«I call them Caini. They experience double imprisonment. They find themselves behind bars and, at the same time, they are marginalized by other inmates. They are labeled as infamous. But my Cains they care about young people not choosing the path of illegality. They care about certain mistakes not being repeated.”
The Cains he speaks of Giovanni Mercurio are the collaborators of justice. Former mafia leaders of ‘Ndrangheta, Cosa Nostra, Camorra serving their sentences at San Michele in Alessandria. And that Giovanni Mercurio learned to observe, know, listen. «The first time I entered the maximum security section, ten years ago, I realized that these were people who needed to talk, to be listened to. To try to give meaning to their experience, after the evil they had committed.” So the lessons in prison began. Study, art, theatre. «A collaborator of justice learned the Divine Comedy by heart» says Mercurio, who is now vice president of ICS Ets.
The association follows various projects in the prison of Alessandria, which also includes At least One, aims to delve deeper into the social theme through a series of lessons, which in April took place in parallel in prison and in the classes of the IIS Eco in Alessandria. Finally, students and prisoners met at San Michele. With them also Barbara Stefanellideputy director of Corriere della Seradirector of 7 and writer, this year «adopted» by the association as part of the initiatives of Turin Book Fair for her latest essay «Love Harder: Iranian girls walk before us».
«A moment of exchange that meant a lot for everyone – says Mercurio -. Justice collaborators are able to explain the dynamics mafia royalty. So the anniversary, the family context, the question of belonging and power. They can explain to the kids that the people killed are unbridgeable chasms. All of this is extremely educational for students. And for the prisoners, who can make their past a brick on which to build a better future for others.” If all this is good for at least one person, be it a student or prisoner, the ICS Ets association has achieved its goal. Which, in the end, is creating wealth, through a gaze that overcomes stereotypes and distances. And on May 13, the class will meet again Barbara Stefanelli right at the Salone, with the reading of some writings by justice collaborators. A human exchange that belongs to every initiative in the area (and beyond).
From prison to the reception of unaccompanied minors, for whom a center has been opened in Molare, which hosts 22 children. The association also takes care of accompanying women who have suffered domestic violence on a journey of personal reconstruction, from family support to finding work. Not to mention the projects around the world: A school will be inaugurated in Mitava, Mozambique, in May. An institute that will welcome around 800 children, including primary and secondary schools. Construction of a student dormitory is underway in Morocco following the devastation of the September earthquake. In Senegal, a well and two mills were built, which today supply 4 villages. All this was made possible thanks to financing bodies, but also to the funds raised during the editions of StrAlessandria. The charity race returns to the city on the weekend of Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th May. «This year too we have a project to launch – concludes Giovanni Mercurio -. To tell the truth more local. We would like to redevelop 4 areas of Alessandria, areas that represent places of sociality. Even in this case, our focus is always the same. For every project we start from the people and their needs.”
