“PRIMO ITALICO, IL VIAGGIO DI UN HATER IN AFRICA”: AMREF E LERCIO ANCORA INSIEME

ROME aise – “I am leaving to finally give the Italians a correct version of what is happening on that continent”. To answer like this, nailed by the questions of the journalist Maria Cuffaro, is Primo Italico. He is the protagonist of the surreal interview that launches a satirical web series, the result of a new collaboration between Amref and Lercio. At the center of the scene are prejudices against Africans, migrants, NGOs.

All nodes of strict actuality and tension are mentioned, nothing and no one excluded. In addition to the special participation of the TV journalist Maria Cuffaro, the web series is enriched by the contribution of the actor Francesco Montanari – already protagonist of the Romanzo Criminale series – which gives voice to Primo Italico.

Who’s First. Hater by profession, conspiracy by pleasure, a allologist graduated from the University of Nulla, Primo Italico, after an interview with Maria Cuffaro, will go to a country in Africa, “to stop the invasion” he says. He will also continue there with his “j’accuse” against the Africans, guilty of exasperating their condition for the sole purpose of moving to Italy and enjoying its benefits. The web series – of which the interview carried out by Cuffaro is the prequel – was launched on the Repubblica channels: http://ilviaggiodiprimo.amref.it/?_ga=2.168844193.1671015426.1559143057-698110997.1557335422 .

“We have been working on this character for months, and in building it we immediately felt the strong topicality and urgency,” commented Guglielmo Micucci, Director of Amref Health Africa / Italy. “In Primo’s lines, written by Lercio, there is an Africa that is only danger. A shapeless mass of phrases, which cause hatred and walls to mount. As well as taking care of health in Africa – there are 10 million beneficiaries of our projects every year – we have at heart the image it has in Italy When in the 90s Africa was only pietism we opposed it, talking about an Africa that would have made it with its own resources and forces: today, that for many the image of the Continent is associated with invasion and immigration, we want to continue to fight for a correct narrative. also with unconventional operations, such as satire and infoteinement. With the authors of Lercio – Davide Paolino and Gianni Zoccheddu – a few months ago, we went on a project in Ethiopia and we made Primo Italico interact with the reality of the place. Right in front of that reality – we will see in the web series – many of his prejudices will be put to the test “.

Discrimination. 15 million Africans live in the European Union. According to the latest research by the European Agency for Fundamental Rights, in November 2017 that towards blacks is the third cause of discrimination (24%). As a result, the European Parliament adopted for the first time the resolution “Fundamental rights of people of African descent” / (2018/2899).

The new document recognizes that “Afrofobia” and “anti-black racism” are a specific form of racism.

Regarding migration, Italy is the EU country where there is the greatest gap between perceived and present migrants. 73% of Italian citizens overestimate the presence of migrants in the country: 25% of the total population, while they are 7%. There is a direct correlation between the hostile attitude towards migrants and the misperception of their real number.

Awareness campaign. Alongside the web video series, Amref and Lercio have also launched an awareness campaign to bury prejudices with laughter. Amref’s invitation is “select Primo’s prejudice which seems more ridiculous and bury him with your most beautiful laugh! You can become an ambassador and leave with Amref to see with your own eyes – and directly in the field – Amref’s commitment in Africa ”. To participate in #seppellitiDaUnaRisata you can go to the site seppellitidaunarisata.amref.it.

Amref and Lercio. That between Lercio and Amref is a collaboration that began in 2017. The result of this collaboration are a series of events – Journalism Festival, Launch of the Amref national campaign “Don’t help us for charity” – and five Lercio video newscasts, with Giobbe Covatta starring. The harmony between Amref and Lercio – fictional news media – was born with the aim of communicating Africa “differently”. Primo Italico’s videos were made by the director Valerio Vestoso in collaboration with the communication agency Narvaloo. (aise) 

Article first published on https://www.aise.it/immigrazione/primo-italico-il-viaggio-di-un-hater-in-africa-amref-e-lercio-ancora-insieme/131429/149