Harassment at the gathering of the Alpine troops in Rimini: 11,000 signatures collected to suspend the rallies for two years

UDINE. “We want the suspension of the annual meetings of the Alpine troops for two years.” After the cases of harassment at the gathering of the black pens in Rimini, the online petition launched on Change.org by Micol Schiavon to ask for the “suspension of all meetings of the Alpini, due to the harassment that occurred, collected 11 thousand signatures in just 12 hours in the host cities “.

The petition also states that «every year, in the second week of May, the meeting of the Alpine troops is held in a city chosen by the National Council of Alpine troops. The last was held in Rimini and within a few hours more than 150 complaints were exposed by women to the activists of Non Una Di Meno, who collected disconcerting testimonies regarding the disrespectful, sexist and violent behavior of the Alpini, who did not limit themselves to verbal harassment but also physically harassed underage girls ».

The author of the petition also explains that “it is not the first time this has happened: every year episodes of this kind emerge and yet we continue to accept that this event takes place, making the streets of Italian cities even more unsafe for women and minorities “.

Schiavon concludes with the request to «suspend the meetings of the Alpine troops for 2 years in order to give a clear signal that as citizens we are no longer willing to accept similar behavior, demeaning for women and for all minorities. We want everyone to feel free to occupy cities without feeling threatened and in danger. It is necessary that the Council of the Alpine troops take serious measures, especially in the field of re-education regarding human rights: apologies are no longer enough ».

Shortly before, the firm condemnation of what happened also by the Minister for Equal Opportunities, Elena Bonetti: “What happened, what is reported in the news is very serious, unacceptable for the institutions and in particular for men who are and must be at the service of the state. Italy is founded on full gender equality and therefore must strongly repudiate that sub-culture of prevarication of the male against the female. That use of the feminine as an object that is not really compatible with constitutional principles “.

WHAT HAPPENED IN RIMINI

To raise the lid on what in a few hours became a national case, already on the evening of Friday 6 May, there were a few lines that the association “Non una di less Rimini” (non-profit organization that unites not only feminist activists, but also and above all thousands of people who say “enough” to the various forms of male violence against women) had entrusted his Instagram profile, accompanied by the launch, again on social channels, of a sort of collection of testimonies. “We are on the second day of the National Gathering of the Alpini, welcomed as the best guest that Rimini could expect reports the post – and there are already numerous reports of harassment and catcalling (sexual harassment, mainly verbal, which takes place in the street, ndr) by Alpini, mostly drunk, to the detriment of women of all ages. Even heavier are those suffered in the workplace by those who cannot respond in kind or escape this violence ».

Monday 9 May, the day after the closing of the Gathering which culminated with the ritual “passage of the Stecca” (the handover of the responsibility of organizing the 2023 national gathering of black feathers that Rimini has entrusted to Udine, where it has been absent since 1996) , the position taken by the National Alpine Association had arrived, which “distances itself, stigmatizing them, from the reported uncivilized behaviors, which certainly do not belong to traditions and values ​​that the Ana has always preserved and carried forward”, underlining in any case that these were “reports on social media and not complaints to the police. Moreover, anyone can buy an Alpine hat on a stall, even if it is not original, and use it to badly exploit the festive atmosphere by mistaking the Gathering for a sort of Oktoberfest ».

A glass of water thrown on a fire that has already started, given that over the next 24 hours there will be over a hundred reports of harassment on the various social channels, still collected by “Non una di less”. Too many not to turn the incident into a national case. “Very serious behaviors and episodes that will certainly have to be ascertained by the competent bodies, but which cannot and must not be underestimated”, warned, on Tuesday 10 May, the Minister of Defense, Lorenzo Guerini.

HUNDREDS OF CASES

But understanding what actually happened in the three days that attracted some 400,000 people to the Romagna Riviera remains complicated. Precisely because there were not only the Alpini to celebrate: as mentioned, anyone could be hiding under or behind a black pen.

Not that this, of course, makes a difference or guarantees a form of acquittal for anyone. Someone obviously diverted from the traditional rivers of alcohol that flow at the Gatherings and felt compelled to stop being a man in order to target especially the many young and very young barmaids and waitresses employed in the bars and restaurants of a Romagna Riviera literally besieged.

However, the testimonies that began to flood the social networks turned out to be eloquent. “What I suffered from the Alpine troops is demeaning for every woman. An alpine tried to lick me on the mouth while I was taking an order at the table. One mimicked a sexual act while I was turning to clear the table », a bartender reported», and again «while I was riding my bike they stopped me trying to get me into a shed, I had to run away». And so on: «I’m a waitress, the level of harassment I had to endure was surreal. People who reach out their hands, try to kiss you on the cheek after forcibly taking off your mask, continuous appreciation that goes from “you are beautiful” to asking you what underwear you wear and if you wear it “or” during my shift as a barman an Alpine tried to kiss me on the mouth and another drew me to him so that I could fall on his knees. ‘

But there are also those who did not want to point the finger at the Alpine troops: “Unacceptable episodes, but these things happen every day not only on occasions like these but it is also assumed that they happen if many men are brought together in a similar context” . To these was added another, heavy, complaint from the association “Non una di less”, according to which business cards would be distributed on which was written “If you feel lonely and bored, call an Alpino dell’Adunata “.

THE CONDEMNATION OF THE ANA

A firm condemnation of the events that took place by the National Alpine Association, which, however, does not want to see what has always been a symbol of love, respect and solidarity towards one’s neighbor muddied.

The official position of Ana, which through the words of Sebastiano Favero (president for almost ten years of the Alpini) does not hesitate to define itself as “saddened by all the uproar aroused by these reports which end up invalidating what is the true meaning of the meeting of the Alpine troops ”, he also turns his attention to a context that cannot be attributed only to the black feathers. “When hundreds of thousands of people gather in a single location to celebrate, it is almost physiological, without justifying them, that episodes of rudeness may occur, which, however, certainly cannot invalidate the value of the messages of peace, brotherhood, solidarity and love for the homeland that have been conveyed by the Gathering for over a century: messages that emerged in all their essence on the banners brought to the parade on Sunday 8 May, with over 75,000 black feathers from all over the world “.

Ana also specified that “there are hundreds, thousands of young people who, despite not being Alpine, take advantage of the situation: to mix with the big party, just buy an Alpine hat, even if not original, available in one of the many stalls . An expert eye immediately recognizes a “fake” hat, but the tendency is in most cases to generalize. The overwhelming majority of Ana’s members, then, due to the suspension of the military service in 2004, are now at least 38 years old: therefore much younger people are unlikely to be authentic Alpine “.

The National Alpine Association, «for what black feathers are and represent, therefore deems it ungenerous and unjustified to convey a message that associates the figure of the Alpine with those episodes of rudeness. The Alpini on leave are those who have written and continue to write intense pages of sacrifice, love and solidarity, as evidenced for example by the 5.4 million hours of voluntary work presented in a year during the Covid emergency, and who are committed to transmit their values ​​to young people “.

FIRST COMPLAINT SUBMITTED

She would have been taken by the arm, yanked and insulted with irrepressible obscenities by at least three Alpine troops, on Saturday afternoon, in the middle of the crowd. Somehow she would be able to free herself and escape.

This is the testimony that accompanied the first complaint (towards unknown persons) formalized on the afternoon of Tuesday 10 May by a 26-year-old girl, who went to the Rimini police station, accompanied by a friend and her lawyer.

He put pen to paper the story of the repeated harassment suffered by a group of participants in the national meeting of the Alpine troops. A meticulous story, with the date and place of the heavy advances and description of the protagonists, who could be identified thanks to the videos of the surveillance cameras of the city. A complaint, the first and at the moment also the only one in the face of hundreds of testimonies on the web and on social networks, which opens the way for the investigation of the Rimini Public Prosecutor’s Office to ascertain any responsibility that the Minister of Defense, Lorenzo Guerini, urged a firm condemnation of what happened. On the same day, the activists and lawyers of “Casa Madiba” and “Non Una di Meno-Rimini” collected the reports, announcing that they had a dossier ready to take to the police station.

POLEMICS ABOUT MAURO CORONA

The statements by Mauro Corona on the incident did not go unnoticed, becoming an inevitable subject of controversy.

Guest of the television program “Carta Bianca” hosted by Bianca Berlinguer, the writer, mountaineer and sculptor intervened claiming that «in short, there has been violence. Let’s call it violence. I think of something a little whipped. Perhaps it is to be condemned some youngster with the hat of the Alpine troops who are bought in the stalls. The Alpine troops, the ones I know, don’t even have the stupidity to make those gestures there ».

THE CASE ENDS IN PARLIAMENT

«Dozens of women are denouncing cases of harassment, with detailed accusations, by some Alpini during the Rimini meeting. I think it is necessary to clarify, not to minimize what happened as the organizers seem to have tried to do, nor to let these accusations fall on deaf ears. For this reason I will present a question to the ministers of the interior and of the defense, Luciana Lamorgese and Lorenzo Guerini ».

This was stated by the deputy and president of + Europe, Riccardo Magi. “In the face of these complaints, it is not possible to have a conspiratorial attitude: are we investigating? Are the images of the cameras placed in the city of Rimini and in the places where these events would have occurred? Has an internal investigation been launched within the Alpini corps? Is work being done to identify any perpetrators of this harassment? I think it is right to clarify, for the women who are courageously denouncing these facts but also – concludes Magi – for the good name of the Italian Army and the Alpine troops ».