(CNN) -- The racist
taunts against Italy's first black minister, Cecile Kyenge, took another ugly
turn over the weekend when someone hurled bananas at her during a rally.
Kyenge is Italy's minister of integration. And her appointment
three months ago has not sat well with right-wing radicals whose racial slurs
and antics have overshadowed her tenure.
The banana incident is just the latest.
It took place in the town of Cervia where Kyenge was speaking to
supporters Friday.
Police have yet to find the person who hurled the bananas.
They fell short of the stage, landing between the first and second
row of spectators, Italy's ANSA news agency reported.
As she has with the other incidents, Kyenge shrugged off the
episode.
In a Twitter post, she called it a sad waste of food when so
many people are dying of hunger.
racism with nity
Kyenge, who was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo, moved to
Italy in the 1980s to study medicine. She became an Italian citizen and is an
ophthalmologist in Modena.
While her ascent to a top government position reflects the success
of immigrants, it also has stoked the flames of nativism.
Ominous mannequins
Just before Kyenge arrived for the rally, a group smeared
blood-red paint and anti-immigrant messages onto mannequins.
"Immigration kills," read signs attached to the dummies.
The far-right political group Forza Nuova ("New Force")
claimed responsibility for the mannequins.
The scene was also littered with fliers that said Italy's future
growth depends on "protecting the Italian identity," according to
ANSA.
Insults from other politicians
Two weeks ago, Italian Senator Roberto Calderoli likened Kyenge to
an orangutan. Calderoli, a member of the anti-immigration Northern League
party, made the remarks at a political rally.
"I love animals -- bears and wolves, as everyone knows -- but
when I see the pictures of Kyenge, I cannot but think of, even if I'm not
saying she is one, the features of an orangutan," he was quoted as saying.
After his comments were published, Calderoli said "if I've
offended her, I apologize."
"It was a joke, a comment in a joking way. There was nothing
particularly against her," he said. "It was just my impression. ...
It is all very well that she be a minister, but in her own country. Given that this
government needs to govern Italy, I hope that it is done by Italians."
Kyenge responded diplomatically, saying Calderoli "does not
need to ask forgiveness to me, but he should rather reflect on the political
and institutional role that he carries. It is on this that he needs to make a
profound reflection also to then apologize."
"Also, he must go beyond putting everything on a personal
level," she added. "I think the time has come for us to study the
problem of communication."
Death threats
Kyenge has also received death threats before visiting an area
where the Northern League is powerful.
A local politician recently said on Facebook that Kyenge should be
raped so she can understand the pain felt by victims of crime, which some
politicians blame on immigrants.
She's been called a "Congolese monkey," "Zulu"
and "the black anti-Italian." One Northern League official said
"she seems like a great housekeeper," but "not a government
minister."
Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta appealed to Northern League
leader Roberto Maroni to "close this chapter right away."
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