There is a full house in the market in Piazza Vittorio, the beating heart of the Esquiline, the most multi-ethnic district of the capital. In Chinatown in Rome, on this gloomy day, the fear of the coronavirus seems something far away, seen on TV. It is almost difficult to enter the market so many people are. As on the tram, you get lost in a whirlwind of images and smells: the ethnic groups are mixed, you cannot help but touch each other and breathe the same air as those who surround us at that moment.
The hands touch the goods, after having touched the money then source of exchange. No mask, no particular tension if someone doesn't hide a sneeze. "On the coronavirus affair - a vendor vents - the media, especially television, are making psychological terrorism and this feeds psychosis. As you can see even today, the market is full and no one wears masks. Here dozens of ethnic groups and many live together peacefully. they are the Italians who shop ". At Sonia's Hang Zhou in via Bixio, one of the most famous Chinese restaurants in Rome, much loved by cultural and entertainment personalities, the owner welcomes customers with her usual smile.
"But why are you afraid of the Chinese?" he begins. "Eating with us is safe, our products are all traceable". The restaurant is almost full. Many westerners.
Later Sonia receives the phone call from the mayor Virginia Raggi. "He expressed his solidarity with me and the whole Chinese community in Rome. I am thrilled he told me that as soon as he can he will come to visit me one day. He will come to have dinner here to show that one should not be afraid of Chinese restaurants." Sonia Zhou, who in recent days had repeatedly warned of a decrease in customers in Chinese restaurants linked to the fear of the coronavirus, explains that the situation seems to be improving. "Several customers came back to visit us yesterday and today to express their closeness - he said - I am truly moved. We must fight this fear together, avoiding it leading to racism".
Coronavirus, Chinese restaurateur: "We live like you, why are you afraid?"
Lucia King, a representative of the Chinese community in Rome, also testifies that the situation is not easy: "It is going very badly. We are undergoing an unprecedented attack. I do not know if all economic activities will resist this period. The situation is serious. I went to a restaurant in the center of Rome on Friday evening where before there was always a row and there were three tables in all. We are not infected just because they are Chinese. The problem is that people are afraid, an understandable fear but not justified for the moment in Italy ".
King then notes the "solidarity" that is coming to the Chinese "from many Italians", recalling, among other things, the initiatives underway in Milan on via Sarti. Then he underlines: "Those of us in this period managed to return to Italy spontaneously decided to isolate themselves for two weeks, out of a sense of responsibility towards Italy". Even under the arcades of Piazza Vittorio everything flows as usual: the Middle Eastern street vendors alternate with Indian ones with others from Eastern Europe. Each with its own merchandise. In short, life continues. At Pacific Trading in via Principe Eugenio, one of the most assorted Chinese supermarkets you will find Jiazoi (beef or shrimp ravioli), sweet and sour sauces, pak-choic (Chinese cabbage) and crow's feet. There are few people, but it is Saturday morning and - as the employee of a Chinese herbalist observes - many are out for the weekend and then it rains.
"It's all right - he says -. Our business has not suffered any backlash so far. Today there are few people but it does not depend on the coronavirus alarm, it is a rainy day and many people are out for the weekend". In a bar run by Chinese a young Italian couple does not hide that something has changed: "There is only so much alarmism" she says. "I've seen scenes of unjustified racism around - he adds - and it's really bad."