International Day Against Racial Discrimination
An occasion to remember the courage for freedom and dignity
The date of 21 March for the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination was not chosen at random. The institution came about to commemorate what happened on 21 March 1960, when South Africa experienced what went down in history as the Sharpeville Massacre, as a denial of human rights under the pretext of ‘diversity‘, skin colour, social status, geographical or ethnic origins.
Even today, protests, although peaceful, risk erupting into violent clashes that highlight the complexity of democracy and civil coexistence, which discourages participation and undermines trust in the authorities.
As happened recently in Florence where the police charged the procession of students protesting to demand an end to the violence perpetuated in Palestine, in Gaza, against the civilian population, especially women and children.
On this day in memory of the courage for freedom and dignity, we cannot turn away: the children of Gaza matter!
The heartbreaking pain of these children
deserves 1, 100, 1000 protest marches
but above all a conversion of hearts
in the footsteps of the Founders
