Milan Prepares and Braces for Unrest

MILAN (10-24) – Milan has been actively involved for the past week preparing for more unrest this weekend as protesters descended on the city for another demonstration by the newly formed “October 17 Movement” in demanding major economic reforms from the government regarding the escalating cost of living, for higher wages, lower fuel prices and enhanced educational funding. Their concerns echo across the EU as people stressed by low wages are unable to keep up with the increasing costs of living placing them in a vicious downward economic spiral with no possibility of getting ahead as the rich grow richer.

Due to the extent of damage and violence from last Saturday and Sunday’s riots, Prime Minister Giorgi Meloni has deployed 500 soldiers to assist more than 5,000 police while calling for enhanced sentences of those involved in violence. Part of the troops’ deployment involves performing checks of arriving passengers at train stations, roaming the streets in groups while some are being stationed at public monuments and tourist sites. Additionally, law enforcement is using drones to monitor the central area of the city and adjacent neighborhoods.

Part of Meloni’s crackdown includes tougher penalties and fines for parents of minors involved in violence after an estimated 2,000 young people roamed the streets last week looting, breaking windows, and setting fires. The main targets were sportswear and cellphone stores, reflecting a deeper divide in which many young people, unable to achieve financial stability, are increasingly affected by widening income inequality and unemployment. Luxury stores and boutiques this week have reacted by boarding up windows in hopes of being able to stave off any intrusions and looting.

This morning around the central area of the city saw tourists going about their usual tasks of posing for selfies in the Piazza del Duomo while enjoying the excellent weather, as armed troops and military vehicles stood at the ready for rapid deployment to suppress any violence that may occur.

At Milan’s massive Stazione Centrale train station roaming groups of police accompanied by military troops were greeting each arriving train looking for anyone who they were profiling that might possibly cause trouble. This reporter witnessed one person of color being stopped and questioned before being allowed to continue on his way.

The question remains why the government, so quick to respond to violence, hasn’t made any rapid moves yet in responding to the legitimate concerns raised by protesters to quell the unrest. The present situation here and elsewhere in Europe is a true international emergency in which masses of working people are discontent with being unable to maintain their way of life while the government seems only interested in addressing the demands after order has been restored.

It is convenient after all to blame those causing the violence in deflecting the public’s attention away from to the root causes for the ensuing turmoil than to fully accept the responsibility of seeking a resolution. Protesters also complain of the government’s ability to fully fund military spending for arms and missiles while the government complains about a lack of financial resources for quick action in resolving the present circumstances. Until the root issues are resolved, the protests are very likely to continue for some time.

As Amnesty International Italy summed it up “For years we have been told that ‘protesting is useless.’ What we are seeing these days in our country proves that it is not true.”

Report and photos by Phil Pasquini

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