Mani resistenti (resistant hands)
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Rome would not exist if Aeneas had not fled from Troy to the coasts of Lazio, in Central Italy. He traveled carrying old father Anchise on his shoulders and sailed all over the Mediterranean, facing adventures and hazards. Then he landed in Italy, married the beautiful Lavinia and started the lineage of the Latins, who founded Rome.
It is a legend, but the myth is born from reality. Humanity has a history of uninterrupted migrations: sometimes they generated new civilizations, other times conflicts, other times both. Man is an animal capable of resettling and humans always looked for a better place to live. This is why we look for water on Mars.
Today more than 250 million people are migrants, more than in past years. Almost half are women, one fifth are minors, one tenth are elderly. Over 20 million flee from wars, environmental disasters, persecutions, poverty, epidemics.
(Source: IOM, Migration Data Portal, https://migrationdataportal.org/data?i=stock_abs_&t=2017)
Some migrations are dramatic, especially those of those who flee conditions of serious unhappiness and are willing to take high risks. Not everyone has the good fortune of Aeneas and every year thousands of people cannot overcome the dangers and die.
Half of these deaths occur in the Central Mediterranean.
Yes, the most dangerous place for those who migrate is at the gate of our Europe, especially between Libya and Sicily, between a cruel war and the rich European Union, in that short stretch of a sea that our people have always sailed and that hadn’t never been so dangerous.
4054 deaths in 2015, 5143 in 2016, 3139 in 2017, 2199 in 2018, 859 in the first half of this year. These are the numbers that the International Organization for Migration has managed to ascertain. Then there are the silent deaths, those lost in the immensity of the sea, those we will never count.
(Source: https://missingmigrants.iom.int/)
It’s like there’s a war.
Many of these deaths occur because the crossing takes place in desperate conditions. Migrants pay very high fares to traffickers and in return they get too small and malfunctioning boats, not suitable for facing the sea. Migrant trafficking is a millionaire affair.
European governments try to reject these migrants. The laws of the sea say that we must save the shipwrecked, but the laws of Europe say that migrants should not arrive. Thus, while governments produce rivers of words, people die.
It’s time to stop these deaths. European governments must equip themselves with tools for rescuing people on the run, because every life is invaluable. We must rediscover the principles of humanity.
Mani Resistenti (resistant hands) is a project by Resistance artists, a collective of Roman artists against all forms of racism, intolerance and xenophobia. Mani resistenti denounces the indifference with which European politicians treat the ongoing drama.
The Mediterranean, sinking hands art installation try to raise public awareness against an increasingly pressing hatred policy. Mani resistenti represent our peaceful and civil protest that believes in Humanity and in the rights of all.
Mani resistenti organize exhibitions and flash mobs, where many colored hands stretched towards the sky, symbolizing the numerous deaths of people in the Mediterranean, to raise public awareness of the government’s immigration policies.
Everyone can participate, each with his own Mani resistenti for a return to the values of humanity and solidarity, for the defense of social rights and minorities.
We believe in a beautiful, inclusive and inclusive society. Today more than ever we cannot pretend not to see: it is important to strengthen the value of a welcoming community that exists and resists!
Anti-fascism and anti-racism always!
Every life has a thousand colors and we must never forget it.
Stay human
