Are we really talking about the refusal of a Genocide?

Few days ago, Pope Francis has claimed that the Armenian Genocide, in the years 1915-16 when 1,5 million people died under the hand of the Ottoman Empire, has been the first Genocide of the 20th Century.

Armenians marched by Turkish soldiers, 1915

This declarations has caused the severe reaction of the Ankara Government. Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu tweeted: "The Pope's statement, which is far from the legal and historical reality, cannot be accepted". "Religious authorities are not the places to incite resentment and hatred with baseless allegations". 

Turkey doesn't recognize the Armenian Genocide for two kinds of reasons: from one side, it would mean the identification as killers of the Fathers of the Country (the Young Turks that were leading the Empire during the Genocide). From the other side, it could begin many trials for reimbursements from the victims’families.

Today, there are 22 States in the World that recognize the Armenia Genocide: among them, we find Argentina, Canada, Belgium, France, Italy and Russia. The US Congress has approved a motion that asks the President Obama to recognize the Genocide, but any official declaration came out about this topic.   

Are we really talking about the refusal of a Genocide?

It is not acceptable denying a Genocide. We should be shocked if Germany could say that Nazi Camps are just a lie. We should be shocked for the Armenian Genocide as well.

Turkey is a great and beautiful nation, a rising economic power and a strategic partner for Europe. But a great Country and a mature society should make it up with its past and recognize the mistakes and the horrors of the father's generations. It would release Turkey from one of the darkest page of its history and could honor the memory of those who lost their lives one hundred years ago.

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Posh low-cost shops? The way of Tiger

The ways of shopping have deeply changed in the last decade. In particular, the economic crisis has consolidated the growth of the Discount Supermarkets, but it has also left a space for some other kinds of low-cost and posh shops, like the case of Tiger.

Tiger is a variety shop originally born in Denmark. The first store opened in Copenhagen in 1995 and today the chain has 314 stores in Europe and not only (there are also 18 shops in Japan).

What is the origin of this success?

The answer is in the kinds of products sold. Tiger sells quality and fancy products at a quite low price: toys, notebooks, pens, different items for hygiene, stuff for kitchen and many other things.

With the crisis, many people cannot spend  a lot of money. The double idea of Tiger is to sell different item with a low price but that also look nice and appealing. 

It is interesting to point out that, from one side, consumers are always more oriented towards the quality and the good look of the product even if they cannot spend a lot of money. From the other, there is always the way to create a smart and creative business. Even in a such a difficult period like the one we are living in.

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Is France coming back to Monsieur Sarkozy?

The 22nd of March it took place an important Administrative Election in France.

The winner? Monsieur Sarkozy. The former President of the Republic, back to the active politics, brought his party. the UMP, to the 29% of votes, winning the elections. The Front National got the second place (25% of votes), whilst the PS got the 22%.

Is France going back to Sarkozy?

It is too early to say that. But few considerations must be done.

First, Sarkozy success in this election can be seen as the result of the weakness of the left, lead by Hollande, who has seemed completely unable to give a strong direction to France in this complex economic situation. Even if French choose him just three years ago for the Elysee. 

Moreover, even if Marine Le Pen can get a lot of votes, it is improbable that the Front National can really win the elections. And to avoid to vote for FN, maybe some French have decided to give their support to the UMP.

Anyway, the election in France are always an important litmus test for Europe. Is Eu able to give an answer to the social and economic problems that many of French, Italians, Spanish (and so on) feel? 

Apparently it seems that Brussels is just waiting, stuck within its contradictions. In the meantime, anti-European, xenophobic and racist forces are growing in every Country.     

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No rhetoric for the International Women's Day

Today is the International Women's Day. The 8th of March has been designated to celebrate the women achievements regarding social and political rights, and to remember discriminations and violence that women are still facing in the World.

It is positive to celebrate the role of women. But it is also sad that we still have to talk about gender discrimination. And the worst aspect of this celebration is listening some politicians (male) speeches, where they point out how women are important in our life, but in practice they are less available to leave space in the political system to them.

The women condition in Europe seems much better than in the rest of the World. But, just to remind some numbers:

- there is a discrepancy of salaries about 16% between women and men for the same kind of job (from 30% in Estonia till 2.5% in Slovenia);

- the women member of a Parliament are just the 20% of the total;

- considering the most important EU Members, just Germany has a female Prime Minister (Uk has had a long experience with Margaret Thatcher, France had a female premier for few months in the early 80s, whilst Italy and Spain never had a woman to lead a Government).

- in the top 50 World's Most Powerful People listed by Forbes, there are just 5 women: Angela Merkel (5th, German Prime Minister) , Janet Yellen (6th, Head of the Federal Reserve), Dilma Rousseff (31st, President of Brazil), Christine Lagarde (33th, Head of the IMF), Park Geun-hye (46th, President of South Korea).

(For some information about the violence against women, please refer to the lat post about Ozgecan Aslan).

The situation is much better than fifty years ago. But let's try to avoid rhetoric and let's go ahead to create the right condition toward a real gender equality.

Happy Women's Day 

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Miniskirts for Ozgecan

Ozgecan Aslan was a 20 years old student of Medicine, who has been murdered because she stopped a man who wanted to rape her. It happened the 11 February 2015 in the Turkish city of Mercin. This event deeply touched the public opinion.

UN Women provides impressive statistics about the violence against women. Just to mention some of them:

- 35 per cent of women worldwide have experienced either physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence;

- around 120 million girls worldwide (slightly more than 1 in 10) have experienced forced intercourse or other forced sexual acts at some point in their lives;

- between 40 and 50 per cent of women in European Union countries experience unwanted sexual advances, physical contact or other forms of sexual harassment at work.

Just in Europe, one third of women some form of physical or sexual abuse since the age of 15. And in Turkey last year 300 women have murdered. 

The worst is that in many situation the victims and their families cannot feel protected by the law.

Can something change?

Of course yes. 

And in the case of Ozgecan Aslan something actually changed. During the funeral, the women, usually behind the men in the celebrations, decided to go ahead and take the coffin against the tradition. 

And many protests have been raised all over Turkey. Many men have decided to participate in those protests dressing miniskirts. This was the invitation on Facebook:

“If a miniskirt is responsible for everything, if a miniskirt means immorality and unchastity, if a woman who wears a miniskirt is sending an invitation about what will happen to her, then we are also sending an invitation!”

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Italy - Libya: which are the real interests involved?

The situation in Libya seems getting worse and worse and also the Italian Embassy in Tripoli has closed few days ago due to the ISIS advance in the Country.

The Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs has declared that Rome is ready for a military operation under the auspices of United Nations. The official reason is that Libya is so close to Italy that Isis could become a serious problem for the national security. 

But which are the Italian interests in its former colony? Why Libya is so much more important for Rome than Syria or Iraq?

After the Libyan Independence in 1947, and even after the Gaddafi coup in 1969, the economic relationship between Rome and Tripoli have been kept strong.

The total trade between those two Countries is around 11 Billion Euro per year. It was the double just in 2008, but after the political crisis, the trade has decreased, reaching the lowest point in 2011 (when Gaddafi died), at 4.5 Billion. The main businesses are gas and oil, that represent the 90% of the total import from Libya to Italy.

Brieafly, Libya produces less than 2% of the World oil, but Italy import the 25% of its total energetic need from Tripoli; without considering the contracts got by Italian companies for the construction of bridges, streets, and the supply of arms.

That is why Rome cannot risk to lose such a partner. We will see in the next weeks and months what will happen. Let's just avoid to hide economic interests under the reasons of pace and stabilization of the area.

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Italy: the extraordinary commonplace?

Living abroad gives you the opportunity to see how deep the stereotypes about your own Country are.

Sometimes they can be an advantage. Italians, for instance, are seen as latin lovers with emotional, romantic and passionate nature. And this can be a good help in romantic affairs, even if those caractheristics are often associated with less worthy elements, like being loud, unreliable and mummy's boy.

As well, foreigners love thinking Italy as the place of the sun, the sea and the good food, but also as a Country complicated, with a byzantine political system, a weak economy and a marginal relevance in the World.

Everything false? Of course not: all those commonplaces came from some real characteristics.

So, who are the Italians? What is Italy?

Few weeks ago the Italian Government has been presented a video, entitled "Italy: the extraordinary commonplace" to show the achievements of Italy in the last century. 

So, we discover that Italy is a World leader in major infrastructures and in pharmaceutic. Italy has been also one of the first Countries to send a Satellite into orbit after US and Soviet Union and it is the World leader in the production of luxury yachts.

Without considering the role of Italy in history, culture and arts: in Italy for example, there is the highest concentration of Unesco Sites in the whole World and its movie production got the highest number of Academy Awards for foreign movies (14). 

Not so bad for a country of 60 million people, often considered weak and in a permanent and irremediable decline.

To be honest, Italy is also one of the Country with the highest tax evasion in the World, it is ranked 73rd regarding the press freedom and 69th for the corruption.

And Italians? 

Like in every Country, you can find people closer to the classic stereotype, as well very far from it.
Dreamers? Maybe. Lazy? Sometimes. Optimistic? The most part.

"What is the fatal charm of Italy? What do we find there that can be found nowhere else? I believe it is a certain permission to be human, which other places, other countries, lost long ago" - Erica Jong

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