By Daniele Guido Gessa
A plate to remember Daniel Zamudio has been unveiled this morning in Rome, Italy.
A new memorial to remember Daniel Zamudio, the 24-year-old Chilean killed in Santiago in March for being gay, has been unveiled this morning (14 June) in Rome.
The plate in the headquarters of LGBT rights group Arcigay, written in Italian and Spanish, says: ‘To remember Daniel Mauricio Zamudio Vera (3.VIII.1987 – 27.III.2012), tortured and killed in Santiago de Chile because of his sexual orientation.’
The new memorial is sponsored by Arcigay and Agedo, an association of parents of gay and lesbian people, and by the Chilean Embassy in Rome.
Daniel’s father, Ivan Zamudio, was in Rome this morning.
‘The pain for my loss has made me embrace the battle against homophobia and in favor of diversity,’ he said.
‘In Italy, gay and lesbian people are more visible than in Chile, but they are still without a law against homophobia.
‘In Chile, a new law, dedicated to my son, is now protecting LGBT people. At least, it was for something.’
The Chilean embassador Francisco Javier Godoy Arcaya Oscar said that ‘this sacrifice will make Chile better and safer. This is a sacrifice, as our president has said in a statement, to the nation.’
This morning, Arcigay president Paolo Patanè asked Italian politicians to extend the protection of the ‘Mancino’ Law to LGBT people.
This law protects Italians against discrimination for religion, gender and social status, but it doesn’t protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people from homophobia and transphobia.
