Italy's 'poison ships'

Witness History

BBC

Society & Culture, Personal Journals, History

4.5 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 11 July 2024

⏱️ 10 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In September 1988, protests broke out in Manfredonia, Italy, after the arrival of a large ship carrying toxic waste of Italian origin. The Deep Sea Carrier had arrived from Nigeria, after a protracted diplomatic dispute between Italy and Nigeria.

For four days, the town was completely shut down and by the end of the protests, an environmental movement was born.

The Deep Sea Carrier and another ship, the Karin B, became known as the ‘navi dei veleni’, or poison ships.

Jill Achineku speaks to Rosa Porcu, a teacher and one of the protesters. A Whistledown production for the BBC World Service.

Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.

Recent episodes explore everything from football in Brazil, the history of the ‘Indian Titanic’ and the invention of air fryers, to Public Enemy’s Fight The Power, subway art and the political crisis in Georgia. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: visionary architect Antoni Gaudi and the design of the Sagrada Familia; Michael Jordan and his bespoke Nike trainers; Princess Diana at the Taj Mahal; and Görel Hanser, manager of legendary Swedish pop band Abba on the influence they’ve had on the music industry. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the time an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at the President of the United States in protest of America’s occupation of Iraq; the creation of the Hollywood commercial that changed advertising forever; and the ascent of the first Aboriginal MP.

(Photo: Rusty barrrels of toxic waste. Credit: iznashih)

Transcript

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0:00.0	Before you listen to this BBC podcast I'd like to quickly tell you about some others.
0:05.0	My name's Andy Martin and I'm the editor of a team of podcast producers at the BBC in Northern Ireland.
0:11.0	It's a job I really love because we get to tell the stories that really matter
0:15.1	to people here, but which also resonate and apply to listeners around the world.
0:19.6	And because the team is such a diverse range of skills and strengths. We have trained journalists, people who love digging through archives, we've got drama and even comedy experts. We really can do those stories justice.
0:31.3	So if you like this podcast, head to BBC Sounds where you'll find plenty
0:35.4	more fascinating stories from all around the UK. Welcome to the Witness History Podcast from the BBC World Service with me
0:49.2	Jila Chiniku. In this edition I'm taking you back to 1988 when the arrival of a vast ship loaded with toxic waste turned the tiny Italian coastal town into the centre of a global environmental backlash.
1:04.0	I'm speaking with Rosa Pocco, a teacher and one of the members of the environmental movement.
1:10.0	The fishermen started it.
1:14.0	They were the first to see the ship and the damage that would directly affect the fishing.
1:19.3	And the reaction was pretty violent at the start. The door of the city hall, the most important
1:24.5	institution in a city, was burned down. For four days, the city was locked down.
1:30.2	No car could drive in, even general services or buses.
1:35.0	The ship that started the protest was called the deep sea carrier.
1:40.0	It had sailed from another small town 3,000 miles away, Coco in Nigeria.
1:47.0	Between August 1987 and May 1988, an Italian businessman had paid to store toxic waste from Italy on a cocoa residence land.
1:57.0	Close to 4,000 tons of toxic waste were dumped without the proper permits.
2:02.0	The waste was made up of hazardous chemical materials,
2:06.4	such as polychlorinated bifenol or PCB, which can cause a range of severe health problems.
2:13.2	The Nigerian government found out, and after a long diplomatic dispute,
2:18.0	one where the Nigerian ambassador to Italy was recalled and an Italian ship seized. The Italian government eventually agreed to
	...

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