“There is cultural violence that is difficult to combat. It’s called silence and mafia. It’s not just the criminal mafia that kills, but it’s also that passive attitude, also made up of disinterest and resignation. The mafia also feeds on this.” Don Luigi Ciotti said this yesterday as a guest of the Mazzini Higher Institute in Vittoria, at the conclusion of the two-day social conference “The socio-environmental issue in the transformed area: problems, actors and possible solutions”. The founder of Libera met the students and spoke with them about the many problems that Italy is experiencing today. “In Italy we have been talking about the mafia for 170 years – said Don Ciotti – many police operations have been carried out. But it’s not enough. Remember: the last mafia to be discovered and defeated is always the penultimate. Because the mafia has a great ability to regenerate itself.” He also spoke of the risks of a decline in the real desire to fight crime. “When we talk about wiretaps, or the abolition of the crime of abuse of office (which should also be reformed) – we risk taking a step backwards in the battle against the mafia. Thanks to a small wiretap, I am still here with you today, because thanks to this we learned of Totò Riina’s desire to kill me. When you question “416 bis” you do crime a great favor.” Don Ciotti spoke about the relationship between the mafia and politics “The mafiosi are indifferent to the color of their political interlocutors”.
DON CIOTTI: THE APPEAL TO YOUNG PEOPLE
Then an appeal to young people: “Always be wary of those who talk about you, but don’t talk to you. Know how to distinguish between seducers and educators. Today’s society needs you. We need those who know how to listen and understand. You don’t have to be part of projects. But being actors in the projects. This is a company that leaves young people aside, that doesn’t bet on you. We must build the “city of us”, in which young people are protagonists”.
Then he told the story of Sindi Manushi, the lawyer elected mayor of Pieve di Cadore, a small municipality in the Belluno Dolomites, the first Albanian woman mayor in Italy. Don Ciotti did not mention her name, but spoke of the young woman who arrived in Italy more than 20 years ago with her family fleeing their country. Her parents worked hard for her and her siblings. She studied at the Belluno high school, at the University of Padua, she graduated in law, she is a lawyer. A year ago, in the municipal elections, you were elected mayor. These are the young people who make the history of Italy.” Together with Don Luigi Ciotti, three young students were there to welcome him and lead the morning. Two of them are of foreign origin, Albanian and Tunisian. They are also the protagonists of a school newspaper “La Fenice” which has become an instrument of legality and growth for young students. The group of students is coordinated by professor Giuseppe Di Mauro, while the students Leandra Galesi and Manar Hajri direct the editorial team.
Don Ciotti also spoke about Daouda Diane, the Ivorian who disappeared mysteriously almost two years ago in Acate, after a morning spent in a cement factory where he apparently worked illegally. “Daouda Diane is no longer here – she said – but her family has the right to know the truth. I met her young wife in Africa. She asks for justice. I hope that someone breaks the wall of silence and that we know what it is like because this young immigrant died and where he was buried. And may justice find those responsible.” In the evening, Don Ciotti stopped by at the Ispica market where he held another meeting.
