Below is a video report about a recent culture-enriching incident in Italy. A Pakistani molested a 14-year-old girl in a neighborhood of Salerno. The angry locals tried to lynch the perpetrator, who holed up in the asylum center until the police arrived.

The parish priest, however, is more tolerant and inclusive about the “outsiders”. He hopes for better “integration”. He even believes that “by their presence they enrich us”.

Many thanks to par0 for the translation, and to Vlad Tepes for the subtitling:

See the news article from Corriere del Mezzogiorno (in Italian) for more.

Transcript:

0:34 Do they live here? — Yes, they do.

0:37 They don’t make trouble do they? Do they bother you?

0:41 Until today, no. The neighbourhood doesn’t want them any more.

0:47 This is the third or fourth time that this has happened, and yesterday…?

0:53 No, yesterday I was working when I saw that one in front of me.

0:59 but the area (??) because there are many young girls, many little girls, and it’s continuous,

1:06 in the bus, from the balcony.

1:10 Have there been other episodes that worried you?

1:14 Yes, they took photos of the young girls on the bus.

1:18 One girl saw her photo on a telephone,

1:21 and a guy on the bus, let’s say, accosted her on the bus,

1:30 and told the young girls, “Let’s meet up later.”

1:35 (incomprehensible)

1:40 Are these old stories or have they happened other times?

1:44 As far as I know this is the third or fourth time. We have already been up there before

1:49 to discuss this with them. — The neighbourhood says “enough, we don’t want you here any more”?

1:53 No we don’t — but not just the neighbourhood — Italy doesn’t want them any more.

2:00 They must go.

2:05 They must do something about those upstairs, send them away.

2:10 Yes, following other episodes, at this moment

2:17 surely everything tells us that we must try to pay more attention to local sensibilities of the area.

2:28 Surely the events that have happened have to be condemned,

2:35 and are not excusable in a civilization like ours.

2:40 Our area is a difficult one.

2:43 It’s a neighbourhood that lives with many difficulties, an area in which integration is difficult.

2:48 Obviously this makes me think that our efforts should redouble.

3:01 and I wait to hear all the details about this event,

3:06 of what happened yesterday evening,

3:09 to see what assistance I can offer on behalf of my parish.

3:15 It seems to me that it is mainly the young who show this level of intolerance towards these refugees?

3:22 Yes, certainly I noticed that, speaking to them, meeting up with them.

3:29 At times this is evident in the young, but I believe it also derives from the family situation they come from,

3:37 that doesn’t educate them to welcome or tolerate strangers.

3:41 It seems that the “other” is always a threat,

3:46 and it is true that there are difficult situations.

3:50 It’s true that sometimes, hearing the young peoples’ comments,

3:54 it seems that whoever comes from outside wants to steal, but they don’t steal anything.

4:04 I am of the opinion that instead they give us something; even by their presence they enrich us.

4:11 Possibly this incident has something to do with what happened in Cologne on New Year’s Eve,

4:17 and that they thought something similar would happen here.

4:20 Do you think this might have influenced the people of Matiemo?

4:23 Sometimes yes, sometimes the news reports are blown out of proportion,

4:29 but I don’t think we are at those levels.

4:32 But I must say that at a parish level we are trying to move forward to better integrate these outsiders.

4:41 Yesterday, indeed — I am upset that this incident happened on the same day

4:45 that we were offering lunch to people who were on their own,

4:48 people whom nobody welcomes.

4:51 We offered a lunch in the church of San Giovanni a Capelle,

4:58 where volunteers served people in the parish prepared food,

5:01 for people on their own. They chatted with them and made them feel welcome after Christmas,

5:08 because at Christmas everyone does something.

5:11 Yes, indeed, because with our parish “Caritas” we attempt to welcome, integrate and then

5:22 as an educating community, because we want to be close to the families.

5:27 We try to intercept these young people, to get them interested in something,

5:30 get them involved in healthy activities.