have you ever heard of Giuseppina Pasqualino di Marineo - known as Pippa Bacca?

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http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/JD23Ak01.html


Turkey makes peace with Pippa


Hrant Dink, the Turkish-Armenian editor, journalist and columnist assassinated in 2007, was the last victim of murder to inspire a mass reaction of sympathy from the Turkish nation.

His death was followed by demonstrators wearing placards claiming "We are Hrant" to underline their empathy for and sympathy with the man, his grieving family and the cause of the Armenian citizens he represented. Now the nation's women have taken to the streets wearing similar placards but these read "We are Pippa".

Giuseppina Pasqualino di Marineo - known as Pippa Bacca - was an Italian performance artist who decided to make a public and personal plea for peace in areas of conflict. With her friend Sylvia Moro, they designed wedding dresses and the two women set out as "Brides on Tour" to hitchhike from Milan to Tel Aviv. Leaving Italy on March 8, they proceeded with little trouble through eastern Europe and reached Istanbul at the end of March. Here they decided to take different paths across the country and meet up again in Beirut. Bacca was in touch daily with family and friends by mobile phone messages. On March 31, these texts abruptly stopped. Her family raised the alarm and her sister and fiancee flew to Turkey.

The Turkish police put a trace on Bacca's phone's unique IMEI number and on Friday, April 11, they caught truck driver Murat Kabatas after he used it. He confessed to having picked Bacca up just outside the industrial northern town of Gebze and to dumping her naked body in a shallow grave after having raped and strangled her. As well as her phone, the Turkish police found parts of her necklace in the truck cabin and her camera at his house. She had taken photos of all the people who had offered her lifts and the final photo she had taken was of Murat.

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The tributes have been fast in coming. On April 14, the head of Gebze town council, Ibrahim Pehlivan, released a statement saying that council representatives would be going to Ankara to offer an official apology on behalf of their town to the Italian consulate and Bacca's family. They were also going to consult with the people of Gebze and either raise a group to finish her walk or erect a monument to peace in the town.

On April 15, a memorial service was held at the Italian consulate in Ankara, the women's groups who attended carried signs saying "No to the rapist violence of men" and "Peace". Again on April 15, Hayrettin Bulan, the head of Sefkat-Der, a group that runs a women's refuge and works on behalf of abused women, whose headquarters are in the city of Konya, said, "We have given her the nickname Angel Pippa and we are going to name one of our refuges after her ... she is an angel in our eyes and we want to draw the whole world's attention to her message of peace and the fight against violence towards and the rape of women."

On the same day, 30 women from the Antalya Town Women's parliament donned wedding gowns and veils and walked silently and in single file through the main streets of their town carrying banners saying, "We are all ambassadors of peace." They demanded that all women be safe and free to walk the streets and were applauded along the way.

A day later, Hurriyet columnist Mehmet Yilmaz wrote a piece calling on Turkish women to come forward and finish Bacca's walk and has already sought the support of leading women's magazine Elele. The magazine's editor has promised to provide wedding dresses and cover the expenses of the journey.

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Her murder has sent a powerful message about peace, about the continuing struggle of women for personal safety. She became what she was demonstrating against: a powerless player caught up in the turmoil and violence of a stronger party. The reaction in Turkey shows that people have the heart and soul to understand her message.
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wish there was pictures, videos


every woman on earth's primal fear - rape, torture and murder

[JDPriestly]

1. Thanks for posting this. Thanks from me and on behalf of women everywhere.

No one is safe until women and children are safe.