Chiavenna, Friday, May 11th , 2007

Dear President



ILGA; IGLHARC; OHCHR; ILGA-EUROPE; ARCIGAY;

EUROPEAN COMMISSION; EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT;

EUROPEAN UNION

ITALIAN GOVERNMENT; ITALIAN PARLIAMENT;




Subject: HOMOSEXUALITY and PROVINCE.

BEING GAY in a LITTLE PLACE:

Rights, Changes and Prospectives.



In the first place I am very sorry for my English not so good. Unfortunately I have been studying it
for a very short time yet. Regardless of that I hopeto be able to convey you clearly enough
my view and the relative requests.On the other hand, this is the chief purpose that a language should
fulfil to.

I am a gay boy living in Chiavenna – SO – ( links: 1, 2 ), Italy, in a little mountain place,
about 10 km far away from Switzerland border, towards St. Moritz ( link 3 ):

I am here writing to you given that I should like to share with you a few findings about my
homosexual condition in a little province. I also is trying to give voice to all needs of those persons
who are enduring such a situation, maybe because they can not make any change in their lives so
as to go to live elsewhere. I am sure that they are very many.

Anyway, even though these shifts were ever possible, why should they be seen like something
necessary? At this extent, I wonder whether a province gay’s joy and serenity must pass through an imperative move. That is leaving province itself and getting city. I do not find it so interesting and
however why should we have provinces without gay anymore? Would it be so irrational and unseemly struggling against this possible outline? I do not think so, definitely.

Consequently, by the light of that I should like to ask you directly to make a more fair and valid effort
to spread some attitudes favorable towards gayì even in places rather far away from big city. For
instance, by organizing some meetings or conferences right in province. Why not in Chiavenna, my
little city itself, or in any more place belonging to my province, that is Sondrio, of course?

Otherwise by giving us an help by urging and aiding both national Istitutions and gay associations to do
so. To my mind you should work more hard on provinces because by now big cities offer already to gay
people a great deal of amusement and as many chances to socialize and tackle possible troubles.
Those like us who are living in a little place need more attention from you. It is unfair to us overlooking
it. Do you not agree?

Always speaking about Italy but according to a wider prospective, eventually the italian Institutions
should to come to pass a gaycouples bill. This at least would be our omens. Yet, as a matter of course,
maybe it would be more useful taking an action with more zeal than that at present some Member of
the Parliament of ours are showing, if we want really to achieve such an ambitious aim.

Recently it was passed by the Government an analogue bill named DICO and which up till now has
come to the Senate Justice Committee only, where unfortunately, what is more, it seems that it is
finding several trobles, due to some constitutional lawfulness issues, and has to compete with others
bills on this subject itself ( link 4 ).

Besides any bill which should ever come out from that Committee will have to be passed by each of
the two Parliament Branches, that is the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies. Therefore it is easy
enough to foresee an its journey rather long and hard.

In any case, it is merely useless keep on debating endlessly about this issue and never to turn more or
less abstract concepts into an actual State law. We run the risk of falling into an infinite litany, provided
that in this while we already are not trapped by it.

I am quite upset by taking note of how all of that is happening, in spite of fact that in many Europe
Countries some laws on gay couples have already been issued by their Istitutions themselves, by now
for a few years.

Moreover it seems even that someone forgets or underestimates willingly that the European Parliament
has more times reminded of and asked all of Europe States to grant and guarantee to gay persons
those basis and couple civil rights themselves, by appropriate bills ( link 5 ).

Sometimes I am very annoyed and tired of living in a Country so blind and unable to see and listen to
what people have been demanding for so much time. It seems almost that certain our politicians find
more interesting and useful make some banal phylosophy.

Perhaps to prove to their own electorate and European Institutions that they are thinking of us. But it
had better that, much more often, they thought a little less and done a little more some concrete
things for their people.

There is a time where only facts count whereas playing with words becomes a mere and silly pastime.
A bad excuse to make no choice, but can the same say to have tried to do it.

Here is now a note where I am going to try to summarize better our situation in two main points.
Around these ones spin our troubles, hence a possible solution or improvement goes through
themselves obviously.



1) About knowing gay people.



Here it does not exist at all any meeting room where we can easily have to do with persons like us.
The one most nearby us is about 75 miles far away from us, in Milan. Hence a distance that one can
not cover every day merely for enjoying himself.

Moreover it makes no sense and get one annoyed spending almost two hours of own free time only
to get there, so much the more if one has little time available to do it.

On the other hand, it also is reasonable and satisfactory to aim to attend some own gay friends every
day or at least often enough, rather than one time a week or even one time only after every two
weeks.

So that would seem to be a good first desirable goal to get. For this we should undertake actions in
our own residence zone which are directed to give us means and opportunities by which induce some
changes the more possible radical and irreversible. So as to avoid to be trapped by an absurd
and constant flow of gay towards some big city.



2) About local people mentality.



Often in province there is not the necessary and right knowledge on homosexuality. Bedides people
living there have a certain almost natural strong inclination to not to share views or to try to understand
behaviours different than those by now usually more spread and deep-root into their social tissues
themselves.

=============

Therefore, that said, give that I should like so much improving this bad situation of ours I have thought
to write a letter on our condition to an online local newspaper so as to raise an more general issue and
debate on gay condition in a little province, amongst popolation all ( link 6:
http://www.vaol.it/home.jsp?idrub=49513 ).

Furthermore I have even written to some local Istitution and involved in this action of mine the Italian
Gay Association headquarters, named ARCIGAY, which has put it on their web site themselves ( link 7:
http://www.arcigay.it/show.php?2464 ).

On this side, I am just doing the same with you, because I have always argued that unity is strength.
So I am sure that also an aid from you could mean pulling every string to achieve some more positive
and interesting goal along this way, within a more short time.

Nevertheless, I also wish to urge you to take into consideration a more sound care and determination
of yours to promote amongst and help native people to grow by themselves a better and more
effective sensitivity towards the gay universe.

Indeed sometimes I fear that, whether probably unintentionally or comply with a own management
strategy, it does not matter, your main attention is given to places more crowded or where however
the policy power and several gay associations headquarters are based.

In some ways, I can understand you but I can not help pointing out how easy it is to come to a partial
positive final outcome. If indeed we tried to argue from beginning to end by watching things from an
overall view, we should admit that whoever live in province would end up to be forgotten and
neglected enough by both his/her Institutions and a big city gay world, beyond doubt much more alive
and colourful than his own one appears to be.

I thank you very much indeed for your attention.

I apologize to you again for any mistake made.

I am looking forward to hearing your news sooner.

Best Regards, Robert Gt


- ITALY –

Reference links :


1) ABOUT my LETTER SENT to an ONLINE NEWSPAPER: Gay in a province:
http://www.vaol.it/home.jsp?idrub=49513


2) ABOUY my LETTER on the ITALY ARCIGAY WEB SITE: Gay in a province:
http://www.arcigay.it/show.php?2464


3) ABOUT the EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: Gay Rights:
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/new...t/background_page/008-4356-19-1-3-90
1-20060113BKG04268-19-01-2006-2006--false/default_p001c014_en.htm


4) ABOUT the ITALY GOVERNMENT BILL named DICO: Gay/Etero couples:
http://www.cittadinolex.kataweb.i...le_view.jsp?idCat=40&idArt=56235


5) HOW GET HERE: VALTELLINA ó VALCHIAVENNA
http://www.valtellina.it/eng/comeArrivare.html


6) AROUND HERE: VALCHIAVENNA, ITALY:
http://www.valchiavenna.com/2005/prima.php?lingua=it


7) AROUND HERE: ST. MORITZ, SWITZERLAND:
http://www.stmoritz.ch/international-002-030510-en.htm