The Community of Sant’Egidio remembers today Jerry Maslo and all the victims of racism and intolerance, gathering at 5.30 p.m. at the cemetery of Villa Literno for a commemoration at his grave, followed by a prayer vigil.

Today, 33 years after his death, Sant’Egidio invites everyone to remember Jerry Essan Masslo, the South African refugee, friend and guest of our Community at the end of the eighties, who was killed for a robbery in the poor shack where he lived with his companions for the tomato harvest. His murder shocked Italy, provoking the first major anti-racist demonstration in October 1989 and prompting the first legislative measures against immigrants.

At a difficult time, which has seen new acts of racism and the very serious murder of Alika, a Nigerian woman, in Civitanova Marche, we do not want to forget the plight of foreign workers exploited in the countryside and forced to live in more than precarious housing. In the face of the feelings of intolerance and the preaching of hatred that all too often circulates on social networks, we must instead build a future of peace, justice and integration for all.

Appointment at 5.30 p.m. on Wednesday 24 August at the Villa Literno cemetery, in memory of Jerry Essan Masslo and the many migrants who died in various circumstances while working in the fields of Italy.