Migrants in the Barriera di Milano, an area in the city of Turin containing many ethnic shops, have been accused of ignoring strict coronavirus lockdown measures by local Italians.
Locals in the area have complained that despite the strict lockdown measures, many migrants continue to gather in the various ethnic shops in the area with a local named Roberto stating that “in reality, they have turned into meeting places for foreigners who camp out with a beer in hand.”
“They can do whatever they want, they have always done as they please, while we don’t even know if we will be able to reopen,” he told Italian newspaper Il Giornale.
Augusta Montaruli, a member of the national-conservative Brothers of Italy (FdI) party, claims there have been dozens of reports of lockdown violations in the heavily migrant-populated areas of the city.
“We have denounced it for some time now, the gatherings have already taken place: just take a tour of our suburbs to realize it. They take place in the sunlight. In front of everyone’s eyes. Unpunished,” Montaruli said.
“These people do not care about the suffering and sacrifices that decent people are making,” he added, calling on both the Interior Minister and the Mayor of Turin to deal with the illegal gatherings.
Similar behaviour has been seen during the lockdown in other countries in areas with high migration-background populations, such as the northern 18th arrondissement of Paris where it was reported that the police were finding at least 200 violations per day.
The situation in the Paris suburbs of Seine-Saint-Denis was reported to be even worse. The area, which hosts a very substantial population of illegal migrants, is said to see between 400 and 900 violations of the lockdown measures every day — many times more than the national average.
The Seine-Saint-Denis local police had previously claimed to be overwhelmed at the start of the lockdown, with one officer stating: “We are not going to give up. But we also know where these people live and how they live. Strict containment, for them, is just impossible.”
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