St. Joseph's flames, social media threats arrive

The Feast of Saint Joseph is approaching, and with it the “tug of war” between citizens and institutions. On social media, the “mockery” has already begun: the web once again becomes a showcase for displaying one’s ‘heroic deeds,’ often carried out by minors.

In the Zen neighborhood, as in other popular districts, the approach to the Feast of Saint Joseph represents a deep-rooted tradition. In recent days, images have circulated on social media showing groups of kids engaged in collecting old furniture, wooden planks, and other materials destined for the construction of traditional piles for the bonfires. In one of the photos shared online, a group of 22 young people is seen posing in front of a large pile of wood and waste ready to be burned. The image is accompanied by press articles recounting the tensions that occurred a few days ago in the San Filippo Neri neighborhood.

“At our house, the wind can move the windows but never the flags,” reads the caption overlaid on the photograph, a statement that seems to fuel the confrontation with the institutions regarding the phenomenon of the flames. Between March 18 and 19, in fact, many squares in the capital transform into places where large bonfires are lit. This is a practice that institutions have intervened on multiple times in recent years as it is considered potentially “dangerous for safety and public order”.

For this reason, on February 27, employees of an external company commissioned by Rap attempted to remove some piles of wood accumulated on via Costante Girardengo, in Zen. However, the intervention was interrupted following verbal assaults and threats directed at the workers. Within a few minutes, to ensure their safety and prevent the situation from escalating into physical violence, the workers were forced to suspend operations and unload the bulky items they had just collected. After the incident, the president of Rap, Giuseppe Todaro, and the Environment Councillor Piero Alongi, condemned the episode, announcing a new removal intervention.

On March 6, the municipal company responsible for waste management returned to the neighborhood accompanied by the municipal police. The so-called Plan B, as it has been defined, involved the deployment of a broader array of institutional forces to proceed with the removal of bulky waste present on the streets of the neighborhood.

“The operation was carried out with two patrols of the municipal police – reads the note released by Rap – in order to ensure conditions of safety and peace for the operators engaged in the interventions.” The activities affected several streets in the neighborhood, including via Agesia di Siracusa, via Fausto Coppi, via Costante Girardengo, and via Marchese Nicolò Pensabene. A note from the municipality emphasizes that it is necessary to report those who, “with mafia-like and violent methods, attempt to obstruct the work of those who operate daily”.