The World Condemns Rome, But Europe Is The Problem.(Periscope; IMMIGRATION BACKLASH)

Byline: Barbie Nadeau

The trendy Rome neighborhood of Pigneto was invaded last month by swastika-wearing thugs who beat Chinese, Indian and Bangladeshi shopkeepers and chanted "Get out, bastard foreigners." Coming after violent attacks on Romas in Milan and Naples, the attacks were condemned by authorities but also, it seems, inspired by them. Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi came to power promising to get tough on immigrants, and rules in coalition with the Northern League, which has called publicly for violence against immigrants. Rome's new mayor, Gianni Alemanno, won on a plan to expel 20,000 immigrants and so far has expelled several hundred.

Italy is a frontline state that receives more legal and illegal immigrants than any other in Europe, but now it's in the spotlight for xenophobia. Amnesty International last week warned that a "climate of discrimination" encouraged by top politicians "threatens to turn Italy into a dangerous country." Laura Boldrini, a spokeswoman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, compared the violence in Naples, where TV cameras caught attackers bragging about "ethnic cleansing," to the Balkan wars. "We never thought we'd see such images in Italy," said Boldrini. The U.S. Anti-Defamation League warned that official failure to condemn the attacks ...