We are a group of academics concerned about the status of citizenship in our country, Italy. An issue that concerns everyone.
We observe with extreme concern the evolution of a political situation that has introduced for the entire population a precarization of citizenship on the basis of a series of measures with a rather questionable scientific and legal grounds that are questionable and, above all, not debated.
As an instrument to achieve all this, the green pass has been adopted -in its various declinations- which has introduced the precarization of citizenship, since it can expire if the unconditional adherence to the various decrees that follow one another changing unpredictably the rules of the moment is not renewed. Being a citizen has become a fixed-term contract, moreover with undefined, arbitrary conditions that can change over time. The green pass, far from its initially declared purpose of making travel between European states manageable during a period of intense viral circulation, turns out to be a financial and economic device even before being a health protection device. “The green pass is a measure by which Italians can continue to exercise their activities with the guarantee of finding themselves among people who are not contagious” (Mario Draghi press conference, July 22, 2021). Statement that turned out to be totally false and unreliable, contradicted among other things by the number of cases among the vaccinated, and yet, passed into silence.
We have become temporary citizens.
This legislation and the way to manage the pandemic has produced a distortion in the way to manage civil rights: constitutional rights are granted upon acceptance of adherence to a vaccination campaign defined emergency but now part of a system, in times and ways continuously redefined.
“I’m getting vaccinated because I have no alternative.”
The coercion with which this imposition is being made, is disguised as a “civic” choice, and conveyed through the acceptance of an informed “consent” that in many cases becomes a disclaimer for those who de facto impose the obligation. Even where there is no obligation, it generates such a spiral of anxiety generated by the pressure to comply, with all the friction in the relational and social fabric that follow, which would be enough alone to criticize the measure. First of all, the vaccination campaign in Italy, carried out in a very virulent and intimidating way, has been activated producing hatred and deep discrimination, and not least coming even to deprive of the opportunity to work those who choose not to vaccinate (at least three times, for the moment) – a choice guaranteed by Article 32 of the Italian Constitution, as well as by Regulation 2021/353 of the European Parliament and the Council of Europe of June 14, 2021. In front of all this, the University is silent, adheres, and executes. And from February 1, 2022 slavishly implements the compulsory vaccination for all employees (structured, unstructured, teaching and technical-administrative) without promoting, indeed stigmatizing, any discussion or doubt.
What then the role of the university as an independent institution and forge of critical thought and dialectical debate? In the face of all this, we are deeply concerned. It is time to talk, to confront each other and try to get out of this situation. Also because it is inevitable to take a position, even with silence. What “reputation” does this imply for the Italian academic and research world on an international level? The vocation for openness and dialectic and inclusive confrontation of the Italian university is dying.
It is important to recover the ability to read situations consciously, to inform independently and to debate in an intellectually honest way, eschewing systematic polarization between two demagogically opposed factions and censorship. This is true both in the field of public health and in an increasingly complex international scenario such as the one that has emerged in recent weeks. The method adopted is the same and on this the University, with a capital U, can and must do a lot.
University for Rights – University of Bologna