Kyenge and the announcement to the students: “Soon a plan for integration”

“In the next weeks we will introduce a plan for integration, a project born from the meetings that in these months have been made throughout the country”. This was announced by the Minster for Integration Cecile Kyenge from the stage of the Giuditta Pasta Theatre in Saronno ((VIDEO), where Monday morning took place the encounter with students of the city, open also to the associations on the territory.

On the theatre stage there was also the journalist Gad Lerner that pushed her to describe her experience as minister. With them the priest Virgilio Colmegna, that brought his experience from his community, and various institutional representatives of the territory, including the mayor of Saronno Luciano Porro and the first citizen of Caronno Pertusella, Loris Bonfanti. Present in the room there were the politicians Daniel Marantelli (Pd) and Stefano Candiani (Lega), regional councilman Alessandro Alfieri, the mayors of Tradate, Laura Cavlotti, and of Malnate, Samuele Astuti.

For the arrival of the minister, and to avoid unrest, the road of the theatre was closed to traffic, while they were present dozens of members of the various police forces.

Participation to the encounter was invitation only and waiting for the minister outside the theatre, after the

demonstration that was hold by Forza Nuova during the night, there were twenty or so militant Lega members, that organised a silent protest against the minister. Amongst them there was also the provincial secretary of Carroccio, Matteo Bianchi, the mayors Bertuletti and Sandy Cane, and arriving later, the senator Stefano Candiani: “The action of the minister is inconclusive, and in nine months of work she hasn’t concluded anything” commented the senator: “The problems of this country are others and they are not addressed”. (VIDEO: The protest of Lega) 

The Minister, solicited by Lerner, has also answered to these type of controversies: “There is time for everything. We have had a period of listen and appraisal of the territory. Now we are definitely concretising the drafting of a plan for the integration, but maybe those who criticise a lot should ask themselves what they have done in the last 20 years".

On the choice of not responding to the provocations, Kyenge explained that "Expressing anger is a part of an interior path. No need to get mad outwardly but to transform these feelings into proposals that can be useful to raise the debate. It doesn’t exist that one says ‘first the Italians’, I say that the human being comes first. In the face of racist insults, the better Italy, the one which is here today in this theatre, sooner or later will express itself”.

Following some extracts of the speech of the Minister:

VIDEO – Kynege: “Soon a plan for integration"

VIDEO – Kyenge: "The path for the moderated citizenship"

VIDEO – Kyenge: "Racism, one day Italy will release its feelings"

VIDEO – Kyenge: "Citizenship the strongest tool for our young people"

As well as the participation of foreign students from the schools of Saronno (with VIDEO testimonies of Arianna and Nbaie), also Colmegna intervened on the theme of integration: “Immigration and diversity don’t bring poverty but wealth and culture, until we understood this, we won’t go anywhere. Today the migratory phenomenon according to the law is to contain, like the problem of reuniting in a country that continues to speak about family. The law on illegal immigrants should be changed as soon as possible. It is a fact of civilisation”.