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Why is this Somali fighter being honored in Italy?August 23, 2020In our series of letters from African correspondents, Ismael Ainansh explores how some Italians assess their former colonial power in Africa.Earlier this month, the regional government of Rome named a railway station in the Italian capital in honour of Giorgio Marincol, an Italian-Somali who served in the Italian army.(On May 4, 1945, two days after Germany formally surrounded Italy at the end of World War II, he was killed while defending himself against Nazi troops firing on a checkpoint. He was only 21.The station, which is currently under construction, is named Amba Aradam-Ipponio, a reference to an Italian campaign in Ethiopia in 1936, when rebels brutally used chemical weapons as a war crime, known as the Battle of Amba Aradam.The Battle of Amba Aladán, illustrated by Achille Beltrame, from La Domenica del Corriere, 1 March 1936The name change follows a campaign launched in June in the wake of Black Lives Matter protests around the world following the killing of George Floyd by US police.The group was started by journalist Massimiliano Coccia and is supported by Black Lives Matter activists, other journalists and Italian-Somali author Igiabo Scego and his nephew, writer Antar Marincola.People campaigning for him first put up a poster at this railway station saying that such a place cannot be called “oppression” and sought to name it after Malinkola to commemorate his beautiful life.Ashkiro Hassan and her son Giorgio in Somalia, circa 1925Known as a “partigiano neroor,” or “black fighter,” he was an active member of the resistance.In 1953 he was awarded Italy’s highest military decoration, the Medaglia d’Oro al Valor Militare, in recognition of his efforts and outstanding achievements.Malinkola was born in 1923 in Mahadaay, a small town on the Shabelle River north of Mogadishu, formerly known as Italian Somaliland.His mother, Ashkiro Hassan, was Somali and his father was Italian officer Giuseppe Marincola.Giuseppe Marincola (left) poses with two Somalis in SomaliaAt that time, Italian colonists realized that they had fathered children with Somali women.But Giuseppe Marincola later broke the habit by bringing his son and daughter Isabella to Italy to live with his family.Isabella continued to work as an actress, most notably in the 1949 broadcast of Riso Amaro.Giorgio Marincola was also a genius who excelled in school in Rome and later enrolled in the faculty of medicine.During his studies, he became very interested in anti-fascist novels and in 1943 he decided to join the resistance movement, while his country of birth was still under Italian rule.George MalinkolaParty raceThe struggle led me to bring freedom and justice to people all over the world. That is why I fought against colonialists. ”But anti-racism activists want more than just to rename the train station after Marincola, they also want more information about Italy’s colonial history.A statue of famous Italian journalist and writer Indro Montanelli is painted with red paint during an anti-racism protest in Milan, Italy, June 14, 2020They wanted the writers in Rome to go ahead and begin the process of liberating the city.Earlier, during a Black Lives Matter protest in Milan, a statue of controversial journalist Indro Montanelli, who defended colonialism and admitted to marrying a 12-year-old Eritrean girl during the military occupation in the 1930s, was vandalized.However, in order to achieve real change, the past needs to be understood.Italian History in East Africa:1890: Italian revolution takes over Eritrea and declares it a protectorate.1895: Italy invades Ethiopia, calling it Abyssinia1896: Italian and Ethiopian troops are defeated at Adwa – they sign a treaty recognizing the country’s independence.1889: Somalia Italy establishes a protectorate in central Somalia1935: Fascist Italy invades Ethiopia, accusing it of war crimes and using chemical weapons in the campaign.1936: Italians capture Addis Ababa. Ethiopia, Eritrea and Italian Somaliland become Italian East Africa1937: In February, Italian troops killed about 19,000 people over three days in Addis Ababa in retaliation for an assassination attempt by the man Mussolini appointed to rule the area.1941: British and Commonwealth forces, aided by local resistance, defeat the Italians in the area.The most serious problem at present seems to be the collective forgetting of Italy’s colonial history.In the years I’ve been covering the country, I’ve always been struck by how few Italians seem to know about their colonial past, whether I’m in Rome, Palermo or Venice.The extent of Italy’s involvement in Eritrea, Somalia, Libya and Albania, and Benito Mussolini’s occupation of Ethiopia in the 1930s, is unclear.Last month, Somalia celebrated its 60th anniversary of independence.After 30 years of conflict, all memory of the colonial days has disappeared – except in the kitchen, where food contains “sugar sauce” – a sauce added to pasta.Renaming this place Malinkola is an important step for all of us – a worthy reminder for all Italians and the long-standing relationship between Italy and Somalia.
Why is this Somali fighter being honored in Italy?
August 23, 2020
In our series of letters from African correspondents, Ismael Ainansh explores how some Italians assess their former colonial power in Africa.
Earlier this month, the regional government of Rome named a railway station in the Italian capital in honour of Giorgio Marincol, an Italian-Somali who served in the Italian army.
(On May 4, 1945, two days after Germany formally surrounded Italy at the end of World War II, he was killed while defending himself against Nazi troops firing on a checkpoint. He was only 21.
The station, which is currently under construction, is named Amba Aradam-Ipponio, a reference to an Italian campaign in Ethiopia in 1936, when rebels brutally used chemical weapons as a war crime, known as the Battle of Amba Aradam.
The Battle of Amba Aladán, illustrated by Achille Beltrame, from La Domenica del Corriere, 1 March 1936
The name change follows a campaign launched in June in the wake of Black Lives Matter protests around the world following the killing of George Floyd by US police.
The group was started by journalist Massimiliano Coccia and is supported by Black Lives Matter activists, other journalists and Italian-Somali author Igiabo Scego and his nephew, writer Antar Marincola.
People campaigning for him first put up a poster at this railway station saying that such a place cannot be called “oppression” and sought to name it after Malinkola to commemorate his beautiful life.
Ashkiro Hassan and her son Giorgio in Somalia, circa 1925
Known as a “partigiano neroor,” or “black fighter,” he was an active member of the resistance.
In 1953 he was awarded Italy’s highest military decoration, the Medaglia d’Oro al Valor Militare, in recognition of his efforts and outstanding achievements.
Malinkola was born in 1923 in Mahadaay, a small town on the Shabelle River north of Mogadishu, formerly known as Italian Somaliland.
His mother, Ashkiro Hassan, was Somali and his father was Italian officer Giuseppe Marincola.
Giuseppe Marincola (left) poses with two Somalis in Somalia
At that time, Italian colonists realized that they had fathered children with Somali women.
But Giuseppe Marincola later broke the habit by bringing his son and daughter Isabella to Italy to live with his family.
Isabella continued to work as an actress, most notably in the 1949 broadcast of Riso Amaro.
Giorgio Marincola was also a genius who excelled in school in Rome and later enrolled in the faculty of medicine.
During his studies, he became very interested in anti-fascist novels and in 1943 he decided to join the resistance movement, while his country of birth was still under Italian rule.
George Malinkola
Party race
The struggle led me to bring freedom and justice to people all over the world. That is why I fought against colonialists. ”
But anti-racism activists want more than just to rename the train station after Marincola, they also want more information about Italy’s colonial history.
A statue of famous Italian journalist and writer Indro Montanelli is painted with red paint during an anti-racism protest in Milan, Italy, June 14, 2020
They wanted the writers in Rome to go ahead and begin the process of liberating the city.
Earlier, during a Black Lives Matter protest in Milan, a statue of controversial journalist Indro Montanelli, who defended colonialism and admitted to marrying a 12-year-old Eritrean girl during the military occupation in the 1930s, was vandalized.
However, in order to achieve real change, the past needs to be understood.
Italian History in East Africa:
1890: Italian revolution takes over Eritrea and declares it a protectorate.
1895: Italy invades Ethiopia, calling it Abyssinia
1896: Italian and Ethiopian troops are defeated at Adwa – they sign a treaty recognizing the country’s independence.
1889: Somalia Italy establishes a protectorate in central Somalia
1935: Fascist Italy invades Ethiopia, accusing it of war crimes and using chemical weapons in the campaign.
1936: Italians capture Addis Ababa. Ethiopia, Eritrea and Italian Somaliland become Italian East Africa
1937: In February, Italian troops killed about 19,000 people over three days in Addis Ababa in retaliation for an assassination attempt by the man Mussolini appointed to rule the area.
1941: British and Commonwealth forces, aided by local resistance, defeat the Italians in the area.
The most serious problem at present seems to be the collective forgetting of Italy’s colonial history.
In the years I’ve been covering the country, I’ve always been struck by how few Italians seem to know about their colonial past, whether I’m in Rome, Palermo or Venice.
The extent of Italy’s involvement in Eritrea, Somalia, Libya and Albania, and Benito Mussolini’s occupation of Ethiopia in the 1930s, is unclear.
Last month, Somalia celebrated its 60th anniversary of independence.
After 30 years of conflict, all memory of the colonial days has disappeared – except in the kitchen, where food contains “sugar sauce” – a sauce added to pasta.
Renaming this place Malinkola is an important step for all of us – a worthy reminder for all Italians and the long-standing relationship between Italy and Somalia.
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