“My fellow countrymen, don’t come to Italy, you will starve,” says Jose from Angola, looking straight into the camera.
“This country is in a serious crisis, and it affects migrants too,” says Roshan from Sri Lanka, with a stern face. “To be an illegal migrant in Italy is to face hunger and desperation,” adds Niemel from Pakistan.
They are some of the migrants in Italy who, speaking their own languages, took part in a video published online that got Italy talking this week.
The video was produced as part of the European election campaign of a candidate for the right-wing, anti-immigration Northern League (Lega Nord).
Angelo Ciocca, the candidate, told the BBC that the migrants had willingly participated in the video, but that he had written the messages.
He wants the video to go viral and make its way to the migrants’ countries of origin, to warn them off coming to Italy.
But Mr Ciocca also admits that the video serves another purpose – winning Italian votes.
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Complete text and video linked here.
