Covid: 15 thousand Sikh workers in Latina, many cases and fear for Indian variant

Rome, April 26 (beraking latest news Salute) – An entire community with bated breath. It is that of the Indian agricultural workers of the Sikh religion of the province of Latina, mainly residing in the villages around the capital and in Sabaudia, Bella Farnia and Borgo Hermada. The second largest community in Italy, about 15 thousand registered by Istat, indispensable for the many farms in the area, but often abandoned and poorly integrated in welfare services during the pandemic. And today, with the exposure of the Indian variant, in the eye of the storm for the related risks. “At the moment there are no people who have returned from India and who have not been quarantined, but the Covid situation is serious”, explains to beraking latest news Salute Marco Omizzolo, a Eurispes sociologist who has always been at the forefront of reporting problems. of the Indian community.

“In this population – he underlines – there is a widespread Covid problem for two reasons”. The first is that “there is no territorial assistance that follows these people, because if you experience marginalization and cultural poverty, you keep Covid and spread it within the community. The second is that they go to work anyway, some entrepreneurs call them anyway and they, in order not to lose the day or risk being replaced, accept the job even if they are positive. If you don’t have to eat – observes Omizzolo – you prefer to go to the fields beyond how you feel. in those companies there are 100-150 laborers, including Italians, and a positive becomes a vector of the virus. Last week in the community of Bella Farnia, in the residence that hosts many families, there were 90 infections “.

The pandemic in a closed community like the Sikh one also becomes a public health problem, to which the prefecture of Latina has tried to respond with the ASL. “Some local administrations have produced brochures in the Punjab language (most of the workers come from that region of India) – Omizzolo recalls – but the circulation of information is not adequate, dedicated video-tutorials would be needed”.

Now the harvest season begins in the fields and “to avoid other infections and outbreaks we must intervene now, we are already late – warns the expert – The situation is quite serious”, concludes Omizzolo who, due to his commitment to the Sikh people, has received from the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella the honor of knight of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic.