FOGGIA – A person aged around 40 was insulted and beaten in Foggia by a group of young people, some of whom were minors, because he was homosexual. The gang then also beat up a friend of hers who intervened to defend him and offended another foreign girl who was with the two victims of the attack with racial insults. It happened on Saturday evening in Piazza Mercato.
The kids first insulted the 40-year-old with homophobic phrases and then one of them hit him with a slap in the face. The victim attempted to react but the kids targeted a friend of his who intervened in his defense, punching them in the throat.
The gang then continued to make fun of their friend of African origins with racist phrases. The young man who was hit in the throat was treated in hospital. The 40-year-old reported the incident to the police who started investigations. The video surveillance cameras in the area will also be used to trace those responsible.
«I was in front of a place in Piazza Mercato and was talking to two friends when suddenly a violent slap came from behind me, hitting my right ear and I was called a homophobic epithet. I had a drink in my hands which I spilled on the very young attacker who was surprised by the reaction when, at a certain point, I saw not only my two friends but the entire square coming towards me to form a security cordon towards me”. This is how Alessandro, 36 years old, talks about the homophobic attack he suffered in Piazza Mercato, in the historic center of Foggia, last Saturday.
In the attack, a friend of the victim was injured in the throat (hit by a violent slap), who suffered injuries to his vocal cords, and a girl of African origin was the subject of a violent racially motivated verbal attack.
«There were about ten kids, a real baby gang, I think almost all of them were minors. But the reaction of the people – he highlights – was strong. They all made a wall. The attackers probably thought they were 10 against one and instead they found themselves 10 against 100.”
Since 2010, Alessandro has lived and worked as a make-up artist and cosmetics and beauty expert in Milan but often returns to his city where his family and his many friends live. «I was forced not to be able to imagine my future in the province of Foggia because due to my characteristics my life was continually threatened. As a teenager, I was also subjected to very violent attacks – he recalls – while I was on the street in Foggia, sometimes even in the presence of my parents.”
Alessandro filed a complaint with the police who arrived on the scene the evening of the attack. «It also really irritates me that many people consider Piazza Mercato to be a dangerous place – he explains – but in reality it is the pulsating historic center of the city. In my opinion, many people don’t even report the attacks because the situation doesn’t change anyway. It is a territory too abandoned by the institutions that must protect it. I wonder if those responsible for the safety of citizens have failed in everything.” «An attitude like the one I suffered – concludes Alessandro – does not characterize me but those who exercise it».
