longbookinterview

1. WHY DID YOU WRITE THIS BOOK?

I was touring Italy in 2007 to promote the Italian translation of a previous book (The Anarchist & The Devil do Cabaret, Black Rose Books, 2003, translated into L’Anarchico e il Diavolo fanno cabaret, Editrice Il Sirente, 2007) when I first heard of the brutal attacks on Roma (‘Gypsy’) refugees in the streets and in their camps. The attacks made TV news and headlines.

Back home in Canada, I started writing about my experiences and observations and researched this story further. I returned to Italy the following year for more firsthand information. My work led me to examine the historical origins of Fascism and the problems of a mono-cultured, ethno-centric country like Italy, now post EU, undergoing profound change in a globalized 21st century.

When I visited an actual Roma refugee camp, the inhabitants said to me: ‘Please, tell the world our story.’ So I wrote the book.

Today, six years later, with the active complicity of the Italian government at all levels, neo-Fascists are viciously targeting and scapegoating Roma refugees and other visible minorities as the cause of all of Italy’s economic, political and social woes. No one knows the actual numbers of victims nor of the disappeared. I want to bring public attention to this horrific social injustice.

2. YOU DESCRIBE CAZZAROLA! AS A NOVEL WITH THREE STORIES.

My novel – a work of documentary fiction – consists of three main stories.

One, historical and chronological, follows the life of an Italian family – ‘the Discordias’ – from 1880 to the present. It details their general mistrust of authority and their ongoing resistance to Italian fascism in its manifest forms before, during and after WW II, including today.

The second story is contemporary, and explores the twists and turns of a heartbreaking, controversial and problematic love relationship between a young Italian philosopher/musician – a Discordia – and his Romanian Romani refugee girlfriend as they contend with Italy’s current xenophobic upheaval. Both stories are inspired by actual historical and current events; both follow the same family, with flash-forwards, and flashbacks. 

The third story is about the contemporary resistance to neo-fascism in Italy.

4. HOW DOES THIS LOVE-STRUCK ITALIAN BOY RESPOND?

He sees his beloved Italy, his beloved Rome, reeling under the economic pressures and vicissitudes of globalization, now transformed into a hate-filled cesspool of racial intolerance where fascist pronouncements hold sway, grandstanding politicians scapegoat the innocent, and media lies spawn more violence. Thankfully, his closest friends are supportive; his immediate family, not. His whole world changes dramatically. Yet he is the newest generation of a family that not long ago, never shirked social responsibility or balked in the face of political turmoil, that always stood its ground and wasn’t afraid to fight back. What does he do?

Like the generations before him, he wrestles with questions of moral and social responsibility. What should a concerned citizen do if they believe their government is morally and actually corrupt, politically bankrupt, and endangers the lives of those it is supposed to protect? How should citizens respond to national crises engendered by the State that threaten fundamental human values and basic freedoms they believe important to defend?

What makes some people stand up, speak out, and maintain their moral integrity, while others cower in the face of social injustices and violent, flagrant abuses of human rights? How does anyone keep a sense of the value of freedom, when all around them, no one else seems to care?  How do they respond to issues of their times when they fear for the safety and security of their loved ones? What makes some of them become actively engaged even at great risk to themselves? How do we weigh what is right, what is wrong, and act accordingly? 

5. ONE COULD CALL YOUR BOOK AN HISTORICAL NOVEL. PLEASE EXPLAIN.

The historical ‘Discordia’ family tale starts with the birth of a great, great grandfather in 1880 in a mountain village of Abruzzo. An atypical, questioning peasant, he raises an impoverished family. WWI and the urban industrial experience transform three of his sons, and lead to their implication in the dynamic social and trade union movements of early 20th century Italy. They become involved in the massive factory occupations that sweep across Italy in 1920 almost bringing the country to its knees. They suffer the repression that follows as Italy’s major power brokers enlist the help of Benito Mussolini and his Blackshirts to prevent any further social uprisings in the future. The repression is violent, widespread and effective, and garners Mussolini the support of Italy’s elite, enabling him to form a Fascist government that will rule Italy for the next two decades.

Meanwhile, everyone watches as Mussolini consolidates his power and sides with Hitler to ‘Germanize’ Italy. Anti-Jewish laws are passed. People live in terror of goon violence. Opponents are beaten, imprisoned, tortured, and disappear. Some form the first anarchist anti-fascist resistance organizations.

During the 1940s, family members are actively involved as Partisans resisting the Nazi-fascists. Post-war, they are still harassed by fascists who still remain in positions of influence in Italy. By the 1960s, family descendents are smoking dope and joining the radical Italian student movement. In the 1970s, they watch American TV, work with community groups, and recoil at the carnage wrought by neo-fascists, but blamed on anarchists and participate in radical street demonstrations where armed resistance takes place.

6. AND WHAT HAPPENS TO THE ‘DISCORDIA’ FAMILY TODAY?

By the 21st century, a new generation of ‘Discordias’ must deal with questions of globalization and immigration and their impact on Italian society. The entry of Italy into the European Union means profound changes in the social, political and economic life of the country that challenge the family, too.

The entry also of Romania into the EU leads to the migration of Romanian refugees, including members of the persecuted Roma to Italy, notably, the main love interest of one of the book’s main protagonists, Antonio Discordia. His girlfriend, Cinka Dinicu is the other. With an ultra-right wing government in power in Rome, and neo-fascists dominating local governments across the country, Italy now has to contend with some of the worst racially fuelled violence in decades, as demagogues and the media rail against newcomers. The new government is elected on a platform to rid Italy of ‘The foreign threat,’ ‘The criminal Gypsy refugees,’ ‘The Army of Evil that has invaded Italy’ (actual quotes from politicians). The family, through one member, is once again, forced to choose sides and defend its integrity and what it values.

7. HISTORICAL NOVELS WITH CURRENT LOVE ANGLES ARE ALWAYS ENTERTAINING TO READ, BUT WHY ELSE READ THIS BOOK?

I think my book makes a good read for other reasons, too. It challenges the xenophobic mentality overtaking continental Europe and other parts of the Western world. It exposes the dangers present because of the rise of neo-fascists – and we see this happening elsewhere, too, from Greece to Germany, across Europe east and west. It tells the little known story of contemporary Roma refugees, people from the ‘unwanted’ race. Even today, for example, Montreal daily newspapers – where I live – write horrendous, sensationalized stories about the threat from ‘Criminal Roma Elements’ across Canada. It’s unforgiveable, racialized stereotyping and fear-mongering. They never write about the actual threat of ‘Criminal Canadian Politicians.’

 My book tells the story about Roma refugees without a country, without a home, forced to flee again and again, searching for peace – a story that is not commonly known. In researching CAZZAROLA!, I conducted dozens of interviews with Roma and human rights activists working with them. Roma refugees in the camps spoke openly about their lives, their hopes and dreams, and how they desperately wanted things to change.

I think also, that CAZZAROLA! provides a historical context for the appearance of neo-fascism in Italy and other parts of Europe. But I also describe the multiple forms of resistance to fascism and neo-fascism, from the 1920s onward. Within the book are alternative perspectives on questions of social mores and contemporary values. I also highlight the ugly truth behind State-sponsored violence against visible minorities across Italy, a story repeating itself elsewhere in the world today. However, I portray, too, the courage of people confronted with the worst forms of violence under capitalism, whether in the workplace, or in the streets, and how they resist. The story in my book underlines the importance of ordinary people to speak up and challenge injustice in all its forms, to confront ugly racist politics and practices, and stand up for basic human rights. It also shows the power of love of one person for another, to undergo profound changes in the interest of respecting and nurturing that love.  •

(Montreal, September 21, 2013)