“Living the law”. Every day, as a way of being. This is the topic addressed by the professor on Wednesday 17 April Nando Dalla Chiesa, who spoke at the Galilei high school in Legnano. second appointment of the civic education initiative “The citizens’ high school”.
The principal of Galilei, Fiorella Casciato, recalled her role in the fight against the mafia, as president of the anti-mafia committee of the Municipality of Milan and as delegate of the Rector of the University of Milan on the topics of organized crime and cultural education anti-mafia, while the students asked various questions, taking inspiration from a book by Dalla Chiesa that they studied and studied in depth, entitled “Legality is a feeling”.
«Professor Dalla Chiesa knows the power of the mafia very well, knowing the enemy and helping to defeat him – said the civic education teacher Luca Scarafile -. In his book he provokes us professors, asking if we are convinced that we can educate about legality with an hour of civic education a week and inviting judges and journalists, rather than building values. We are convinced that legality is a way of life, a feeling, which however is not in conflict with reason».
Dalla Chiesa retraced the history of organized crime, remembered its victims such as Lea Garolalo and great heroes such as Rosario Livatino who, in Sicily in the 1980s, decided to undertake his personal battle against the mafia in a climate of silence and cover-up : «In my work – he declared – I admired the most were those who did not give up in the face of injustice despite not having studied and not having powerful people to protect them» and also of conflict: «We educate ourselves about conflict because we he asks whether to suffer in silence or fight. Those who defend certain principles must show their character – said the guest speaker – having to deal with the disapproval of loved ones in turning to the authorities and in saying what no one has the courage to say. Legality is not conformity, if you disturb the illegal powers you have to defend yourself.”
Professor Dalla Chiesa then discussed the theme of fascination with evil often conveyed by cinema or television and in answering the question whether wrong values can be represented with an educational purpose, he replied: «The limit of films and fiction that talk about the mafia is that there are no characters who represent good, like a Peppino Impastato to cheer for. Gomorrah didn’t convince me: I was in the real Casal di Principe and in the film I didn’t see all the positive humanity that I encountered there. Four years after the film’s release, an anti-camorrist doctor was elected as mayor. Little is said about positive models.”
Models to follow to fight illegality. For Nando Dalla church what happens in a country can be represented in Dante’s circles: the central circle is where the crimes are committed, the second circle, however, is made up of those who, out of interest, help the commission of crimes without committing them. The third circle is inhabited by those who help directly but unintentionally, the idiots, who help criminals without wanting to. Finally, the fourth group, where battles between ideals and culture take place: the more the values of legality and democracy win, the more the other groups shrink: «After the massacres of the 90s, Italy had a leap in consciousness and the fourth group has narrowed, allowing the creation of more restrictive laws against crime. If it is aseptic and indifferent, the other groups will expand.”
And so the invitation to young people is that of «ppractice poetry – he told the young people -. Analyze reality in the light of your poetry, talk about the existence of this problem. No one had ever thought of studying the mafia before the great massacres. My course was opened in 2008, convinced that it would be followed by many people, and so it was. Crime puts people before their nature, questions must be asked about power and legality. In the North there is still shame in naming the mafia, but it is there and we don’t have the antibodies to defeat it. Creating awareness is the next step, you just need to be informed and motivated».
Tags: Legality feeling Nando Dalla Chiesas lesson high school students Galilei Legnano
