A children's school book in Italy is at the center of controversy, due to descriptions of migrants that have been seen as discriminatory and racist.
A controversy arose in Italy following the publication on the internet of parts of an elementary school textbook with comments considered to be racist and discriminatory against foreigners and migrants.
The passage in question reads: "The presence of foreigners, above all from Asian and North African countries, has increased. Many are hosted in refugee assistance centers and are illegals, which means their stay in Italy isn't authorized by the law. In our cities migrants often live in precarious conditions: they can't find a job, not even humble or heavy, nor decent housing. That's why their integration is difficult: for economic and social reasons, residents often consider them a threat to their own well-being and show intolerance towards them".
Italian Education Minister Valeria Fedeli said she will ask the Italian Publishers' Association to make an appropriate review.
Online and political outcry
The paragraph is contained in the book "Diventa Protagonista" (Become a Protagonist) and was denounced online by former Lampedusa Mayor Giusi Nicolini. "These books were adopted to train citizens on questions of intolerance. Who chose this book?" tweeted Nicolini, the former mayor of an island that has been welcoming migrants for years. Current politicians also reacted swiftly.
The Democratic Party (PD) presented a formal inquiry to the Education Minister asking how she intends to intervene, because "it's serious that in a primary school book a series of simplifications is made by which nearly all migrants are undocumented illegals and integration is a threat to the well-being of Italian citizens". The Greens Party called on Minister Fedeli to "pull the book immediately" and to "advise as a textbook 'Racism Explained to My Daughter' by Tahar Ben Jelloun".
On the contrary, Northern League leader Matteo Salvini defended the book's content. "In school, you can't say illegals? Are we in a free country or a regime? Are just do-gooders and hypocrisy allowed in class? Get your hands off this book, get your hands off children. Personally, I will buy at least 100 copies of the 'criminal' textbook to distribute to teachers and children," Salvini said.
Reports to the Italian Publishers' Association
Minister Fedeli spoke on the matter by that evening. "The Education Ministry has an open channel with the Italian Publishers' Association (AIE) through which we will transmit all reports we've received so that it can make the necessary checks," she said. "Education takes place with verified data, with objective content, with respectful language," she said. "We need to provide students with objective, analytical and in-depth tools, otherwise it's bad education," she said.