Two Bangladeshi street
vendors of roses have reportedly been attacked along the
beachfront avenue in Porto d'Ascoli near Ascoli Piceno, a
coastal town in the central Marche region.
The attackers were allegedly very young men who were said
to have asked the victims whether they knew the Gospels,
possibly some sort of reaction to an attack in the Bangladeshi
capital on Saturday, in which Bangladeshi attackers killed
people who did not know Quranic verses.
The incident was reported on Monday by the Corriere
Adriatico, which said that about 10 people witnessed it.
The two Bangladeshi men, who were at the beach to sell
roses, allegedly approached the youths, who were said to have
initially begun to make fun of them prior to the situation
degenerating after one of the group was said to have asked the
men whether they knew the Gospels, followed by a kick and
shoving.
The police were called but both the attackers and the
foreigners left the scene rapidly.
No confirmation has been received from the Carabinieri,
police or traffic wardens, but reports of the incident have
sparked a storm on social networks.
The students association Robin Hood has launched a campaign
and petition on Facebook "to express solidarity with those
insulted and to show that San Benedetto does not approve of or
tolerate these actions".
"This is a very serious incident for the city of San
Benedetto," the association said. "Racism and Fascism are not
part of our community. It is unacceptable that people are still
being persecuted in the twenty-first century simply for the fact
of having a different religion, despite the fact that the
constitution guarantees freedom of religion to all".
"This is a shameful action born of ignorance and racist
violence that we cannot accept and that we want to firmly
condemn," said Paola Giovannozzi, head of the Ascoli Piceno
section of the CGIL union, which supports the petition.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
