Friday, April 3, 2009

So wrong

I'm sure most of you have heard about the new Italian law which would oblige doctors/nurses to contact the authorities if they suspect the patient they're treating does not have a valid visa or work permit. It's wrong on so many levels that I can't even begin to put it into words. So instead I'll illustrate it through a story about a recent incident I had the misfortune of witnessing:
As I was walking in my 'hood, I passed by a beggar who's always on the corner of Viale Trastevere- I noticed there was a pool of blood beneath him and he was wiping away even more blood from his face. I don't think I've ever seen this much blood before in my life. A group of people were standing around him talking amongst themselves. "What the fuck is going on? Why isn't anyone doing anything?" was my first reaction, and naturally I stepped into the group of people to inquire. Apparently, two other homeless beggars had come by and bashed this beggar's nose in... and then just walked away. I started to get riled up asking if anyone had called the cops or called a medic from the hospital two steps away, but nobody had. Why not? Not because they didn't give a shit, but because they had no idea what this beggar's situation was. If he was an illegal immigrant, by calling the cops or doctors (who are now being forced to act as immigration cops) they would've basically been signing this guy's deportation papers. So rather than be responsible for getting him into trouble over his visa or lack of, everyone opted to stay silent and just stand around and stare. I was tempted to go call for help but realized that these people were right... And that, my friends, is one example of why this law is so wrong.

3 comments:

Kataroma said...

That is simply shocking. :(

J.Doe said...

That's terrible!!

Unknown said...

Hello, on a totally unrelated topic, I'm a Canadian who's in Rome for a month right now. I'd love to get a taste of the local and not tourist life, and since my italian is terrible, I'd be more than happy to buy a beer or a coffee so I can get some info on the local scene in english. I'm currently doing some work for a hostel in exchange for a bed. Thanks for your time and writing this blog!

matt3ho [a] gmail