South Tyrol is the northernmost province of Italy, in the southern Alps. Along with the rest of Tyrol, it was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire until the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, when it was handed over to Italy, while North and East Tyrol remained Austrian. It includes three language groups: Italian, German, and Ladin.
The following video from South Tyrol features brief interviews with participants in a spirited demonstration against the vax mandate and the “Green Pass”. One of those interviewed is a German-speaker, and portions of his remarks are rendered in Italian voice-over. At one point he says, “It is better to die standing, than to live on one’s knees,” in German and then repeats it in Italian to make sure the reporter understands.
Many thanks to HeHa for the translation, and to Vlad Tepes and RAIR Foundation for the subtitling:
Video transcript:
| 00:00 | Are we so important that the Gestapo’s right hand comes to visit us? | |
| 00:04 | Really? What do you mean by “Gestapo’s right hand”? You mean us? | |
| 00:07 | Yes, I mean you. I am over 50 years old. | |
| 00:10 | So you will get vaccinated? —No. —How so? You will get a €100 fine. | |
| 00:13 | They can stick that fine up their a**es. | |
| 00:16 | Mr. Draghi and all his colleagues. —But we are in a pandemic. | |
| 00:21 | What pandemic? That’s bulls***! | |
| 00:26 | What is it, then? —It’s a dictatorship! | |
| 00:30 | Not a pandemic! | |
| 00:34 | We are in Bolzano. It’s January 8. | |
| 00:37 | The Omicron variant is spreading here in South Tyrol, too. | |
| 00:40 | And this protest march heading to the city center is made up of anti-vaxxers, | |
| 00:46 | who are against mandatory vaccination for those over 50 years old. | |
| 00:51 | I will never get vaccinated. Never! —But you will be forced to pay a fine. | |
| 00:55 | I don’t give a damn. I am disposed to pay even €10,000. I don’t care. | |
| 01:00 | Do they want me to pay €100? Here they are, take them. | |
| 01:06 | Take them to Draghi! | |
| 01:09 | I am paying at once! Take them! Freedom for everyone! | |
| 01:15 | It is better to die standing, than to live on one’s knees [in German]. | |
| 01:20 | I don’t know if you understood; I am saying that in Italian, too. | |
| 01:23 | It is better to die standing than to live on one’s knees. | |
| 01:28 | I will never get vaccinated! | |
| 01:31 | Never! There are 200 deaths a day. | |
| 01:34 | I don’t care. I will leave my clothes behind, but my soul remains safe! | |
| 01:40 | Okay? Are you vaccinated? —Yes. | |
| 01:44 | I am not vaccinated. Congratulations. If you are vaccinated, then why are you wearing a mask? | |
| 01:47 | I am not. —You can infect me. Because no vaccine is 100% effective. | |
| 01:52 | Why the hell did you get vaccinated, then? —To feel safer. | |
| 01:55 | You are paid by the Government to spread bulls***. | |
| 01:59 | There is an open investigation into the dead people of Bergamo. | |
| 02:02 | They were the dead of many years ago. —In the coffins of Bergamo? | |
| 02:05 | Yes! In the coffins of Bergamo. —Are you kidding, | |
| 02:08 | or are you telling the truth? —I am telling the truth! Nothing but the truth! | |
| 02:11 | We still hear such stories after two years of pandemic! | |
| 02:14 | No Green Pass! |