Some 150 Gypsies whose camp was dismantled have taken refuge in one
of Rome's most ancient basilicas, creating a standoff Saturday with city
officials trying to get them out.
Italy is struggling to deal
with hundreds of Gypsies who live in illegal trailer settlements on the
city's outskirts. Weeks ago, four children died in their sleep as a
blaze tore through a shack in an illegal camp in Rome — prompting Pope
Benedict XVI to call for more solidarity with the Roma.
The
Gypsies entered St. Paul's Outside the Walls, one of Christianity's most
ancient churches, on Friday to protest city plans to send the women and
children, but not men, to shelters, temporarily breaking up families.
TV
footage showed men and women walking along the church's aisles, some
carrying plastic bags, and children playing and running around, or
resting against the basilica's imposing columns.
Many left the
basilica Friday night to allow Good Friday ceremonies marking
crucifixion of Jesus to go ahead; others stayed inside to watch.
The
150-strong group, including children and babies, were allowed to spend
the night in two rooms adjacent to the basilica's cloister, the ANSA
news agency said. On Saturday, Catholic charity Caritas sent a truck
full of crackers, biscuits and water.
It wasn't clear if they
would be allowed to spend another night inside the basilica complex.
Some people who had gone outside for work or to procure food hadn't been
allowed back inside.
Law enforcement officials were patrolling
the main entrance to the basilica to allow the faithful and pilgrims to
enter and exit, ANSA said.
Rome's city hall offered euro500 ($730)
to individual Gypsies, many of whom are Romanian nationals, who agreed
to be repatriated. But only about a dozen Roma had accepted, according
to Italian news reports.
City hall promised that families would be
reunited in a Gypsy camp in a few weeks. But the Roma asked that entire
families, including men, be sent to the shelter.
Rome Mayor
Gianni Alemanno insisted that "the solution cannot be, as is demanded by
many Gypsy families and various association, that we offer an
accommodation to these families."
Alemanno said this would send a
signal of "indiscriminate acceptance" that might result in a further
increase in the number of homeless people in the Italian capital.
Currently, there are 22,000 homeless people between refugees, Gypsies,
asylum-seekers and others, Alemanno said.
"We cannot run the risk of turning Rome into a gigantic shantytown," Alemanno said.
As
night fell, charity groups were preparing to send tents in the area in
front the basilica in case the Roma would not be allowed back in,
reports said.
When the four children — three boys and a girl, aged
3 to 11 — died in February, Alemanno promised that illegal camps would
be torn down and new, safe ones would be built.
Many of the Roma in the
Italian capital are minors.