As the G7 approaches, war propaganda intensifies in Brindisi. A few days ago the Navy placed two large sheets depicting men and military vehicles on the facade of its site in via Provinciale S. Vito.
In particular, the image of a group of raiders from the San Marco Battalion, well equipped and armed, so-called alpha men, who convey self-confidence, determination and temerity, is striking. Their faces do not show the fear of killing, nor of being killed.
These images romanticize war by presenting it as an adventure that can be faced with zero risk thanks to the sophistication and lethality of weapons, technological progress and constant professional training.
The reality of war is different: those who fight it, men and now also many women, risk death, or survive with mutilations and psychological trauma, or contract serious illnesses, as happened to the Italian soldiers who fell ill, and many of whom died, due to uranium impoverished in the Balkan wars.
As feminists we denounce the patriarchal and capitalist system because it militarizes the territories, in the case of Brindisi it grants 500 meters of dock in Costa Morena to the aircraft carrier Trieste, it intensifies the arms race with the increase in military spending to the detriment of social spending for education, healthcare , personal care services, transport, redefines gender roles to the needs of war depending on the socio-cultural contexts.
Therefore, the same system, appealing to the principles of equality and equal opportunities between genders, promotes an ever wider involvement of women in war scenarios, also to cope with the decline in male membership; wars imposed to excel on global economic markets and passed off as the only tool to deal with geo-political conflicts.
The military apparatus and NATO itself use the rhetoric of gender equality to promote female membership in the military career, enhancing the so-called female qualities (intermediation, relational) and intercepting the need of young women to professionalize, have work and income, realize challenging projects.
The presence of women in the armed forces and in war scenarios is not reassuring, because war is a hierarchical exercise of violence, dehumanization of oneself and others, imposition of the friend-enemy logic, destruction and death for civilian populations, damage and contamination for the environment.
War is not the empowerment of women. In fact, in the armed forces, women enlisted first experience gender discrimination, sexual harassment and violence. The most sensational cases occurred in the United States where the soldiers were raped and stalked by colleagues and high-ranking soldiers and had to fight against widespread complicity to free themselves from the violence.
We question the “military in arms” role model for men and women approved by society and give political value to movements and organizations that support conscientious objection to war (Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Israel). We reject society belligerent who expands violence at a social level and produces as a consequence of war traumatized people with mental disorders, maladjusted and incapable of returning to live in an ordinary context, increase in domestic violence, etc.
For these reasons we invite you to participate in the protests at the G7: in Brindisi on 13 June in Piazza Vittoria at 6pm at the assembly and at 8pm at the dinner for the poor; in Fasano on June 15th at the manifestation which will start at 3pm from Piazza Palmina Martinelli.
Per il Tavolo di Coordinamento NO G7
Lia Caprera