[:it]The training that allowed 15 young people to investigate and communicate the environmental disaster has concluded.
From August 20th to 26th, the Milan-based NGO Mani Tese held a Summer School on social communication in the classrooms of the Church of San Pasquale Bylon in Taranto.
The topic discussed concerned Ilva and the environmental impact it has on the area where it was established more than half a century ago.
Fifteen young people from all over Italy arrived in the city to take part in the training.
Arcigay Strambopoli Taranto and Hermes Academy Onlus also offered their contribution, with the presence of President Luigi Pignatelli, the head of agender policies Anies Maggio and the Taranto activist transplanted to Milan Pietro Vita Spina.
«"The rain is heavy," Pignatelli writes in his travel diary, "harder than usual. The places are those of my childhood, and so are the words, but the lemmas today take on new meanings.
We listen to the testimonies of those, like Alessandro Marescotti, who for years have been denouncing the unfolding humanitarian and environmental disaster and the oppressive conditions faced by Taranto's citizens; testimonies of former steelworkers (and here the masculine is mandatory, because female workers at Ilva are not counted, and the canteen workers and those from external cleaning companies, for reasons unknown to me, are never mentioned), who speak of the behind-the-scenes work of Europe's largest steelworks; anecdotes, stories, and loves that recall the scent of a sea that wasn't black.
A journey of encounters with the stories of extraordinary people, because the drama they face denies them an ordinary and serene daily life: among them Vincenzo Fornaro of the Masseria del Carmine, who is currently experimenting with phytoremediation using hemp.
How many more children must die for Ilva to break even? We ask ourselves this question as we stand beneath the poster designed by Genitori Tarantini and posted on Via Galeso.
In the late afternoon, we go to Statte, to admire the twilight of the gods.
Fulvio, Antonio, Fabio, Francesca, and Federica tell us about their lives, welcoming our curious gazes and satisfying our questions.»
«"Born in the shadow of smokestacks, warmed by toxic fumes, and raised protected in the torpor of a remorseful Ilva steelworks. Born with a dangerous genetic mutation and then migrating into the diaspora of pain, they encounter similar stories of distant people and come back together through a work that aims to act as a glue between those who desire redemption." (From the presentation notes for the film "Non Perdono" by Grace Zanotto and Roberto Marsella, starring Pignatelli)
«Many – recalls Pietro Vito Spina – were the events and meetings that animated the seminar.
On the first day, we had the opportunity to meet with Taranto's environmental associations and the Ilva unions, to learn more about the issue and gain a deeper understanding of their perspectives.
On the second day, accompanied by Taranto journalist Fulvio Colucci, we visited the Tamburi neighborhood of Taranto to learn about the local social scene. In the afternoon, they took a journalistic writing test.
The third day, more of a workshop, focused on the use of images in photography. Accompanied by photographer Matteo de Mayda, we toured the city in search of shots that captured the Taranto story.
On the fourth day, still in a laboratory context, activist and cartoonist Giuseppe Costantini illustrated the many functions of comics as a means of social communication.
Finally, on the last day, we listened to the various proposals that Taranto's environmental associations have put forward as possible solutions for the reclamation and redevelopment of the area.»
«At the end of a scorching August, writes Anies Maggio, I had the opportunity, thanks to Arcigay Strambopoli Taranto and the Hermes Academy, to take part in the "Summer School" project, which developed, not coincidentally, in my city. We focused our attention on Taranto, at times engulfed in media fuss, lies and truths, shadows and moments of light on the Ilva issue, that paradise, from its etymology, born to provide work, hope, and wealth. We examined the consequences of decades of the steel industry's presence in the area and discussed the toll it has brought upon us. We, as Taranto residents first and foremost, were able to experience and bear witness to the second culture, that of industry, which by now, like its dust, has taken root in the citizens. We investigated, together with part of the environmental movement, the various aspects of the issue and the different ways of communicating it. I personally shared my experiences after years of studying the behavior of workers. This training provided me with technical tools for observing and narrating the phenomenon and allowed me to look at my daily life from new perspectives."“
«At the end of this experience – concludes Spina – there remains the deep enthusiasm that animated these young people and the love for our city, which they gave birth to in the few days of their stay.»[:]
