He was insulted with racist remarks, then spat on his bike. He's 11 years old and has "the only flaw of being Italian-African," says his mother, who made public what happened to her son on Friday evening in Gioia del Colle, in the province of Bari.
The woman recounted what happened on social media after sharing her decision with the child, "so that similar incidents," she explains, "never happen again."
The little boy had gone out alone with friends for the first time. Then he met other kids, a little older than him. And that's when it all began . "It seems three of them went," his mother, who works in the social sector, told ANSA. "Then the others dropped out, and only one boy remained. The scars of this will remain, but an entire town rose up, and he felt protected. Even the mayor called him. A whole community cried foul."
" It's not the first time he's been bullied because of his skin color," the woman adds, "but this time it's gone too far ." "He's better now," the mother emphasizes, "but it was traumatic, a full-blown assault, and as the days go by, new details are emerging."
That evening, she recalls, " he came home with spit all over his body and his bike completely covered in spittle. They told him he smelled bad and other things like that. He managed to say a few words to me through his sobs. He was upset ." In the post, the woman addressed the Gioia del Colle community, explaining the importance of "sharing what happened" so that, if these dynamics of racial hatred are developing, she explains, "it's everyone's responsibility to nip them in the bud." Mayor Giovanni Mastrangelo also immediately responded by calling the child: "He's very sweet, very good. Clearly," the mayor emphasizes, "he was scared, he felt bad. But he was happy with the many expressions of solidarity that came in, even from his classmates." "It's a very bad episode," the mayor continues, "for which we will also take action as social services, to understand how it could have happened that this idea of discrimination could have developed in such a young age group. We will certainly analyze the family context."
"An episode like this has never happened in our community," he assures. "We have reception centers with refugees from Ukraine and Africa. We've never had any problems, and I don't want the city to be highlighted in a negative light now."