Italian pogrom
The urgency to tackle the gypsy population in Rome was triggered off last May when a woman resident from the district of Ponticelli on the northern outskirts of Naples, accused a young gypsy of attempting to kidnap her daughter. The incident stirred up considerable clamor amongst the media, even if there was no evidence of such a happening nor any police investigations. On May 13, about 60 people using Molotov cocktails attacked the huge gypsy camp, forcing the inhabitants to hastily escape to other nearby encampments. The gypsies spent the whole day barricaded inside the camp which was besieged by some local residents urging them to leave immediately. After an exhausting day of tension the gypsies from Ponticelli were escorted out of the neighbourhood by the police. To date the outcome of their destiny is still unknown: some have left for Romania while many other have found hospitality in other camps in the city. This is the story of that day.
