Senegalese man struck in the face with a bottle permanently loses the use of one eye

Alert DateApril 12, 2009 Country: Italy Address: Rome General Type: Racist violence, Racist discourse Racism and discrimination phenomena: Anti-migrant/xenophobia, Afrophobia
Groups affected / Interested in: Migrants Key socio-economic/institutional areas: Daily life Hate speech/Racist Discourse Medium: Public Discourse

Related Library Items

Victims Data
Victims Nationality/Ethnic Origin Senegalese
Victims Gender Male
Victims Age 26-35
Victims Number 1
Fatalities - deaths N/A
Perpetrators Data
Perpetrators Nationality/Ethnic Origin Italian
Perpetrator Gender Male
Perpetrator Age N/A
Perpetrators Number 6
Extremist/Organised Group Violence No

Samba Sow, a 31-old Senegalese man, was attacked on the night of April 12, 2009, after going to a bar near where he lived to buy a phone card. When his car would not start as he tried to go home, a group of five or six men began to insult him and make fun of his car, saying things like, “Shitty nigger, look what a crap car you have.…” Sow got out of his car when he saw someone he knew, and one of the men struck him in the face with a beer bottle. Sow permanently lost the use of his left eye in the attack. The prosecutor successfully argued that the attack was racially motivated within the meaning of the Mancino Law; the perpetrator was convicted and sentenced to four years in prison. Sow expressed his concern about racism in Italy: “All of my friends are Italian. If you’re lost, you call an Italian and he’ll come get you wherever you are to take you home. But here in Italy, there are politicians who use foreigners and incite people to hurt others. You know it, you read the newspapers, always about foreigners, foreigners. But how many Italians live outside Italy? So many. It’s the politicians who give ignorant people these ideas.”

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