NOWHERE BORDERS

DIARI DEL CONFLITTO

Children of the same rage

Bari, 18th May 2026

On 16th May, USB — Unione Sindacale di Base — confirmed it would join the general strike called across Italy for 18th May, in solidarity with the Global Sumud Flotilla and against war, rearmament, and the situation in Gaza. The call built on a mobilization the union had already staged on 22nd September 2025 under the same banner: blocchiamo tutto, we block everything. It was also a lead-in to a national workers’ demonstration scheduled for 23rd May, framed around labour’s role as the producer of wealth against a backdrop of war economies and rising living costs.

In Bari, the march left the square outside the Prefettura before nine in the morning. Union flags — USB, Rifondazione Comunista, Cambiare Rotta — moved alongside hand-painted signs about invisible social workers, unpaid overtime, and outsourced welfare. Palestinian flags were just as present, carried by the same hands, under the same sun.

The two causes never separated into two marches. A banner reading Per la Palestina, blocchiamo tutto! moved down the street a few metres from another demanding dignity for social workers. A megaphone passed between speakers who spoke about pension cuts one moment and Gaza the next, without pause, as if the line between the two had stopped mattering to the people marching.

By the time the march reached Via Calefati, a line of police in riot gear was waiting, shields raised, blocking the route toward the Israeli consulate. The crowd stopped there — pressed close to the shields, flags still moving. What followed wasn’t a clash. It was something stranger: minutes of standoff that, without anyone deciding it, softened into shared jokes, a handshake, a peace sign returned by an officer who hadn’t planned to give one.

This is a story about a single Monday morning when two kinds of anger walked the same street and, for a few hours, stopped being two.

Sound check ahead of the 18 May 2026 march: a technician adjusts the mixer on a beer crate, Bari.A group sets up a van with a Lebanese flag before the Bari march departs.A marcher raises an antifascist flag from a van's flatbed, the march moving behind him, Bari.A marcher stands on a van's flatbed raising a flag, the march and palm trees behind him, Bari.A woman speaks through a megaphone to the crowd, handwritten notes tucked into the speaker.A marcher shouts into a megaphone in front of banners for Palestine and workplace dignity.The march seen from behind, an antifascist flag in the wind, union and Palestine banners side by side.A marcher shouts into a megaphone, sunglasses on, another marcher with a Lebanese flag behind her.A tattooed arm rests a keffiyeh on another marcher's shoulder, the march behind them.A marcher holding a megaphone and her phone, tattooed forearm, amid the crowd.Children of the same rageMani guantate di agenti stringono i manici degli scudi trasparenti, cordone schierato.Close-up of transparent Carabinieri riot shields, a person in a keffiyeh visible behind them, Via Calefati.Marchers applaud, the dome of Teatro Petruzzelli visible through the trees, Bari.A marcher shouts into a megaphone, an antifascist flag behind him, Bari march.Two marchers sit on the ground near the police line, waiting during the standoff on Via Calefati.An antifascist flag in the foreground, a Carabinieri officer standing with arms crossed behind it.Officers with "Polizia" shields in front of a Carabinieri van, warm late-day light, Via Calefati.A marcher balances on a bollard, smiling, police officers standing beside her, Via Calefati.Marchers and police officers pose together, some flashing peace signs, end of the 18 May 2026 march.
Marcher with a mohawk holds a Palestinian flag and an antifascist flag from the back of a van.Marcher in a red bandana with a black flag over his shoulder looks out over the square by Bari's Prefettura.Marchers hold a banner protesting outsourced welfare, Palestinian flags visible behind them.A young marcher with a keffiyeh around her neck smiles amid the crowd.A marcher photographs a group holding a "No disposable educators" sign during the march.A marcher shouts into a megaphone, hair blowing, during the Bari march.Two marchers speak closely, a "more dignity" sign visible in the crowd.Close-up of a marcher with a megaphone, a keffiyeh around her neck, a historic building behind her.Un manifestante solleva una bandiera palestinese sopra gli scudi dei Carabinieri, corteo del 18 maggio 2026.A tattooed arm holds a Palestinian flagpole above a Carabinieri riot shield.A marcher with a keffiyeh around her neck shouts into a megaphone in front of the police line.A riot officer watches the scene, a bystander filming with a stabilizer behind him.Close-up of transparent Carabinieri riot shields, officers' legs and boots lined up.A marcher laughs, leaning back against a Carabinieri vehicle's hood, tattooed arm raised.Marchers and police officers pose together smiling, "Polizia" shields in the foreground, end of the march.
Two marchers exchange a glance before the march sets off, an "Israel is terrorist" banner behind them.A group of marchers greet each other before departure, a USB union flag behind them.The march crosses an intersection behind a banner reading "For Palestine, we block everything!"A group of social workers cross a pedestrian crossing carrying signs about outsourcing and workplace dignity.Marchers hold up a white banner about pensions during the Bari march.Antifascist and Palestinian flags fly over the march, banners about suspended wages behind them.Close-up of two marchers, one wearing a yellow hard hat, in the crowd.The march seen from the side, a "For Palestine we block" banner in front of a white historic building.A marcher carries a Palestinian flag down the street, the march behind her.A marcher shouts into a megaphone while holding her phone, amid the crowd.Children of the same rageClose-up of officers with helmets and visors lowered, lined up along the street.A marcher holds a black flag in front of a Carabinieri cordon with shields.Gloved hands grip the handles of transparent riot shields, officers lined up.A bearded marcher raises a Palestinian flag in front of the Carabinieri cordon.A line of officers with "Polizia" shields lined up in front of a Carabinieri van, Via Calefati.A marcher balances on a bollard, smiling, police officers standing beside her, Via Calefati.Two police officers smile while talking with a marcher, the line loosening, Via Calefati.A marcher jokes while hanging from a road sign, riot officers standing beside her.