Satnam Singh, a packed square in Latina to remember the barbaric death of the 31-year-old Indian mutilated and abandoned in Castelverde
It was a Piazza della Libertà such as had probably never been seen before, among the red flags of the CGIL, representatives of the partisan association and the centre-left political parties. Everyone shouting anger and indignation after the death of Satnam Singh, the 31-year-old “invisible” Indian abandoned in front of his house by his employer after being mutilated in one arm.
An event with a national dimension which gained media attention also thanks to the presence of trade unionists, politicians and associations. One of the first to speak, from the stage organized by Flai Cgil, was Hardeep Kaur. “We have the power to apologize to the victim’s family. Many workers in agriculture live in Satnam conditions, those are ordinary conditions and if you don’t have a residence permit your bargaining power is null. You cannot ask the employer to respect your rights. That piece of paper makes a difference and we cannot allow people’s lives to be tied to a piece of paper.”
Among the audience, many of whom were Indian nationals, were also the secretary of the Democratic Party Elly Schlein, the exponent of the Green Left and Freedom Nicola Fratoianni, the deputy of the Democratic Party Matteo Orfini, the former president of the Chamber Laura Boldrini, the Movimento 5 Stelle Lazio, Legambiente Lazio, Libera, regional councilors and many other well-known faces.
Standing out were the interventions of the representative of Anpi, Vincenzo Calò, and that of a girl from the Indian community who captured the point of generalized hypocrisy: “Soni, Satnam’s widow, was granted a residence permit. It took her husband’s death to have this right. Then it’s not that complicated to get it.” The sense of a country drowned in rules, bureaucracy, propaganda.
The intervention of the mayor of Latina, Matilde Celentano, was booed, who, despite having been immediately close to the 31-year-old’s widow, pays for her political background and membership of the Brothers of Italy. From the stage there was much criticism of the Minister of Agriculture, as well as brother-in-law of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Francesco Lollobrigida: “Come and say it in this square that Italy is proud of its agricultural supply chain”.
Meanwhile, on the day of the square, the declarations of the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella also arrive: “Serious and extraneous episodes and behaviors such as the one that occurred three days ago, when the young Satnam Singh, an immigrant worker, clash against the great civilization of Italy. he died, having been refused help and assistance, after yet another accident at work. A form of work – continued the Head of State – which manifests itself with inhuman characteristics and which is part of a phenomenon – which surfaces not infrequently – of exploitation of the work of the weakest and most defenceless, with illegal and cruel methods and conditions. A phenomenon which, with rigor and firmness, must be opposed everywhere, totally eliminated and sanctioned, avoiding giving the erroneous and unacceptable impression that it is tolerated by ignoring it”.
