On the eve of the congress, "worrying and unexpected proposals to amend the Statute would seriously undermine the participation of young people and women in the democratic life of the Federation." This is how the document begins, reflecting the most bitter tensions within FASI, the common home of our emigrants in Italy. The public complaint was published online on "By(e) Sardegna," the portal for "those who left" and "those who stayed," but was also sent to President Alessandra Todde, the Executive Committee, and the Council. "Given the gravity of the situation."

The letter

The internal conflict is detailed in two pages, with the aim of defending the right to vote: in Fasi, women and young people, who increasingly represent the backbone of emigration, are at risk of losing it. To put it in the law of numbers, in each of the sixty-eight districts into which the Federation is divided, a woman and a young person represent two of the four electors called to choose the president at the congress. And the eighth is about to open in Alghero in a handful of days, on October 16th (until the 19th).

The signal

The rebellion against vote-stealing can be found on the same online site. From Milan to Florence, from Vicenza to Saronno, from Rome to Biella, around thirty clubs and associations have already "expressed opposition to the proposed amendment to the Statute." Last October 3rd, "without warning," the revision was requested by the outgoing president and re-election candidate, Bastianino Mossa, who also aims to change the "Implementing and Congress Regulations." This would effectively reduce "the participation of young people and women in the highest body of FASI" to a "purely theatrical" role: they would all be "extras, unable to participate in the decision-making processes, of which they would become mere passive spectators."

The effects

Today, the balance is very different: at the congress, each club has four votes, including, in addition to the woman and the young person, the delegate elected by the assembly and the president. With the changes to the Statute and regulations, only the president would retain the right to cast a vote. Delegates would also end up on the excluded list, with a further implication: "They too would lose the ability to present their candidacy and would be confined to their respective coordination bodies." To give an idea of the upheaval, the number of voters would drop from over 270 to about seventy.

The reflections

"Gender equality and youth participation are pillars of any democratic society with a vision for the present and the future. Women and young people contributed to the creation of the Federation and are an integral and fundamental part of its history. It is deeply saddening to note that such a proposal arises precisely from the world of Sardinian emigration, made up primarily of young people and women." The current coordinators are Sara Nicole Cancedda and Rita Danila Murgia, whose signatures appear at the bottom of the letter of complaint. "We could," is the final message, "offer many considerations on the proposed changes we firmly oppose. But here we want to limit ourselves to the central point: defending the democratic life of FASI, our Federation." Todde, the Executive Committee, and the councilors are asked to do their part by "taking a stand" to defend "those 13,000 Sardinians who between 2021 and 2023 alone left everything, home and family, to study or look for work."

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