When you have heard many promises, and these promises weren’t kept, you’re bound to explode. This is what is happening in L’Aquila, Italy.

According to Corriere della Sera, the city destroyed by the April 6^th earthquake is still waiting for the many promises made by the government to become reality. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi had promised that all the L’Aquila inhabitants would be able to return to their homes before September. It is now February and the situation remains unchanged. Many citizens are still out of their homes and the city itself remains in bad conditions.

So, the residents of L’Aquila are now trying to react. In the last two weekends, thousands of citizens forced themselves into the “red zone” in L’Aquila city center, closed since the quake, to protest against the Italian government. Protesters, led by L’Aquila’s mayor, began a symbolic protest by hanging the keys of their abandoned homes in the town piazza. This protest has taken the name of “The protest of the keys.”

“The citizens express their rage. They’re frightened by the delays in construction and because almost nothing has been done,” said the mayor. “The removal of debris is the biggest problem. We’re alone, and we can’t remove debris without state help. It’s impossible to remove 4 tons of debris. And if the debris is still here, we can’t build a new city.”

During the peaceful protest there was also a protest against one RAI Italian TV crew. The L’Aquila inhabitants accused the journalists of only generating pro-government propaganda and ignoring the real problems of the city.