BOLOGNA – "I am here on behalf of my family, with a pain that is difficult even to put into words, but with the strength of someone who does not want a life to be forgotten. Abderrahim was not a news story. Abderrahim was a person. He was my uncle, he was a brother, a family member, a man with a story, with feelings and with people who loved him deeply." From the steps of Salaborsa, Yossra Fakir speaks to thousands of Bologna residents who heeded the mayor's call and came to Piazza Nettuno to stand by the family of the man who died during a police intervention in the Pilastro neighborhood. At the start of the demonstration, Khadija, Abderrahim's sister, faints and falls to the ground, overwhelmed by grief, and for long minutes an eerie silence falls over the square: the woman is assisted by some doctors present in the square, then an ambulance arrives. Yossra takes the floor, flanked by Yassine Lafram, president of the Islamic Community of Bologna, who is there alongside Mayor Matteo Lepore and Regional President Michele de Pascale.
Bologna, Fakir's sister faints during the vigil in Piazza del Nettuno
"What happened has left within us pain, anger and many questions. In these hours we have seen his story reach the attention of many people, of the media and of public opinion. But for us, Abderrahim was never and will never be just a piece of news. He was a person who deserved to be heard, respected and treated with dignity." "We are asking for full light to be shed on every moment of this affair: on who was present, on who had the duty to intervene, on who bore the responsibility of protecting a life," the young woman says emphatically. "We are not here to call for hatred. We are not here to call for revenge. We are here to call for truth, justice," and, she repeats several times, "humanity, humanity."
After the gathering in the square, some of those present set off in a march toward the nearby Prefecture behind a banner reading "Against racism and state killings – Justice for Fakir. Let us abolish state and employer violence." The chant "Murderers, murderers" rises repeatedly from the crowd.
