A supermarket in the Sicilian
city of Catania on Wednesday posted a sign urging shoppers not
to give money to Roma panhandlers, because they allegedly make
more than a skilled worker.
"Don't give handouts to gypsies, they make 80 euros a day
tax-free. Thus is more than qualified Italian workers make,"
read the sign.
Management denied charges of racism, explaining that they
simply wish to discourage the Roma family that has been
panhandling in front of the supermarket for three years.
"They stick to our opening hours, and drive clients away,"
management claimed, adding that police merely referred them to
social services.
Italy has been repeatedly criticized by human rights
watchdogs like Amnesty International for ongoing discrimination
against the Roma people's rights to education, housing, health
care and employment.
Pope Francis earlier this summer called on Italy to stop
discriminating against this ethnic minority.
More than half of the Roma and Sinti people living in Italy
have Italian citizenship, according to the interior ministry.
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