De Luca: “Boys, go with your heads held high”
The colorful procession of Napoli Pride 2024 crossed the streets of the Campania capital and reached Piazza Dante. Behind the organizers’ banner, the mayor of Naples, Gaetano Manfredi, the former president of the Chamber, Roberto Fico, the regional councilors Armida Filippelli and Lucia Fortini, the municipal councilor Emanuela Ferrante with the godmother of the event, Malika Ayane while the governor of Campania, Vincenzo De Luca, met the participants at the beginning of the procession.
I think that as long as we are in the square and with a whole month dedicated to Pride we are in a great position. People are there, they participate and they do their part to try to create a change”. Thus the singer Malyka Ayane, godmother of Napoli Pride, shortly before the departure of the parade from Piazza Municipio. “I would try to abandon the narrative of the victims to try to put myself in the position of those who try to create possibilities – she added – By shifting the point of view, in my opinion, you also obtain more favorable results”.
“Today is a very important Pride due to the huge participation and to affirm the importance of rights because a freer society, in which everyone’s rights are respected, is also a safer, more cohesive society that grows more. We want a community that is increasingly open and oriented towards the future.” Thus the mayor of Naples, Gaetano Manfredi, before the departure, from Piazza Municipio, of the Naples Pride procession which will parade through the streets of the center to arrive in Piazza Dante where there will be the final show. Manfredi also recalled the “preparation work” to get to today’s parade with the many events that for a week animated the Pride Park at the Albergo dei Poveri where debates, meetings and discussions took place which yesterday also saw the participation of the national secretary of the Democratic Party, Elly Schleinand the president of the M5s, Giuseppe Conte. “It will be a great Pride – added Manfredi – with an extraordinary participation of the city. Naples, culturally and by its nature, has always followed the direction of rights and is strengthening this path.”
“We must acquire as a conquest the right of every human being to organize his own life according to his own values and feelings. Offending a woman who is about to have an abortion in a clinic is an intolerable act of violence”. The president of the Campania Region said it, Vincenzo DeLucameeting a group of young LGBTQIA+ activists at the Naples Pride gathering in Piazza Municipio. “In Campania – added De Luca – we have shown that the protection of rights is not an alternative even to Christian values, it is not an alternative to those who organize a traditional family. I would advise young people to have courage, not to give up their freedom, to hold their heads high. The important thing is not to descend to the level of violence, but it is equally important to never give in to any blackmail, to any form of violence”. “The dignity of a human being – concluded De Luca – it is not a negotiable asset. So I recommend to the boys, whatever the cost, to keep their heads held high and never to accept any blackmail, on any level”.
