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In Italy, a questionnaire about Moroccans was distributed to the students of a high school in Lombardy. The document, conducted by the Istituto d'Istruzione Superiore Statale Andrea Fantoni di Clusone in the Bergamo province, included a series of questions that were deemed racist and discriminatory against Moroccans in Italy.
«Is it true that the criminal behavior of Moroccans is to be blamed on their different culture?» read one of the questions featured in the form. It also included questions like «Do you agree that Moroccans come from a region with less developed skills?» and «Would you have sex with a Moroccan?»
«As an association, we urged the authorities to launch an investigation and suspend the teacher who was behind this questionnaire», Hamid Bichri, the president of a Moroccan association based in Italy, told Yabiladi on Thursday.
«We are ready to take legal action against the ones behind this questionnaire, which fuels hatred against immigrants in general and Moroccans in particular. Several associations and political parties have denounced this act. The representatives of the Ministry of National Education have been taking this matter very seriously and have promised not to let it pass».
Right-wing parties under fire
To the association that has a copy of the questionnaire, «the questions it includes are stupid». «These are high school students aged between 14 and 16, not adults. For us, this shows to what extent right-wing parties have allowed teachers to make such questionnaires», Bichri argued.
He recalled that Lombardy is a region that houses «the majorty of Lega Nord’s supporters (...) the party is known for its anti-immigrant position». «The questionnaire reflects hatred and xenophobia and that is just one example out of many used by this party, which is losing ground in Italy», he said, adding that «Moroccans living in Lombardy are often discriminated against».
For his part, Adil Lasry, the president of the Association of Moroccan Workers in Italy denounced what he called a «very oriented questionnaire», wondering «how can we ask these questions that are filled with xenophobic and discriminatory comments?» «We must question the purpose behind this questionnaire and take legal action against the ones behind it», he added.
«As Moroccans living in Italy, we are used to this kind of racist and discriminatory incidents, whether by politicians, officials or associations and sometimes we feel helpless. Associations in Italy, especially those set up by immigrants, are unfortunately not influential enough», he regretted.
Defending Moroccans
«The fact that the Moroccan embassy reacted to this incident is a first. Previously, diplomatic representations did not respond to the discriminatory language we faced. We had no one to defend us», he said.
Reactions from Moroccan associations in Italy come as the Moroccan embassy in Rome responded Wednesday to the questionnaire. In a press release, the Moroccan diplomatic representation in Italy said it had «learned with astonishment about the unfortunate questionnaire», and expressed its «firm rejection», denouncing the «biased statements» it features.
The Moroccan embassy in Rome also said it was «convinced that the competent Italian authorities cannot tolerate such an act and will not fail to respond appropriately».
