News: Military takes over Naples garbage
Living in Italy, I am always interested in the local news. Not only for the contents, but also to get a feel of how people over here think and live their lives...
I reported in an earlier post about the garbage problem in Naples which left piles of stinking rubbish uncollected since December, due to incompetent governance and interests of the Comorra, the Mafia's local variant.
In January, the army started clearing up the piles of waste. Local waste dumps, however, were not able to handle the amounts of garbage people generated, and train loads of Napolitana trash went all over Europe. Germany is taking 200,000 tonnes of rubbish from Naples. Every day of the week a 56-wagon freight train full of rotting tomatoes and stinking nappies makes its way across the Alps to Hamburg, in northern Germany.
That was not a permanent neither a cost efficient solution. In a new phase to the Naples waste saga, the Italian army has now opened up its own waste dump near the city. 2,500 armed soldiers are sent in the further clean up the garbage and control the 'public order'. (Full)If one would by cynical, the question could be asked: the lack of local waste dumps made "waste management" a lucrative income for the local Mafia. Is the army now found a new potential source of income? Smart move! :-)
More posts on The Road about Italy.
Picture courtesy Ciro de Luca (Reuters) and EPA (Al Jazeera)
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Peter. Flemish, European, aid worker, expeditioner, sailor, traveller, husband, father, friend, nutcase. Not necessarily in that order.
5 comments:
The cynical comments should be left aside if you really want to look at the situation with a more serious mind. Current Gouvernement has decided to engage the Army mainly for security reasons, and because in the recent years there has been an escalation of crime which is a big concern for all of us living in my country; it is likely that the Army will be part of actions in support of the Police (bear in mind our Ministry of the Defence has said this operation should last only for 6 months). May be is not the right solution, however a decision has been made. We all hold hope that this can help to sort some problems out (and not only the one related to the rubbish in Naples) and may be solving them . I rather prefer to know that there is somebody of the Authorities that can ensure the minimum of safety: if this allows me and all my Country mates as well the tourists to get a bit more of freedom without fearing to go out also at night, well, welcome the Army. We are not talking about curfew, this is about protection. Please try to keep an open and positive mind and not to guese the tricky side of such important matters.
Thanks,
I would love to hear how this situation affects the residents everyday life. My daughter is moving to Naples in August and I would like some current information. Has the problem been improving? Is there really danger or is the news blowing this out of proportion? Thank you.
I am living quite far away from Naples, so would not be able to help you assessing how this affects people's daily life...
Don't think things in Naples will ever be fully under control ;-) but I am sure your daughter will be fine... Don't forget this is Italy.. there is always something somewhere going wrong... People moving here sometimes have a bit of a problem of 'letting it all hang loose'.. ;-))
P.
Dear Peter, some comments of yours about Italy are really unnecessary: what does it mean that "Don't think things in Naples will ever be fully under control ;-)" and so on? if you have that perspective of Italy being a hopeless case, why have you chosen to live here? Yes we have our problems, like other nations in Europe. Only matter they are more capable to hyde their issues. Really I don't understand how some people can judge not knowing enterely the facts.
Hi Torredelgreco,
As I said in several of my posts: I *love* Italy. In many many many ways.
But that does not mean I can not have a critical (or sometimes cynical) look at life here.
And you are right, every country and every culture has it 'funny side', which are often differences with the habits a foreigner is used to.
Living here as a foreigner, one notices those odd sides faster...
P.
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