On 18 June 2006 was approved by the City Council of San Giovanni in Fiore the Regulation which establishes the “Emigrated Consult” for the citizens of the City of San Giovanni in Fiore living out in the whole world.
It should have been an advisory body of democratic representation of our emigrated.
It should have been a decisive path to intensify the relations among our emigrated, institutions and the local community: the possibility of building an ideal bridge between the homeland and the land of welcome, including their roots and their present.
Well, after seven and a half years since the establishment of the Emigrated Municipal Consult, analysis of results and goals not achieved in relations with the community of emigrated of San Giovanni in Fiore are simply, and this is under everybody’s eyes, a big failure.
More than a council for emigrated seems to be a council of politicians, of the friends for friends!
San Giovanni in Fiore has been and continues to be the city of emigration par excellence.
According to the latest data we have about eight thousand five hundred emigrated with the right to vote.
If we consider the people from San Giovanni in Fiore all over the world, we have a population about three times the local community of the original City. Our citizens emigrated can no longer be considered secondary citizens. They cannot only be useful during vote and election periods and then forgotten as if they no longer existed. It is with our emigrated that we build our communities and our society of the future, even and especially in times of economic crisis.
It’s true! On our emigrated has been written everything and more, people fought and still fight for their rights, but today, even with more awareness, our emigration can no longer be regarded as a negative phenomenon, but resource! The old levees must be broken and go out among the emigrated citizens to face up to their needs and enhance their resources that are also ours.
It is immediately necessary to put hand to a farraginous Regulation! It is necessary to change several articles for the efficient and effective functioning of the consulting!
We need a new proposal leaner, more effective, taking into account especially the experiences and skills of aspiring members of the council.
It should be recalled that the Article 3 of the Italian Constitution speaks of “equal citizenship”, in example of inclusive equality, that cannot exclude in this case, the citizens of San Giovanni in Fiore, residing abroad and not, just from being represented in our Administration Hall, which is the representation of the interests of the whole community and society of San Giovanni in Fiore.
As of today, here in San Giovanni in Fiore, this type of Consult has proved to be totally useless and that has only election value, hoping to hook approval of our emigrated citizens, only and in view of future political consultations and elections. It is necessary to close with the old patterns and dare to experience new roads.
The forms of association and the communities of our citizens in all Italy and abroad are increasing with awareness and it is, therefore, necessary a stronger involvement of the same in the Consult.
For this reason we must, quickly, to revise the criteria and modalities of representation of the relationship with the public administration, considering the current ones no longer appropriate to the ongoing social transformations.
I am convinced that the proposed regulations should be revised and modified in such a way that the Consult can operate broader and more far-sighted.
The emigrated of San Giovanni in Fiore in Italy and abroad, should be more and more united spiritually and materially to the citizens of San Giovanni in Fiore and Calabria, the Consult must be a permanent tool to identify, contact, survey, highlighting the “resource” emigration, having as a goal the improvement of our land, cultural heritage, in order to flourish craft projects and typical food, to realize the best business ideas, and give our best intellectual talents the chance to explode and realize. This should be done both within our community and in our area that in the Countries of our emigrated abroad and in the cities of residence of emigrated in Italy.
It would be necessary, according to the Rules, a true “Executive Committee” composed of emigrated of San Giovanni in Fiore in Italy and abroad with a president chosen from among them and with the presence of a representative of each local authority in Calabria. Most likely it would work better and in a consistent manner in order to achieve those many ideas, initiatives and proposals that are still in the drawers and waiting to be pulled out.
We cannot waste time, We need to be constructive and purposeful!
The Consult should be always a lighthouse for our emigrated citizens of San Giovanni in Fiore, an opportunity to let grow our economy, our culture and our tourism. Should be an opportunity to solve the many problems that the emigration of our citizens has, but it should be mostly the “Consult of the Emigrated” with a fair regulation, equitable and compatible with the needs of our emigrated citizens, empowering and let everybody work to make that leap and make that much-needed development and welfare of our city, region, our community, and especially the City of Joachim of Fiore.
Peter John Spadafora