Idy Diene's murder

On Monday morning, 5 March, just before noon, Roberto Perrone, a retired Italian citizen, killed Idy Diene by shooting him six times. He told police that he had intended to commit suicide but, lacking the courage to do so, decided to shoot the Diene, a Senegalese, instead.

The demonstration

Five days after the crime, a demonstration in memory of Diene was held in Florence. Several thousand people attended the anti-racist demonstration, which started at Piazza Santa Maria Novella and passed over the Vespucci Bridge – the place where Diene was killed – before returning to Piazza Santa Maria Novella.

It was a calm, non-violent demonstration, only interrupted by shouts of support. Shouts of “Justice, justice!” and “Peace, peace!” were common during the march.

A city united against discrimination

Many local association and several Senegalese representatives participated to demonstration, and all of them agreed to take a firm stand against race-driven violence.

During the demonstration, the mayor of Florence, Dario Nardella, gave a speech proclaiming the city in mourning and reminding its citizens that the city stands against racism and discrimination in any form.

Many Senegalese used the occasion to honor the memory of Samb Modou and Diop Mor, both killed in Florence by Gianluca Casseri, a right-wing activist, in 2011.

Concern in the Senegalese community

"We are experiencing a very difficult situation, in seven years we've had three deaths in the city. We are afraid and the situation is tense. We are trying to overcome it, but it is not easy," said Mamadou Sall, a 48-year-old Senegalese trade unionist based in Florence.

Even if foreigners feel accepted by the city, they believe that institutions should be more inclusive towards them. Some of them say they have even started to fear for their lives when walking through the city.

"I trusted this country, but now I am afraid when I send my children to school because I fear they will not come back home," says Nassira Kamara, a cultural mediator from Mali. In 2011, she was just a few meters away from a shooting that killed the two Senegalese citizens.

"When I heard that Idy had been killed, I left work early," Kamara said. "I was very shocked, because 7 years ago I could have been one of the victims. Yet I remain confident. We have to sit around a table, talk, understand what has changed and how we can improve it together. Here we live, work, study, pay taxes. We are also a part of Italy."