There are those who prefer silence. Who prefers that certain things not be seen, not told, never come to the eyes of the general public. And when words aren’t enough and closed doors aren’t enough, we resort to brute force.
This is what happened yesterday, Wednesday 18 March, in Monzambano, in the province of Mantua, near the Mario Troni slaughterhouse.
The journalist Giulia Innocenzi and the videomaker Giovanni De Faveri, both from the Report team – the historic Rai 3 investigative program – were documenting the unloading of the cows from a truck towards the slaughter line when, suddenly, a person from inside the slaughterhouse forcefully hit De Faveri’s video camera through the gate. A sharp blow with an iron stick, which broke it in two and the target fell to the ground.
The two journalists were outside the gate, in full compliance with the law. Innocenzi had shortly before asked the owner, Raoul Troni, some questions.
Shocked by what happened but fortunately unharmed, Giulia Innocenzi and Giovanni De Faveri immediately went to the Monzambano police station to file a complaint. A patrol then intervened at the slaughterhouse to investigate the case and the man was identified, but his identity was not made public.
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Their violence will not stop us. We have filed a complaint and are now working to conclude the investigation.
These are the words of Giulia Innocenzi, entrusted to a post on Instagram. Few lines, but full of determination. No surrender in the face of attempts to silence the investigation, but on the contrary the promise to move forward.
We at GreenMe express maximum solidarity with our colleagues at Report, reminding everyone that environmental and investigative journalism is one of the few weapons we have to know what really happens in intensive farming, in slaughterhouses, along the entire supply chain that too often prefers shadow to light. Those who work in this sector – those who get their hands dirty, those who go into the field, those who take risks – deserve respect, protection and our unconditional support.
Violence against a journalist is an attack on all of us.
We hope that the investigations will shed full light on what happened and that those responsible will be held accountable for their actions. And we await with even more interest the Report on this slaughterhouse, which will be broadcast next season.
