An insistent look, a word too many, an accidental shoulder in the crowd. Any pretext, always banal, is enough to trigger a sudden brawl on the streets of the movida. Flames fueled by alcohol and marijuana turn into violence in an instant. The Marina, over the weekend, has returned to being a circle of hell. Even if perhaps it had never stopped.
The markets
Every Saturday night, after 6:30 p.m., the same scene is repeated: made up of fights, shouts, sicknesses, vomit, urine, bottles of vodka, beer and abandoned glasses. The very young ones start, then after 9 p.m. it is the “turn” of the adults, Italians, Algerians and Tunisians, who continue until 4 in the morning.
The owners of some local markets are supposedly prohibited from selling alcohol to minors and from selling it to anyone for takeaway after 10 pm. “Never to minors,” they all swear. But it’s a lie. Because the line of kids in front of the takeaways that everyone knows, even outside the Marina, tell a different story. Alberto, 13, confirms this as he waits his turn in via Baylle: “Here you can find vodka-based cocktails for 6 euros. Even if two glasses are enough to have fun, we can already throw away even more.” Why? “On Saturdays we always have an empty stomach, so the alcohol goes up quicker,” he says.
Out of control
There are very few or no checks (see also yesterday at 7pm), so every weekend those who try to stem the phenomenon are street workers, the group of psychologists and educators of the Comuniteen project of the Department of Health and Citizens' Well-being to combat educational poverty and encourage the active participation of young people, and the residents, who are increasingly exasperated.
