This article was published online by the Magyar Nemzet on 9, August 2021.
Giusy D’Amico: Dangerous and harmful ideologies have creeped into the Italian schools.
Unidentified people and companies entered schools, held sexual education lessons describing sex changes options, and promoted homosexuality without permission. Giusy D’Amico said that it was these unwarranted school visits, along with the Italian government’s inaction, that motivated him to establish the Hands off our families! NGO which won a major victory in 2018 against the promotion of LGBTQ ideologies. Giusy D’Amico told Magyar Nemzet: Hungary has become Europe’s shining beacon with its child protection law and related referendum, because they proved that saving families and younger generations is a matter of political will.
– What did you think of the fact that Mario Draghi, Italian Prime Minister, signed a letter condemning Hungary for the child protection law? The leaders of seventeen countries are accusing the Hungarian government of discriminating against members of the LGBTQ community.
– I was shocked to see this. All I can say is we’re a different Italy and we don’t agree with the Prime Minister’s position. Hungary deserves international cooperation and support for its courageous decision. Especially because the government is not afraid to listen to the Hungarian people. To prove this, they put the law at the center of this debate up for a referendum. It would be good to have an international forum where citizens of Western countries could also express their views openly and say how they would like to raise their children. The reality is that Italian parents would also be happy to raise their children without certain ideologies, and according to their own views.
– Isn’t this supported by Italian politics?
– In Italy today, legislators are apt to give the LGBTQ movement’s ideologies even more space in schools – and less power to parents to protect their children from these influences. I recently met in person with Alessandro Zan, the politician who initiated the bill that punishes homo- and transphobia. I wanted to hand him a letter that documented the concerns of thousands of Italian families. Representative Zan merely said: “We can’t be homophobic countries like Hungary and Poland.” Then he turned his back to me and left without any response. All I could ask in my exasperation was: “It would make us homophobic to be free to raise our children?” He didn’t even turn around to look in my eyes, he just walked off. This is what the left’s politics are like: incapable of giving an answer to the citizens or listening to their opinions.
– What do you think about the Hungarian referendum?
– I think the referendum is an incredibly significant thing as it gives the Hungarians citizens much more freedom to decide for themselves whether to confirm or reject the government’s decision. This also provides Hungary an opportunity to break free of the international stigma and false accusations that they are a homophobic country. However, in order to make an informed decision, Hungarians must know what is going on in the West’s schools.
– Why, what’s happening in Italy?
– Italian families had to fight on their own for freedom of education, bringing together NGOs, Christian movements, life and family advocates. The NGO I established and lead myself says it all in the name: Hands off our families! It was created in 2013 at a very difficult and seemingly hopeless historic moment. In those years, Italian families noticed that dangerous and harmful ideologies were creeping into schools without parents even knowing about it or agreeing to it. The National Office against Racial Discrimination was distributing a propaganda pamphlet in schools showing sexual differences. It was clear that they wanted to do this all, hidden from the parents and paving the way for children’s ideological indoctrination. At first glance, it seemed like an effort for acceptance of different religions, ethnicities, cultural and social groups. The reality however was that this was open propaganda for the acceptance of homosexuality. This was the moment when, following a conference, an organization was formed of many families; our primary aim was to draw attention to the underlying danger lurking for our nation and our children as well as informing families of what the end of this will be.
– What happened after this?
– We haven’t stopped for a single minute in these past nine years. Tons of abuses in schools had been uncovered, we were not able to ward off the plethora of attacks on our children. We gathered the protests from families systematically. Based on what children were talking about they realized what was going on in classrooms. Unknown people and organizations were entering schools without permission, holding sexual education lessons, illustrating the possibilities of sex changes and promoting homosexuality. These lessons emphasized that there are no gender differences – you can be whatever you want to be, there are no biological limits. This propaganda has already begun in the lower grades, in kindergartens and nurseries. Our organization has become the spokesperson for families’ desperate cries, supporting them in their effort to regain the freedom to raise their own children according to their beliefs.
– What have you been able to achieve?
– We had an enormous victory in 2018 as the Ministry of Public Education accepted our proposal that schools should notify families of any extracurricular activities that take place in the building. If the parents do not agree, their children can be excused from the activity in question and sent to another educational activity. It took a years-long struggle for the beliefs of parents to be heard, accounted for, and have some impact in their children’s education. This required enormous efforts in the form of conferences, newspaper articles, and statements. Many Western European countries envy our results because in Spain, England, France and Germany the parents have no say. It’s unimaginable for them to object to gender ideology in schools or to ask for their children to be exempt. If they do this, they are immediately labeled with the homophobic stigma and they’re reprimanded as such. Italy has so far managed to stop the monopoly of gender ideology, although the pressure here is enormous, despite the fact that the Italian constitution protects the right of freedom of upbringing. This liberty has become the target of the Zan law.
– What do you think of the Hungarian government’s child protection law?
– I believe that in this historic moment, Hungary has become Europe’s shining beacon. The law is a testament to civilization and that a democratic state must represent the protection of the vulnerable, the developing children who have become the number one targets of this demagoguery. Hungary is a beacon for Europe, proving that saving families and young generations is a matter of political will. You bravely take a stand and declare that education is the exclusive right of families. We hope that the rest of the European countries will follow suit. We are perfectly aware that the law has nothing to do with the acceptance of otherness. We Italian educators pay special attention to being open to differences, to accepting religious, ethnic or any other kind of diversity. We accept every child for who they are. The Hungarians are not rejecting a given category or community either, rather the ideological pressure that penetrates the intimate sphere of families and leads young people in the direction of anthropological deviations. Italian families view what is going on in Italy with concern, while seeing what is happening in Hungary with great appreciation. Honestly, Italians envy Hungarian families for receiving support and protection and being able vote to express how they would like to live in their homeland. We can only hope that Europe will recognize Hungary’s pioneering role and follow it as a beacon.
Dalma Jánosi (Rome)
