Among the many who, unfortunately, pay extortion money, there are those who, supported by Addiopizzo, found the strength and the courage to stand up to Cosa Nostra’s threats and pressure.
These are stories of resistance that show, once again, just how essential the contribution of business owners is if the valuable, incisive work of investigators — in this case the Carabinieri and the police — and of the Palermo Prosecutor’s Office is to achieve faster and more effective results, like those emerging from today’s investigation. Once again, too, the role of the workers on construction sites proves decisive, since they are often directly exposed to threats and extortion demands. Their cooperation is also an important piece of a shared path toward reporting.
The choice made by those who resisted extortion comes in an area where, in the recent past, thirty-one shopkeepers were instead committed to trial for aiding and abetting, because by denying to investigators that they had paid the so-called “messa a posto” to Cosa Nostra, they helped mafia members evade the investigation. But set against these behaviors, it must be pointed out today that there are instead victims who keep finding the strength and courage to come forward, even in Brancaccio.
However, if we want to bring about a real turning point on organized crime and extortion, 政策 makers need to invest in rehabilitating the deep pockets of poverty and decay affecting the outskirts, which fuel deviance and widespread illegality.
These are areas and neighborhoods where fundamental rights — to housing, to work, to education, to health — remain, for many people, still out of reach.
We can no longer rely solely on the work of magistrates and law enforcement. It is necessary to build a social and economic alternative to Cosa Nostra, which, in the outskirts, through its illicit activities, has by now become a kind of social safety net that ensures survival.
Press coverage
- Live Sicilia – Il blitz di Palermo, Addiopizzo pungola la politica
- Giornale di Sicilia – Addiopizzo: bene i fermi, ma la politica investa contro la povertà e il degrado
- La Sicilia – Estorsioni a Brancaccio e Sperone, scattano 32 arresti: il blitz sorprende Cosa Nostra
- La Repubblica Palermo – Due quartieri nella morsa del pizzo. E solo un imprenditore ha denunciato
- Palermo Today – Blitz antimafia tra Brancaccio e Sperone: “Il coraggio di chi ha denunciato con il sostegno di Addiopizzo”
