Technical tests of integration. In Sassari, the families of Khorakané ethnicity, evicted from the Piandanna Roma camp in 2022, are trying to fit into the city context by living in houses whose rents are paid by the Municipality. But in recent days tensions have risen because some would not have a roof under their heads again and Sunia, the tenants' union in via Pascoli, hosted the face to face. The conditional is a must on what will be reported, due to the difficulty of disentangling true and "uploaded" information.
"We are living in the car," says one of them, on condition of anonymity because he is afraid of social services. "Me, my wife and my children." In the previous period, he claims, they would have lived in a Bed & Breakfast that cost 6,000 euros a month. "Now the Municipality has told us that they have run out of money," he concludes. The families generally all have 4 or more children and require adequate space . "We are in via Sant'Apollinare in 60 square meters," says another, "where I removed all the garbage that was there and they fined me." He is one of those who went around Sassari to look for accommodation, including via Rockfeller, from which he had also moved away following the protest of the residents.
Then there are those who at 26 already have 6 children and will now move to Chiaramonti in two attached houses, or another, who does not want to reveal his age, but is the father of 9 children "who are in a protected community with their mother". The scenario is not the rosiest, because the contributions of the municipal administration will not be infinite and only serve as an invitation and a reminder for the autonomy of the Roma . "We cannot afford rents of 600 or 800 euros", they all declare, "what will become of us afterwards?" Also because, of the seven families met, only one man would have a job as an independent street vendor.
"We work illegally with iron: they ask us for it", is the leitmotif of the others. Some have precautionary measures to respect, others fear children who "will be taken away" while the problem grows and next Tuesday at the prefecture in Sassari there will be discussions about their future . "Sunia does everything possible to help them, we always act as intermediaries", says Stefano Lupinu, the union's representative for Sassari. But now a wide-ranging direction will be needed to find a solution.
