“Italians know that Gadhafi is a very charismatic, but controversial leader. Many of them dislike him; many say he is a crazy dictator, but as a whole Italian people are not focused on Libya. ”
To the extent that they do think about the situation, Alessandri thinks that overall Italians are happy with Berlusconi’s move to criticize Libya and cancel the 2008 friendship agreement.
“As for the attitude toward Berlusconi, Italians mostly approve what he has done. … When Berlusconi said that the time for Gadhafi is over, I don’t think there was any criticism left in Italians.”
Some Italians think new immigrants could turn out to be a good thing—or at the very least, their government should treat would-be refugees more humanely.
“I think that first of all the Libyan people should be helped with humanitarian operations. When you have aircraft firing on civilians, children, you should not think twice to say that these things must be stopped,” says Marvi Massazza Gal, secretary of the Chamber of Labor in Biella, in northern Italy.
“The Italian government at the beginning faltered. I think it's wrong what's happening in our country in having fear of these waves of migration ‘invasions,’” Massazza said, adding that Italy actually has many fewer immigrants than the rest of Europe and needs more immigrants. “I think immigration is a good thing, not only from the standpoint of economic wealth, but also from a cultural point of view.”
Other Italians agree that Italy should do more to help genuine asylum seekers. “It makes no sense to refuse the arrival of refugees who are running away from a dictator’s regime and war … but come here and find racism, xenophobia, and other violence,” says Claudia Calfapietra, 26, a student in Rome.
With reporting By Dana Betlevy in Rome and Veronica Melelli in Biella
