What We Must Understand in the Brutal Murder of a Nigerian Man in Italy

On July 19 an Italian man brutally beat 39-year-old Nigerian man Alika Ogorchukwu who, due to a physical disability required him to use a crutch.?

I refer to Ogorchukwu’s disability to emphasize that he could not fight back or defend himself so was beaten to death with his crutch on a busy street in Italy's Adriatic beach town with onlookers filming the attack with no attempt to intervene physically.

Video footage of the attack circulated widely on the news and social media. Like many around the world, I watched in horror at the unfolding act of unfathomable brutality in broad daylight, in sight of onlookers.?

The immediate and persistent reaction from the Italian authorities has been to refute the attack as racially motivated. I am hoping at some point Italy would get to the point of reflecting on what it says about the country and its people that they can watch a physically disabled man being beaten to death and do nothing.

I have visited Italy twice. The first time was in 2012 while attending a workshop in Turin. I recall the unpleasant experience of a Kenyan female colleague and I while waiting outside the mall at night to get a cab back to our hotel. To our horror a security guard came at us demanding we could not stand close by, it was terrible. There were a few white people around, but we were the only two targeted.

The second time was in 2019. This time I was on vacation in Rome. Again I was left with discomfort from the seething hostility I saw meted out to Africans, and the stoic resignation of how Africans in Italy received it.

I recall a Nigerian young man would wait for me close to my Airbnb apartment around the Colosseum to ask for financial assistance. He told me on one occasion that he was too stranded to even find his way back home. There are 1.5 million Nigerians who are stranded in Italy because they have no passport to leave the country. Life for Nigerians in Italy is a living hell.

I am giving these examples to lay out the context within which an African man would be beaten to death while Italian passersby did not care to intervene.?

An?independent UN body concluded in 2021 that Italy failed to protect the “right to life” of more than 200 migrants and refugees who died when the boat they were on capsized in the Mediterranean Sea. According to the Human Rights Committee, Italy “failed to respond promptly to various distress calls from the sinking boat, which was carrying more than 400 adults and children”.?

From January to September 2021, it is estimated that 1,369 migrants died while crossings the Mediterranean Sea. In 2020 the estimated number of fatalities is 1.400. These figures are estimations as they do not include those who drowned and were never found. Between 2014 and 2018, about 12 thousand people who drowned were never found. We can safely say that at least 20,000 migrants have drowned while crossing the Mediterranean in the last 10 years.?

Many EU governments have been under intense pressure from anti-immigration groups and citizens for years, leading to the growing popularity of France’s Front National or Britain’s UK Independence Party, and Italy’s Northern League. We see the growth of this far-right movement reflected in the fate of African migrants to Italy and the treatment of Africans in Italy.?

There have been varied reactions from fellow Africans to news releases about the treatment of African migrants in Italy. Part of that outrage is Africans in the continent questioning and appalled that Africans are willing to subject themselves to living in conditions below the standards of living in Africa.

Many have raised concerns regarding Africans engaging in livelihoods they would not engage in within Africa. I am not here to make that judgment call, one way or the other.??

In my posts, I aim to present the facts on how narratives are skewed and abused to justify the exploitation of Africa, and that is what I am aiming for here.

The fact is that Italians traveled from Italy to settle around the world long before Nigerians traveled to settle around the world. More Italians have settled around the world than Nigerians have.?

The fact of the matter is that nations around the world have traveled to settle everywhere. We expect equal rights for Africans globally. The continuous complaint from Europe regarding the influx of migrants from Africa is only skewing a narrative to perpetuate the continued exploitation of Africa and its people.?

Here are some facts to contextualize the murder of a Nigerian in Italy while Italians watched.

We are bombarded non -stop on Italy’s burden in carrying the weight of migrants coming to its shores.?Listening to this constant berating of African migrants migrating through Italy, one would be distracted from the fact that Italians sent out one of the highest numbers of migrants from its shores. Italians more than any other have benefited from a generous global migrant culture.?

I visited Kenya’s coastal town of Malindi extensively from 2009-2019, I was impressed by the number of Italians living in this town and how they have successfully established a home in the coastal African town. Italians arrived in the historic coastal city of Kenya’s Malinda more than 30 years ago, attracted by Malindi’s climate and wide beaches. Since then, the Italian population in Malinda continues to rise rapidly and today, around 4, 000 Italians are permanent residents in Kenya’s Malindi town alone. 30,000 tourists visit Kenya’s Malindi each year from Italy.?Many chose to stay.

These Italians are called tourists, not migrants. When Italians were asked why they’ve chosen to settle in Malindi they said: “Malindi’s good weather and its friendly people make the place just addictive. Italian holiday makers who come to Malindi for the first time are so overwhelmed by its beauty they often come back, some come back to stay forever.” )Why Italians Fell in Love with Malindi - Kenyans.co.ke)?

Many Italians who’ve decided to stay in Kenya have established successful businesses in the tourism industry in Kenya.

As of January 2021, about 100,000 Italians lived in Africa. In 2020 while thousands of Africans were drowning in the Mediterranean sea by embarking on illegal migration routes (as they were not being issued visas), 3,200 Italians moved to Africa. These Italians were issued appropriate travel facilitation to come to Africa.

Every year, the number of Italians reported to live abroad has constantly been on the rise.?In 2021, 5.7 million Italians lived outside of the country. This is at least 10 percent of the country’s population.?(Italians living in Africa by duration 2021 | Statista)

On the reverse side of the migrant movement. The conditions for sub-Sahara African migrant workers on farms in Italy have been described as ‘slave-like’, by the media. The lives of sub-Sahara Africans overall in Italy, even outside the farms are appalling.

Many Italians living across Africa continue to live peacefully, safely, and in affluence in Africa.?We are glad that Africa is generous enough to give Italians homes in the continent.?

We hope Italy can aspire to do the same for Africans in Italy.