There is now shooting in Cosenza. The residents of the Autostazione area are terrified after the night of fire that disturbed Saturday evening in the heart of the City of Bruzi. Gunshots, at eye level. A glimpse into the serenity of the Cosenza people. A relative serenity, especially in those parts. Because the bus station has been a dangerous place for years. But until now it had never come this far. This is the reason that pushed residents to write to Mayor Caruso, who in the aftermath of the shooting strongly condemned what happened.
The letter from the residents
Dear Mayor,
as residents of the bus station area we wish to clearly express the profound discomfort and concern for what happened on Saturday. The shooting is not an isolated episode, nor an “unforeseen” event: it is the umpteenth consequence of a situation of degradation which for years has been ignored or addressed only with emergency interventions. Increasing public order controls may be a useful immediate measure, but it does not solve the structural problem. The bus station area has now become a ghetto: open-air dealing at any time, poor lighting, lack of social protection, urban abandonment. The elderly are afraid to leave the house; many people avoid the area because they feel the total lack of safety. Saturday’s shooting was the straw that broke the camel’s back, but the camel had been full for some time. The residents’ request is not just “more controls”, but rather a true urban and social redevelopment of the entire area: adequate lighting, decoration, constant presence of social workers, recovery of public spaces, projects that restore dignity to the neighborhood and make it livable. Security policies cannot be limited to repression: a broader, concrete and lasting vision is needed. We hope that the administration wants to address the issue at its root, listening to those who actually live in that area.