26 May 2008, Translated from La Repubblica by Wendell Ricketts
For a 53-year-old ex-offender, having a homosexual in the family was "intolerable."
The 18 year old, attacked during an argument, is treated at the hospital. He says: "My father has never accepted me. It's not a illness."
PALERMO, SICILY - "I was in the shower when I suddenly saw my father
standing in front of me, holding a knife." The reason? A question "of honor and of family shame." Knowing he had a gay son was intolerable for a 53-year-old ex-offender in Palermo. He attacked his son, Paolo, 18 years old, during a furious argument in their apartment in the Brancaccio neighborhood in the city's eastern suburbs. The police arrested the man, who was charged with domestic violence and assault. He is now behind bars at the Ucciardone jail.
"My father has never accepted me," the young man says. "He couldn't tolerate the fact that I'm gay. I tried to convince him that I'm not sick, that it's not something dirty, but it wasn't any use. I realized I was gay a year ago, and I told my mother. She understood. She tried
to help, to stay close to me, and to convince my father to get used to the idea, but the last year has been hell in our house. This is the way I am, though, and there's nothing I can do about it."
For the boy's father, the news simply wasn't unacceptable. He followed Paolo when he left the house and spied on him; he didn't want him seeing his friends. "He thought I was a prostitute," the boy says, "but I was just hanging out with my friends, with other people who are
like me."
Paolo's mother, who had always defended her son, tried to salvage her husband's reputation as well. The man has been in jail since Saturday, accused of domestic violence and assault. "All (my husband) wanted was for (Paolo) to get a job," she explains. "(Paolo's) got all kinds of
ideas in his head—he wants to be a model, he wants to live some kind of fancy lifestyle. We're not rich. We can't support him." "I asked (my father) to help me find a job," the victim responds, "but he refused. He said he was ashamed to introduce me around because I was gay."
A year's worth of tension, in any case, exploded in violence last Saturday. Returning from a day at the beach, Paolo told his parents that he planned to go out again shortly. His father became furious. He didn't stop at striking his son; this time he stabbed him as well.
"I just couldn't take it anymore. The shame and the dishonor all this has caused is too much," he told police. The young man, terrified and in shock, suffered stab wounds to his forearm and right hand and a facial injury. He was taken to the Community Hospital, where he was
expected to recover in eight days.
Interviewed by Tg3 television news, the boy described the attack: "I was in the shower when I suddenly saw my father standing in front of me, holding a knife."
A similar incident took place some ten days ago in Pesaro (Marche). In that case, a mother stabbed her 16-year-old daughter because she had admitted to having a relationship with an 18-year-old girl. The blade lodged in the young woman's belt buckle, but the mother was
nonetheless charged with attempted aggravated assault.
Apparently insurmountable prejudices appear to have motivated the parents in both cases. A 2003 Europe-wide study by the University of Bologna's Cattaneo Institute reported that 10 of every 100 individuals are homosexual. Of every 100 homosexuals, meanwhile, 20 accept being gay while 80 are not accepting but "tolerate" their condition; 22 consider suicide and 5 complete suicide attempts.
See also:
La Stampa
http://www.lastampa.it/redazione/cmsSezioni/cronache/200805articoli/33143girata.asp
Corriere della Sera
http://www.corriere.it/cronache/08_maggio_27/io_accoltellato_da_mio_padre_perche_sono_gay_d585a0be-2bbd-11dd-9d26-00144f02aabc.shtml
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