«We are here, we are on the third day and we are fighting for everyone, but, as we have noticed, no one can be seen here. You can’t see the shopkeepers, you can’t see the employees, you can’t see the students, you can’t see who should represent us, you can’t see the politicians, national and regional.”
This was said by Anna Schettino, spokesperson for the farmers’ committee of Cassano, Castrovillari, Firmo and Cerchiara who, for three days, have been guarding the crossroads of the «Bianchino» locality, a strategic point in the municipality of Castrovillari where State Road 241 and Provincial Road 174 intersect. The woman, after recalling the solidarity shown by the agricultural sector during the most acute phases of Covid, when agricultural vehicles made themselves available to the community for disinfestation of the streets, he added that “now they don’t represent us, they don’t help us, not even by bringing a bottle of water. I believe that it hasn’t yet been understood that these demonstrations are not just for farmers but for all the families who no longer even make it to the 5th of the month.”
The demonstrators are asking for “help for everyone”, calling for a one-day lockout of all shops, schools and offices, “because if the companies close, the commercial and economic activities of the area will also suffer”. This morning too, alongside the farmers there are ordinary citizens who show solidarity with the demonstrators. “I’m not out of line, it’s the current context of high prices that is unsustainable,” said a regional employee. «I am not a farmer – he added – but I am close to farmers because I am a family man and I know how much the increase in fuel costs the daily budget of anyone who has to travel for work. Other garrisons are also active today in the key points of Spezzano Albanese, San Marco Argentano and in the «Piana» district on the border between Cerchiara di Calabria and Francavilla marittima.