Can we really talk about racism when referring to the attitude of rejection that Europeans often assume towards migrant workers from the African continent? If we consider episodes of intolerance (e.g. as witnessed on the Roman bus), it is certainly fair to call such acts authentic cases of racism.
If however we consider the attitude of certain shopkeeper associations towards the phenomenon of illegal trade, I no longer agree.
These immigrant workers are rejected not on the grounds that they are coloured foreigners, but because they practice unfair competition: they don't pay taxes, they don't have sales permits, the goods sold are false copies, and so on.
To turn a blind eye to this phenomenon, as I believe is being done, is to simply encourage the spread of illegal practices and to promote the generation of reactive movements that could one day take on racist connotations, which for the moment have not emerged.
It is therefore urgent that a law be drawn up to face this problem, increasing on the one hand the fines and sentences against illegal sales practices, while on the other favouring the concession of permits to peddlers who are willing to comply with legal requirements, thus allowing them to become workers in all senses, integrating them and giving the opportunity to benefit from all the protection afforded by the law.
As concerns the right to vote for foreign migrants resident in Italy, the matter becomes complex. While it is logical for European Community citizens, it seems less logical for people from other continents, if not after a minimum number of years residency and on-going work. Only with a set of targeted laws and measures will it be possible to prevent true acts of racism in our country, acts that will otherwise be as inevitable as they will be deplorable.