Quartiere —. We know they will return, but at least today the drug dealers were on the sidelines. However, I believe that the action to combat drug dealing and assist those who want to escape from the drug tunnel cannot be delegated to citizens. Coordinated interventions are needed.”
According to residents, crack dealing and consumption have increased in recent months in a dizzying manner in San Salvario: «We thought we had seen the worst, but now it is unsustainable – confirms the lawyer Silvia Ughetto -. I presented a complaint with 250 signatures to the prosecutor’s office, I know it came to the attention of the prosecutor Paolo Scafi, let’s hope something changes. For the moment the situation has definitely worsened.” Not only drug dealing, but also thefts, muggings and smashing. And the number of “desperate” people sleeping on the streets is growing.
«However, we must not create a barrier between “us” and “them”, it would be wrong – specifies Rosalba -. We need inclusive projects, but we also need a “direction” that can manage the problem in all its facets.”
Even moving to the other side of Corso Marconi, the situation does not change. At the end of April, traders and residents presented two complaints, but the responses so far have not been considered effective: “Here for a woman there is something to be afraid of – say Malvina, Barbara and Cristina, gathered in the Trebisonda bookshop —. The area is full of B&Bs and there are terrified tourists who ask us to accompany them out of the neighborhood. Not to mention the people smoking crack in broad daylight on store steps and doorways. They become more and more aggressive, they steal everything, but you can still talk to someone. They even apologize to us, but in the end they reply that crack “is the only joy in their life”. Wide-ranging action is necessary and cannot only be repressive in nature. Because it would only move the problem.”
