ITALY: The Man Hunt

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Rosarno in early 2010. The atmosphere is highly explosive in a small town in the extreme south of Italy.

The night began with an attack on two Africans, followed by riots by the immigrant population. Finally, a hunt was organized by Italian citizens to track down the immigrants. For two days a state of emergency was declared in the town. 

The Italians are now accused of being racists.

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There are assumptions that the revolt in such dramatic forms, is mainly due to the deplorable working and living conditions of Africans. In this situation, emotions run high on all sides.

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"They are beasts. We have always helped them ... all of us, the priest of Rosarno, the citizens as well .... some people have given them jackets, shoes .... at Christmas we even gave them food. They must go, we do not want them here anymore. " 

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"These riots have brought nothing, even the accusation of racism is wrong in my opinion. My countrymen should have complained to the mayor; the destruction and terror, that was not okay! "

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For a long time the police have been over-stretched by the inhabitants of Rosarnos. Before the situation became completely out of control, hundreds of Africans were moved. The police placed them in protected camps on the east coast of Puglia.

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Rosarno - ten days after the riots. This junction is where they began.... The memories of it still seem to be fresh in people’s minds.

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The residents of Rosarno must now live with a heavy burden. All of Italy has pointed the finger at them. Commentators are appalled by the incredible escalation of violence. Accusations of racism have become louder, as each of their actions is labelled xenophobic.

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As if the southern Italians hadn't had enough problems with years of economic problems.

2 `48OT Don Meme, pastor Rosarno

"The politicians have let us down, they did nothing, they have slept through such a critical situation. We have a sadness in our hearts, which is stupid, the Africans were taken away. But that did not come from us, but from the police ... We would like to see them again, they are our brothers. "

3 `19 OT Domenico Mammola, journalist

"A huge problem is the dismal economic situation. For this reason you can no longer pay people properly, let alone offer them a good working relationship. And we in the south have always lacked money. Naturally, this makes the situation particularly difficult for the immigrants. "

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Amadou comes from West Africa. He has lived in this factory in Rosarno for a year. He will soon leave and travel north where here he will try his luck again as a harvester.

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It is hard to believe that these pictures are not from the developing world, but in the heart of Europe ... Amadou lives here as a slave, he gets no money from his employer. Here in the factory, there is no water, toilets or electricity.

Rosarno become completely overwhelmed as more and more immigrants arrived in the city.

4 `29 OT Rossella Galluccio, social service, Rosarno (slow)

"It think we have been almost superhuman in a situation that has overwhelmed us all. And I think the fact that Africans have returned again and again, shows that they initially experienced a warmth here that they did not find anywhere else. "

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The orchards attract thousands of Africans every winter.

The immigrants are tolerated by the Italians as the area needs cheap labour. Without this influx of poor African workers, the Harvest would rot.

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As harvesters, they earn about 20 euros a day. They must pay 5 euros of this to the relevant local Italian mafia head.

Previously, the harvest work was well paid. Today, the farmers get only 6 cents per kilo of oranges. The European markets are now flooded with these cheap tropical fruits.

5 `44 OT Mammola

"In this climate, with such an explosive atmosphere, illegality is widespread. People are being exploited. The Calabrian mafia takes advantage of this situation, which is why we are in such a tense situation. "

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For year, hundreds of thousands of immigrants have managed to achieve a legal residence permit in Italy. More than 4.5 million now live in the country, that’s seven percent of the population.

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On the shores of Italy - as here in Reggio Calabria – there are fewer and fewer asylum seekers arriving. The Italian immigration laws have been dramatically tightened. Many in the country though say that the coalition party 'Lega Nord' secretly changed the countries policy.

What happened to the liberal, hospitable country? Why does Italy have the image of a racist country today?

7 `20 OT Domenico Bagnato, Mayor Rosarno, Calabria

"The economic crisis that we experience here and in other parts of the world, dramatically worsened the situation for all of us. The number of immigrants has exploded, the breeding ground for criminal activities has thus become larger, the illegal immigrants are shamelessly exploited. On the other hand, we must continue. But we Italians have remained basically the same, still open to foreigners. But the fact is that politics can somehow leave you with many problems. In truth, the politicians would have to support the local economy, so that producers can be paid proper wages and then disappear underground. "

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Some of Rosarno's poorest neighbourhoods are being demolished, the problems with the immigration remain.

The revolt of the African people is not isolated in Italy to Calabria, but is becoming widespread throughout the country.

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To date, no one has felt responsible to tackle immigration problems. The state will continue to look away and the riots in Rosarno will not remain an isolated case.

Inserts:

Report: Alexander Steinbach

Camera: Alexander Muliar