A busy little street in the Sanità neighborhood, north of Naples' historical centre. There is room to walk only on the right side. In front of me, there is a young Sri Lankan woman with a stroller. A Neapolitan woman on a scooter comes up the wrong way, her three children huddled behind her on the motorino. We pedestrians cannot walk any further.
In those few seconds of gridlock, I lose myself in strange thoughts.
I begin to think, for example, that the right of citizenship by birth should not apply to anyone.
You want to be Italian: Well, you have to earn it and pass a civics exam, to show that you know the prerequisites for living in a civilized society. If you don't pass, you’re expelled from Italy — and then it's your own damn business to figure out who takes you in.
Because let's face it. Why should this kind of subhuman on a scooter have more rights than the poor Sri Lankan woman just because she was born in Italy, and is of Italian descent?
And since exams should never end, were it up to me I would also give a maternity exam to all women who give birth to children. The fact that you gave birth to them does not make you a mother. A child has rights that you must be able to provide for — and if you aren’t able to, there are many women who cannot have children but would certainly be able to.
Then I stop daydreaming. The woman is no longer in front of me: Instead, a street seller is handing me a fan.
“Signó, only one euro. I have children at home and I don’t have a job."
“Alright uaglió, I'll buy this fan … you’re under the sun and at least you’re not stealing anything … and it’s hot, so hot…”
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