Report
Italy mourns young stabbing victim who came to a woman’s defense
The president of the Veneto region called for ‘a stronger law enforcement presence.’ This is the exact opposite of what Jack would have wanted: he was one of the activists calling for a radically different approach to urban ‘security’ issues.
There are those who won’t look the other way. Giacomo Gobbato, or “Jack” as he was known to his friends at the Rivolta community center, was one of them. The stab wound to the chest he received as he tried to defend a woman from an attacker proved fatal. Jack, 26, died soon after he was taken to hospital. The friend who was with him, Sebastiano Bergamaschi, 25, was wounded in the leg but survived.
It all happened on Friday, shortly after 11 p.m., on the very central Corso del Popolo, Mestre's main street. The street was once teeming with life and activity. But nowadays – after Venice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro's “cure” that cut all the city's social services and harm reduction facilities and replaced them with his own idea of “security” consisting of tasers, guns and policemen who look like bar bouncers – Corso del Popolo has become a regional hub of drug dealing and violence. On their way home from a birthday party, Jack and Seba heard a girl screaming and trying to resist a robber who was attempting to steal her backpack.
The two young men immediately came to her defense, but the attacker was armed with a knife and stabbed both of them in the scuffle, wounding Saba in the leg and dealing Jack a fatal wound. Residents called the local EMTs, but their efforts couldn’t save his life. The attacker, a Moldovan national in his mid-40s with no previous history with law enforcement, was arrested minutes after the attack as he tried to rob a young Asian woman on nearby Via Aleardi.
Jack was 26 years old, working as a tattoo artist at a studio in Vicenza, Electric Tiger House. He was also an excellent reggae musician. He was supposed to play on Saturday night with his band at Veneto Blaze, scheduled to take place at the Rivolta community center. On Saturday afternoon, Jack's parents and friends, along with many citizens of Mestre and Venice, gathered to remember him at the place where he was killed, carrying a large banner that read “For Giacomo, for us. Let's take back the city.” His friend Seba, who had just been discharged from the hospital, also attended and delivered a tearful memorial for his friend. Earlier in the morning, someone had already laid bouquets of flowers and a scarf of Venezia, the soccer team Jack was a fan of, on the sidewalk.
“It is a time of grief for us,” reads the statement from Revolt. ”Too much grief, a grief that takes away our power of speech. We will find a way to say everything we’re thinking and feeling. Soon. Right now, we will only say that we demand not to be used by those who are sowing hatred. There is a perpetrator. It is one person, an individual. It doesn't matter where he was born or what color his skin is. We do not accept political exploitation. We do not accept it for Giacomo, who will always be with all of us, and for Sebastiano, who is heartbroken. We owe this to Giacomo, who throughout his young life has fought for an inclusive, multicultural, anti-racist society.”
Even such overwhelming grief did not quiet those who exploit tragedies, who filled up social media with drivel such as: “What? Your own human resources turned against you?”, and worse. The mayor of Venice expressed his condolences, reiterated his confidence in law enforcement and said he was reserving the right to “express my sorrow and convictions” about the incident sometime in the future.
Condolences also came from the President of the Veneto region, Luca Zaia (Lega), who did not refrain from taking the opportunity to stress the need for “a stronger law enforcement presence.” This is the exact opposite of what Jack would have wanted: he was one of the activists of the “Let's take back the city” Committee, calling for a radically different approach to urban “security” issues: an approach based on the widespread deployment of social services, with networks of street and outreach workers.
“We ask that Mayor Brugnaro declare a citywide mourning as an expression of gratitude to Giacomo. With him, a historic community in Venice has been hit: the Rivolta community center, which seeks collective and supportive responses to the problems of our city. They are the best of our youth.” No one could be a better example than Jack, who did not look the other way.
Originally published at https://ilmanifesto.it/giacomo-26-anni-morto-per-non-essersi-voltato-dallaltra-parte on 2024-09-22