Teachers and school principals in
the Naples-area town of Torre del Greco on Wednesday protested
against what they called a "sudden and savage" order to evict a
Roma people camp in a move they say will put Roma school
children at risk.
The eviction order was given "without providing alternative
lodging as per European Union regulations", Principals Maria
Josè Abilitato and Lucia Massimo and teachers from the
G.Falcone-R.Scauda and G.B. Angioletti schools said in a
statement.
"On behalf of the five families of the eight students who
regularly and profitably attend school, we urge city officials
to suspend the eviction order at least come up with a different
living solution," they said.
The educators called on city officials to "allow (the Roma
children) to finish out the school year so as not to render vain
a highly successful literacy and integration process".
Prosecutors on April 2 impounded the area where some 35
citizens of the Roma ethnicity live, giving them until April 12
to vacate the premises or be forcibly evicted.
The educators expressed "strong indignation" at the measure
"distancing Roma children and their families from schools - the
only place where the principles of dignity, right to an
education, and integration into society are actively practiced".
"In the last decade, those Roma families who chose to send
their children to school did so with commitment and sense of
responsibility," the statement said.
"Students from the Roma community - often working without
the benefit of school books - achieved particularly positive
results," the educators said.
"(We) intend to speak for those who have worked hard to
affirm a culture of receptiveness, integration and mutual
exchange, against prejudice and intolerance".
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