The Italian NGO Medici per i Dilitti Umani (Medicials for Human Rights – MEDU) is working to improve the health and safety of patients in Rosarno, San Ferdinand and Taulianova (municipalities in Reggio Calabria), where it provides assistance. It condemned the dire conditions of workers from sub-Saharan West Africa. .
In the Gioia Tauro plain in southern Italy’s Calabria region, workers are not being paid despite the presence of expensive but unused housing structures, according to a complaint filed by the Medici Per i Dilitti Umani (MEDU). Working and living conditions are described as deplorable.
MEDU has been active in the region for 10 consecutive years, providing medical and legal assistance to workers. Through mobile clinics, the MEDU team is reaching around 1,500 foreign agricultural workers in abandoned farmhouses, dilapidated ministerial tents and old containers in the municipalities of Rosarno, San Ferdinando and Taurianova.
“The population of this settlement is made up of young people with an average age of 35 years coming from sub-Saharan West African countries, in particular Mali, Gambia, Senegal, Ghana and Ivory Coast.” 88% have been in Italy for more than three years long term Despite their residency, they continue to face exclusion, exploitation and job insecurity, MEDU said.
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Second-hand houses costing millions of euros
“The dire situation previously described, which began in 2013 when MEDU first reached the plains of Gioia Tauro, now looks even more grotesque.”
The memo goes on to say that in contrast to the inhumane living conditions in informal settlements, unopened container camps, and rebuilt but uninhabited buildings seized from the mafia, hundreds of unopened homes remain. He points out the contradiction of investing $10,000.
According to MEDU, 3 million euros from the EU was earmarked for 6 buildings and 36 apartments in Rosarno, and 2 million euros from the Ministry of the Interior to build a “village of solidarity” on confiscated mafia land. It remains unused. In addition, 650,000 euros were invested in the construction of a multifunctional center in his Livia of Contra da Donna in the city of Taurianova, but it was never put into operation.
Nevertheless, MEDU acknowledges the active efforts of civil society, citing the workers’ hostel “Dambe So” opened in San Fernando by the Mediterranean Hope Project of the Federation of Evangelical Churches in Italy (FCEI). .
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Appeal by MEDU and partners
MEDU expresses concern over a deep-rooted problem, describing the situation as a chronic disease that affects the socio-economic structure of the Gioia Tauro Plain. “This continues to happen season after season,” the statement continued, adding: “Despite modest improvements in daily wages, these dramatic living conditions provide the backdrop for an exhausting and never-ending working day. ”, he emphasizes.
This appeal calls for urgent solutions to remove bureaucratic hurdles that prevent the creation of housing for agricultural workers, and to close the gap between work and housing while ensuring social and economic sustainability. We are calling for investment in initiatives such as ‘Danbe So’.
MEDU, together with our partner “Campagne Aperte” (Open Countryside), calls for immediate action to address these issues.
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