OSCAD conference in Matera, State Police and Carabinieri against discrimination

OSCAD conference in Matera, State Police and Carabinieri against discrimination.

The conference entitled "Gerardo Guerrieri" took place in the municipal cinema "Gerardo Guerrieri". “The victims of hate”, promoted by the OSCAD (Observatory for security against discriminatory acts) and organized by the Police Headquarters and the Provincial Command of the Carabinieri of Matera in front of an audience of almost three hundred students. The Deputy Director General of Public Security with deputy functions, Prefect Vittorio Rizzi, President of the Observatory for Security against Discriminatory Acts, spoke at the conference.

The OSCAD - a joint body made up of the State Police and the Carabinieri, based at the Department of Public Security, Central Directorate of the Criminal Police - has among its objectives the prevention and combating of hate crime and discriminatory matrix, i.e. motivated by a prejudice that the perpetrator has towards the victim, due to his ethnic-racial, religious, linguistic origin or his disability.

The Prefect of the Province of Matera, Cristina Favilli and the Deputy Mayor Antonio Materdomini representing the Mayor, welcomed the illustrious guests and the audience, made up of hundreds of students.

The conference, moderated by the Deputy Commissioner of the State Police Francesca Romana Capaldo and the Matera journalist Rossella Montemurro, dealt with two topics: ableism and gender discrimination.

For the first panel, Lieutenant Colonel of the Army Gianfranco Paglia, Gold Medal for military valor, and Technical Agent of the State Police Emanuele Lambertini, Paralympic champion of the Fiamme Oro in the foil and épée specialties, spoke about the their life experience, a source of great inspiration for the young students present in the audience. Gianfranco PAGLIA, seriously injured in the spine in the battle of Mogadishu on 2 July 1993, has returned to serve in the Army and is now also ministerial advisor for sports initiatives for disabled military personnel, as well as being captain of the Defense Paralympic team. Emanuele Lambertini, gold medal at the Terni 2023 world championships, spoke of the enthusiasm with which he faces the small and large challenges of life; he is an extroverted person full of experiences, despite his young age: among other things, he has played the piano since the age of 12 and attended the faculty of Automation Engineering at the University of Bologna, cultivating the dream of designing, one day, new prosthetics.

Another story of courage is that of Gaetano Fuso, a policeman from the Matera Police Headquarters, struck by ALS, an illness that left him with no escape. It was told by his wife, Giorgia Rollo, who explained how Gaetano managed to realize his dream of making the sea accessible to everyone, even the disabled. This idea, which he was able to stubbornly realize on the beach of San Foca, in the province of Lecce, was contagious because, following that example, other inclusive equipped beaches were opened: most recently, the one inaugurated last year right here in Metaponto, in the province of Matera.

The second panel was dedicated, however, to gender violence and saw the interventions of the Police Commissioner of Matera, Emma Ivagnes, the Provincial Commander of the Carabinieri, Giovanni Russo, and the Councilor for Culture, equal opportunities and gender equality of the Municipality of Matera, Tiziana D'Oppido. It was an opportunity to remember that last November 25, on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, the Police Commissioner and the Provincial Commander of the Carabinieri signed a protocol with the Municipality of Matera and other social actors, with the aim of "teaming up" and strengthening the services offered to women, sharing common operating methods and promoting ad hoc training for all operators who come into contact with victims.

Colonel Russo spoke about the Carabinieri's commitment to preventing and combating gender violence, as well as the resources invested in staff training, in the creation of ad hoc investigative structures in inter-institutional collaboration, while Police Commissioner Ivagnes explained what the the tools available to women to defend themselves from domestic violence and persecutory acts, relaunching the invitation to victims and anyone aware of uncomfortable situations to contact the police. During his speech, the Commissioner focused on the Warning, a prevention measure aimed at preventing the so-called escalation in the commission of increasingly serious crimes, reiterating the importance of the cultural factor in the fight against discrimination.

Trust in the police forces, on the part of those who are victims, is another fundamental element in the fight against such insidious crimes: Lieutenant Gianvito De Benedetto, Commander of the Carabinieri Station of Matera, point of reference for Mrs. Lucia, specifically spoke about it , victim, together with her daughters, of mistreatment and stalking by her husband, who also spoke on stage. The empathy and trust established with her lady were important in helping her to report the mistreatment to which she was subjected, telling her story of violence and abuse that lasted for years. Finally, Mrs. Lucia told how she managed to get out of it, thus constituting a model for many other women.

Furthermore, during the event, some videos were screened and some very touching theatrical monologues were shown: "Words have weight", by Tiziano Ferro, was played by the actor Antonello Morelli, while Professor Rosa Mastrosimone, President of the Italian Anti-Violence Center “Athena”, tried to give voice to those victims who spoke little during their lives or were not listened to, with the hope of instilling courage to those who can still save themselves from the violence to which they are subjected.

At the end of the event, the speech of the Deputy Director General of Public Security with vicarious functions, Prefect Vittorio Rizzi, President of the OSCAD, was masterful, who, through a path of reflection that crossed history, philosophy and legislation, helped the present to understand what emotional burden victims of hate have to bear. Because hatred strikes not only with visible actions, but often, in a more subtle way, through words that hurt, that have weight and that leave an indelible mark.

We talked about discrimination and a positive response to suffering, about the commitment carried out, all together, to build an increasingly inclusive world that leaves no one out. Therefore, in the name of optimism and positivity, we wanted to conclude the conference with a speech by comedian Dino Paradiso, which made people laugh but also reflect a little. Dialogue and understanding are the key to overcoming hatred and intolerance.