Florence, 3.12.2001

School Strikes across Italy

Italy has been struck by a wave of secondry school strikes, occupations and protests. Students are angered by Letizia Moratti, the minister for education's attempts at privatisations and reforms. Massive protests have been taking place in Rome, Milan, Naples and Florence. Here in Florence the strike is 100% in the city and most of the schools in the suburbs.

The students are organised by a loose network of which anyone can go and represent their school. There are no elections and the organisation is extremely informal. The meetings are noisy and little is agreed on, but enough to know what they're against and to organise mass occupations.

In one school we visited, the Galileo Classical school, students were defiant. "We have no fear of the police we are too many," said one sixteen year old. "We hate Berlusconi and we hate Moratti, she is typical of this goverment," said another. They intend to occupy the school for two weeks to highlight the issue. The school has been holding concerts and informal meetings. One of the most amazing things about it is the organisation throughout the schools; there has been no theft or vandalism.

In many schools around the country, students are experimenting in "self government" where some classes continue but students run everything in the school. According to the students "Teachers haven't been making too much noise (about us)", because they oppose the reforms too. As well as opposing the cut-backs and privatisations, the students are looking for more say in the running of their own education and "space" within the school where they can meet and socialise.

The highlight of the protests here was Minister Moratti's visit to Florence last Tuesday where she was met by a defiant demonstration of 12,000 school students. So far in Florence there have been no evictions of students. In Pisa, however, two schools were evicted and there was a report in Liberazione of violence used against one girl.

The occupations and strikes are beginning to finish up now. But as Moratti continues to attack students and the students gain in confidence there will definitely be more to come.

Henry Silke and Fabrizio Cucchi
Florence 3 December 2001

 
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