Last April, an interesting popular mobilization took place in the Campi
Flegrei area, between Naples and the immediate province; a mobilizationthat saw the presence of the anarchist group "Francesco Mastrogiovanni"
of the FAI from the beginning, also because some of its militants live
in the area. This struggle was the starting point of an article that
tried to reflect on the relationship between territories, environmental
risks and class relations, published in Umanità Nova n° XX of 2024. ----
For those who do not want/can not recover the article, we briefly
summarize the salient points to understand the subsequent current
reflections. The Campi Flegrei area, an active volcanic caldera near
Naples, is a territory of enormous natural and historical beauty, but
also of high seismic risk. In the 1970s, intense bradyseismic activity
led to the evacuation of the Rione Terra in Pozzuoli, a traumatic event
for the local community, which suffered forced deportation without
adequate compensation. Since 2005, the area has again been affected by
bradyseismic phenomena, with a recent peak in seismic activity in April
2024, which has generated strong concern among the population. The
management of the emergency by the institutions was deemed insufficient,
leading to the creation of popular committees to protect the interests
of the inhabitants.
The beauty of the area means that tourist speculation looms over the
area, with the risk, which materialized with the Rione Terra in
Pozzuoli, that any evacuations will be exploited to favor multinational
tourism companies to the detriment of the local population. It is
therefore necessary to build power relations in the area to ensure that
any removals are temporary and that the territories are not abandoned to
speculation.
The experience of the earthquakes in Irpinia (where popular movements
managed to achieve the reconstruction of their towns) and L'Aquila
(where a weaker movement eventually saw a large-scale "Rione Terra"
phenomenon), highlights the importance of the presence of popular
movements organized to defend the rights of the inhabitants and counter
capitalist interests. In this case, bradyseism is a permanent phenomenon
and continuous and non-emergency management of the territory is
essential, with adequate redistribution of economic resources to
guarantee the safety and well-being of the population.
What has happened in the last year? The bradyseismic phenomenon has
thinned out and, with it, the ability of the movements to attract large
segments of the population. Which, on the other hand, is understandable:
the people of the territory who do not have a political education and a
habit of militancy which, consequently, allows them a precise and
constant understanding of what is at stake both at a naturalistic and
social level, mobilize when the problem is evident, when their homes
become uninhabitable and/or the continuous tremors bring them into a
state of anxiety that is difficult to bear. In the absence of such
evidence of the problem, it is easy for them to give up.
It should be noted that this phenomenon is also present in the radical
left movements which, also, should have such an awareness, but which are
rooted in areas of the Neapolitan territory relatively distant from the
Campi Flegrei area and, consequently, feel the problem less immediately
and, despite the various appeals, saving the peace of some individuals,
have been absent from the mobilizations. This is, the latter, a very
short-sighted vision of things: the problem is truly general.
Italy is particularly vulnerable to hydrogeological risk due to its
geographical conformation and human activities: almost 94% of Italian
municipalities are exposed to risks related to landslides, floods and
coastal erosion. If we also consider seismic and volcanic risks, Italy
becomes one of the European countries most exposed to natural phenomena.
About 44% of the Italian territory is classified as medium-high seismic
risk, with regions such as Abruzzo, Calabria, Sicily and Campania
particularly vulnerable. Furthermore, Italy is home to some of the most
active volcanoes in Europe, such as Etna, Vesuvius and Stromboli, which
represent a significant risk for the surrounding areas.
Combining hydrogeological, seismic and volcanic risks, a complex picture
emerges in which much of the Italian territory is subject to potential
and often looming natural dangers, so the issue of the relationship
between populations and the territory should be very present, at least
in the conscience of activists who want, as they used to say in the
past, a new and possible world. The attitude of those who feel the
tremors but do not see the cracks in the walls of their homes appears
short-sighted, rie abitations, considers it a secondary problem -
tomorrow instead of the caldera of the Phlegraean Fields, Vesuvius could
wake up, the volcano present at the other end of Naples that overlooks
its eastern side. We have given a very Neapolitan example, but the data
we have presented before show how similar examples could be made from
the Alps to Sicily. Consequently, the relationship of the populations
with their territory and the class dynamics that can be triggered should
be the constant attention of those who fight for a better world.
Let's close with the news of the present. On March 13, 2025, an
earthquake of magnitude 4.6 occurred, the strongest recorded in the last
40 years in the Phlegraean Fields area. This event was accompanied by a
seismic swarm with other shocks of magnitude 3.5 and 3.9 in the
following days. The bradyseism phenomenon has reached a ground uplift of
about 140 cm in the central caldera, with a rate of uplift of 3 cm per
month, doubled compared to previous data. Volcanic and seismic activity
is closely related to the dynamics of the underlying volcanic caldera,
which continues to be carefully monitored.
Reception facilities have been set up, such as a tent structure in
Fuorigrotta, to house evacuated citizens: the government has declared a
state of mobilization of the Civil Protection for the territories of
Pozzuoli, Bacoli and western Naples. 163 families have been evacuated,
for a total of 388 people and an extraordinary plan has been launched to
analyze the vulnerability of public and private buildings and strengthen
essential infrastructure. The most interesting thing, however, has been
the reaction of the movements, which this time has reached quite
interesting levels of aggregation and popular initiative.
The popular assembly has formed again, this time assuming the role of
the only decision-making and participatory tool to resolve the needs
that arise daily. The most relevant moments of this struggle, which
constantly develops solidarity, mutual aid and claims, to concretely
resolve people's needs, have been many. The most relevant and
significant were: the occupation for four days and nights of the
municipality of Bagnoli, the occupation of the former NATO base in
Bagnoli and the protest picket at the clandestine meeting of Minister
Piantedosi together with the mayors of Naples, Pozzuoli and Bacoli. In
addition to these moments of greater visibility, very important are the
many public assemblies held in various places, which guarantee a broad
participation based on the direct action of the people involved, without
delegating anything to anyone.
The most delicate and important problem at this time is the
accommodation of all the people who no longer have a habitable home. The
only way to resolve this problem in a dignified manner is to immediately
provide safe, comfortable and worthy accommodation to all the displaced.
This is possible and easily achievable: all that is needed is to
expropriate all the empty villas and apartments as well as the hotels
that are located immediately outside the risk area. In any case, the
popular assembly has drawn up an appeal with the explicitation of direct
democracy, the refusal of delegation and with ten points of demands; an
appeal discussed, approved and shared by all.
Obviously there is the awareness, on the part of all the participants in
the assembly, that only by continuing to fight in person, united and
with determination, will we be able to build a path of struggle that
will lead to the satisfaction of our needs. We hope to be able to
maintain these levels of mobilization over time but, obviously, we
cannot know if this will happen. Certainly, the Mastrogiovanni group
will continue to be present, as it has done since the beginning,
alongside those who fight.
Below we publish the document-minutes issued from the assembly of the
occupied X Municipality:
Minutes of the I Popular Assembly of the occupied X Municipality. On
Wednesday 5 March, at the premises of the headquarters of the X
Municipality, in the Sandro Pertini hall, a popular assembly was held
with the inhabitants of Bagnoli and Campi Flegrei. The theme of the
assembly concerned the consequences of the bradyseismic crisis on the
inhabitants and the recent developments regarding the reclamation and
urban regeneration programs of the ex-Italsider area. The assembly was
held in the premises of the occupied X Municipality headquarters for the
request to quickly hold an information meeting on the seismic situation
and the consequences on buildings and the measures in place to support
people, with the absolute prerogative of convening it in the territory
of Bagnoli, to allow the inhabitants to be able to participate actively,
against the current convocation of the monothematic council on Bagnoli
scheduled for March 10 in via Verdi.
The assembly affirms two fundamental principles: rejection of any logic
of delegation, refusing the possibility of being able to assign to a
small group of people or to some single representative the quality of
spokesperson of the territory, therefore the urgent convocation of a
public meeting in the territory is requested; establishment of a
permanent popular assembly of the Campi Flegrei and of a permanent
control committee on the effects of bradyseism. The assembly unanimously
approved the following demands with respect to the current situation: 1.
checks and blanket census for the stability of public and private
buildings at the expense of the State; 2. alternative and sustainable
solutions for any evacuees from buildings at risk; 3. freeze on
mortgages and rents for all evacuees; 4. compensation for sleepless
nights for workers forced to go to work in the days following the
tremors; 5. immediate adjustment and revision of the escape routes
currently in place based on the number of inhabitants to counteract
traffic congestion; 6. opening of fixed points in the former NATO base,
in the safe areas of the former Italsider and in the Mostra d'OItremare,
with the creation of collection and refreshment points including beds,
access to bathrooms and showers, food, in particular for people with
disabilities, frailties, children and the elderly; 7. creation of fixed
facilities for medical support and especially for psychological support
with the possibility of immediate care at the mental health centers of
the local ASL to address the load of anxiety and worries related to the
seismic situation; 8. mapping of non-self-sufficient people for timely
home interventions in the event of an earthquake; 9. blocking and
cancellation of the planned concreting in the Campi Flegrei, immediately
stopping all new private building projects. The assembly rejects any
possibility of separation between the current bradyseismic situation and
the overall urban regeneration work in the area. We need free access to
the sea, the public beach and the urban park. In the difficult situation
created by bradyseism, individual choices leave behind the fragile
people or those who cannot afford alternative solutions, the only
possibility we have to support everyone involves the adoption of
collective solutions. Popular Assembly of the Occupied X Municipality
https://umanitanova.org/nuove-lotte-nei-campi-flegrei-popolazione-ambiente-dinamiche-di-classe/
_________________________________________
A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C E
By, For, and About Anarchists
Send news reports to A-infos-en mailing list
A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
Geen opmerkingen:
Een reactie posten