Fear keeps her company every evening. Since a few days ago, when a man followed her out of the pizzeria where she works, Emy Galioto, 23, has lost her peace of mind. "It's not possible that you can no longer walk the streets of the city without risks," says the girl, "and this is not only true for me but for many people who find themselves returning home in the evening, maybe after 10 p.m., and can no longer feel free to do so without fear."
The story
What left its mark was an episode that happened just a few days ago. "At around 10:30 p.m. I finished my shift at the pizzeria, near Via Brigata Sassari, and I went out to go home," says Galioto, "my house is about 15 minutes away. I don't have a car and I have no choice but to walk. I was getting ready to cross the street when I saw a man, alone, who was on the other side and was looking at me insistently. I got scared, went back and changed route." Immediately after, "I went towards Via Diaz, quickening my pace, and I saw that he was following me. Note that the streets at that time are deserted, poorly lit, and there is no one who can come to your aid. I saw that he was also quickening his pace to come towards me, and so I started running." The pursuer also runs, "my heart was beating like crazy, I didn't know what to do, or how it could end, the fact is that I managed to hide and I threw him off". And it's not even the first time it's happened, "he had followed me and I think it was the same man, even another time and then I saw that the same misadventure had happened to other people too".
Not an isolated case
The reports have been coming in for some time. The identikit matches: he follows the girls but, stopped at traffic lights, he also tries to open the car door, apparently to ask for money. And his range of action is not limited to Quartu. He was also spotted in Quartucciu, Selargius, in the parking lots of the Le Vele center and in Cagliari. Apparently the Carabinieri have already reported him at liberty. His goal is to ask for money even when he tries to get into cars, stopped at red lights.
"Unfortunately, walking around the city late at night is a huge risk, especially if you're a single girl," Galioto says, "because the streets are deserted and there are very few businesses open. Where there are no pizzerias, bars or restaurants, there's nothing, just silence and darkness. I leave work every day around 11 p.m. and now I'm scared."
