‘Go Home Gypsy. Immigrant, Bedouin,’ Italy Lawmaker Reads Online Abuse in Parliament

Democratic Party lawmaker Ouidad Bakkali read aloud a barrage of hateful and xenophobic comments she received on social media after participating in an anti-fascist demonstration in Rome. The comments, numbering over 13,500, included deeply offensive slurs targeting her ethnicity and background.

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Common grave for you and your family; gypsy home; im...; immigrant; the bedouin spoke; sewer rat, gypsy, and those who follow you are worse than you; one who reproduces maranza; disinfestation; tell me this mao mao; monkey emigrates with them, cursed; they really like to be raped; you will have a bad end; shoot yourself; they will open you like an apple; bedouin shit we know where you live.

Among the vile messages Bakkali shared were phrases like "common grave for you and your family," "gypsy home," "immigrant," "the bedouin spoke," "sewer rat, gypsy, and those who follow you are worse than you," and "disinfestation." Some comments also contained sexually explicit and violent threats.

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Words are blades – violence is real and from the screens of a phone, it's a moment for it to flare up like a summer fire impossible to extinguish.

Bakkali described the impact of such words, stating, "Words are blades – violence is real and from the screens of a phone, it's a moment for it to flare up like a summer fire impossible to extinguish." She criticized the organized "squadrismo" on social platforms, driven by algorithms and political agendas, warning that it should seriously concern all democratic forces.

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The organized squadrismo on the platforms, conveyed by algorithms and clear political wills that move them, must begin to seriously worry all democratic forces, all.

She attributed the spread of this "social poison" to figures like Vannacci and his followers, arguing that its acceptance in the national consciousness is irresponsible and requires an immediate response. Bakkali called for a "Republican pact" to de-escalate rhetoric and stigmatize the increasingly normalized forms of hate speech, emphasizing the need to curb what she sees as an "unspeakable" trend.

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The social poison injected by Vannacci and his lackeys is taking root in the country's conscience and it is irresponsible not to put a dam on it. A Republican pact is needed that calls for lowering the tone and stigmatizing everything that now seems to be accepted.