Afrigather On Thursday, Italy’s decrease home of parliament welcomed its first-ever Black member.
Aboubakar Soumahoro’s first day as a parliamentarian was wealthy in symbolism. The farm boots present his humble beginnings as an immigrant farm employee greater than 20 years in the past.
“We’ll work for many who are put in a situation of slavery, for our sons, for the youth, for these Italian individuals who needed to flee overseas, as a result of they weren’t given the possibility to reside right here. That is what we’ll do,” Soumahoro advised journalists exterior parliament.
The 42-year-old contested and received a seat on the Inexperienced and Left social gathering ticket within the September 25 nationwide election.
Having arrived in Italy as an undocumented 19-year-old from Ivory Coast in 1999, he has vowed to make use of his new platform to advocate for cover for asylum seekers and minorities.
Italy’s new right-wing authorities has promised to crack down on migrants.
“It has been 20 years since legal guidelines just like the ‘Bossi-Fini’ (regulation) create and produce illegality, create and produce slavery, create and produce monstrosities. I’m one of many victims of the Bossi-Fini regulation. We will not have in our nation, in Italy, first-level kids and second-level kids.”
“We have to grant Italian citizenship to kids born and raised in our nation. It is a matter of civilisation, of dignity and likewise of coherence with the ideas represented in our Structure,” he mentioned.
Soumahoro is the one Black lawmaker within the decrease chamber of 400 deputies.
In August, a Nigerian road vendor was killed in broad daylight sparking worldwide outrage. Italian authorities rejected the assertion that the killing was racially motivated.
