For any of you know follow world news stories, you may have heard about our "lovely" locale this week. Naples, and the whole region of Campania for that matter, is experiencing a major trash crisis. We thought most days here were a major trash crisis, with irregular trash collection, illegal dumping, and alleged mafia-controlled waste industry scandals. This week, however, the proposed reopening of a landfill near our US Navy recreational park sparked huge protests throughout the area. You can read more of the specific details in one or both of the following articles; we will just report on what daily life is like in the midst of these events.
Our park was closed because protesters were blocking the only way into the facility, creating a real problem for both the workers and any patrons who wished to use the park. Another tactic employed by truckers was to blockage the exit ramps off the major highways through Naples, the SS 7 and the Tangenziale. Luke and I were unfortunate enough to get caught in one of these impromptu demonstrations as we returned from our Support Site hospital on Tuesday. Cars were 3 and 4 wide on a 2 lane road and I eventually had to make a u-turn in the highway, drive the wrong way up an on ramp and try to find my way home in the dark on secondary roads. Hundreds of other people were forced to do the same, so a 40 minute trip ended up taking 2 1/2 hours. I was livid when I got home but just thankful we were out of that mess.
Ben was delayed in a similar detour, but in his case, the road was blocked because protesters had pushed part of the piles of trash out into the roadways to impede passage. As he sat in his little Fiat 500, masked boys threw bottles and other trash items at the Carabineri (paramilitary police) who were supposed to be controlling the protests and helping clear away the trash. Someone making a three-point turn to try to get out of the gridlock traffic backed into Ben and bent his bumper to 90 degrees. We definately were NOT living La Dolce Vita this day!
Aside from these traffic-related issues, it is true that most of the Christmas trash is still in piles, only shrinking if local residents sneak over and light the trash on fire. Unfortunately, that solution has it's own set of health concerns. From a public health perspective, this situation reinforces the importance of good santitaion infrastructure. We take these services for granted in the US or complain about the taxes that fund them. We certainly won't be after this experience.
Living in Italy sounds glamorous, but it definately has its challenges as well. The ongoing sanitation debacle in Campania is just one of them. We hope it can be resolved for the betterment of everyone's quality of life, environmental health, and safety.
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