“It wasn’t a too thoughtful decision, I did it instinctively. Before going on stage I had a kind of anxiety: I knew that this was a moment of celebration and joy, dedicated to music, but I could not say anything ». Gaia Gozzi, winner of the nineteenth edition of Amici di Maria de Filippi, decided to dedicate the last seconds of her performance – during the concert of Rtl 102.5 Power Hits Estate at the Arena di Verona – to Willy Monteiro Duarte: “During the whole performance I just thought about that: I started singing and then, at the end of the song when I said “Justice for Willy”, I almost petrified. I felt the need to say it right at that moment because what is happening now in Italy and in the world is the photograph of a world that shouldn’t exist. I’m happy I did: once I got off the stage I started crying. It was as if someone had hit me on the head and I had spoken on behalf of so many others. ‘
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A wrong communication
The singer, practically the same age as the young man killed by kicks and punches in Colleferro (she is 22 years old), is keen to clarify that she did not utter that phrase to draw attention to herself, but that she did it to bring a message, because “what is happening today is absurd. We need to talk about it. There is an intrinsic hatred in people that I don’t understand ”. On what happened we are not taking a position as we should (media included): «In this horrible gesture there is a message behind it that I have noticed, even in the communication: we try to soften the image of the killers. I read between the lines a forced respectability towards them because they are Italian citizens. The same thing was not done with Willy: he did not get the respect he deserved, as a human being, because he was the son of immigrants. Willy is an Italian citizen, but his origin was always to be specified. When we talk about a non-EU murderer, stronger terms are always used. There has been communication that for me is wrong, which indicates that Italy today is a racist country. For me it is absurd, our society does not take a position as it should. You can’t make a mess of all the grass but there is racism in society, in approaching what it does not understand ».
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Responsibility for politics and culture
Part of the responsibility of the closed vision and hatred towards the neighbor that many people have goes to the cultural context (“The Italian does not have the tools to understand what he defines as different from himself. I do not understand the fear of others”) and also to politics “Our country has exponents who do not have an inclusive vision, and this generates a basic insecurity that should not exist”. Do you think of Matteo Salvini? “Yes, I mean him too. I don’t want to be political in my comment, but this person is not doing good. I speak of good or bad, love or hate ».
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Racism experienced firsthand
Speaking of experiences of racism experienced firsthand, Gaia, daughter of a Brazilian woman and an Italian (but feels like a “citizen of the world”) remembers what happened to her sister, calling herself “pardoned, in quotes, because I have fair skin . My sister, with the darker skin, was denigrated: the kids made very stupid comments about her. Fortunately we are a family that loves each other so much and my sister, who is strong and good-hearted, did not suffer too much from this ». Hence the desire to talk about Willy, because it is a story that touched her a lot (during the interview she was moved by remembering what happened ed.), To send a message that helps to change perspective: “I hope that speaking of these fear honors Willy’s memory, to change the negative sides of our country, to help the new generations – mine and those to come – to think differently. Hope it’s a faster process for everyone. We need to be more empathetic, put ourselves in the other person’s shoes, understand that we are all the same – everyone – regardless of race or sexual orientation. I seem to be saying such obvious things. ” It is therefore hoped that what has happened will also change those who have committed such an atrocious action: «I have empathy for the killers because they have a limit for me, I feel compassion for them because they do not understand. For me they did something inhumane, I hope they realize what they have done, that they understand and that they change their way of seeing things. I don’t want more hatred to be generated, I want a change to be generated in them ».
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September 10, 2020 (change September 10, 2020 | 17:10)
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