Ibrahim Manneh was 24 years old; he was born in Ivory Coast, he grew up in Gambia and he had been living in Naples for years. Ibrahim died in the night between 9 and 10 July, because of medical malpractice and racism. None of his friends, family and comrades knows how it has been possible to die like this. And yet, what killed Ibrahim did not come about by accident: the simple story of his last 24 hours of life is exemplary of the current state of our country, of the climate of hate and indifference in which they want to throw us, of an unfair and merciless system where the most basic rights are denied.
We are writing this call so as to send a clear message: we cannot look the other way; we believe that we must bring out the truth on Ibrahim’s last hours of life; and we want justice to be done, so as things like this never happens anymore.
Ibrahim has died in terrible pain. His ordeal started in the morning of 9 July with strong abdominal pain; he went to the “Loreto Mare hospital”, from which he was discharged after an injection and without an in-depth medical examination. Straight after this, Ibrahim’s medical conditions worsened, and he encountered many other obstacles; the hostility of the taxi driver who firmly refused to drive him to the hospital: to drive Ibrahim, he said, he would have needed a “police authorisation”, just because Ibrahim was black; the endless wait for the ambulances, which never came; the failure to provide assistance showed by the forces of law and order, whose car did not stop before the call for help. Ibrahim died shortly after his access to the hospital, where he eventually arrived after having been brought by his friends to the emergency doctor service, following an endless wait in extremely critical conditions. Since the arrival to the hospital, his brother and friends have not been given news for almost 10 hours: doctors refused to talk to them.
In our country, the right to health has become a mirage for a growing part of the population, namely the most poor and needy, who cannot afford adequate care. Without any doubt, Ibrahim was a victim of medical malpractice, but also and above all of the most sneaky and invisible racism of this society, the one expressed by institutions. This, because he was born black, poor, and without someone who could vouch or step in for him. Even in death, Ibrahim still runs the risk of becoming a victim of injustice and of an attempt to cover up the truth.
Ibrahim did not have friends in high places; nobody is thrilled about his story that, in fact, may be liable to implicate and to cast a shadow over people with
responsibility and managerial roles. It is difficult, but we have to try. Not only because we owe him and his family, but because we must demand that what happened to him will never happen again. In order to do this, we need you: we need the healthiest part of our society, the same part that does not feel addicted to a climate of dejection and distrust, the part that cares about the truth and that tries to stay human.
We ask you to sign this appeal, to share it and to stand up. We strongly ask that Ibrahim’s story is not forgotten, that the institutions who have the authority worry about bringing to light all around Ibrahim’s death, namely responsibilities and failings. A country accepting that racism and medical malpractice can cause victims is not a civilised country.
TRUTH AND JUSTICE FOR IBRAHIM!
If you want to support legal expenses, the repatriation of the body to Gambia, and Ibrahim’s family:
– WIRE TRANSFER
payment description: Verità e giustizia per Ibra (truth and justice for Ibrahim)
Directed to: ASSOCIAZIONE “TERRA TERRA”
IBAN: IT30B0359901899050188532427
– PAYPAL
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subject line: Verità e giustizia per Ibra (truth and justice for Ibrahim)
mail address: exopgjesopazzo@gmail.com
