Mafia and Amoral familism (1)

Who have not seen “The Godfather" maybe cannot understand why many times i have to explain “what” mafia is and “what it is not” to foreign. Mafia cannot be perceived as “ cool” mystery and spy story, with great characters, “non-moral” sense of family and ethic... it is something different.

I found, in these days, a new article on Roberto Saviano (author of Gomorra, a book of a criminal organization similar to mafia called camorra).
He is leaving escorted by policemen and bodyguard because he told the truth about a criminal organization that lead business in our democratic and developed country and now...he leaves in danger of death.
As him, many others, that are fighting or were fighting mafia, camorra and others ('Ndrangheta,...), are in danger of death or are death.
The mafia is something that push you in front of the wall, make you turn down the head...you follow or you die.
It is, with camorra and others, one of the first economic power in Italy, leading the business of drugs, “slaves”, “bitches” and guns from Africa, south America east Europe; recycling of dangerous “rubbish” for big enterprises and other countries (ex. Start to research about Ilaria Alpi and Miran Hrovatin , and you will discover how also the “business of rubbish” can kill many persons), and recycling of money in clean activities.
Mafia and camorra are able to make disappear children, because related to persons that are enemies or just decided to collaborate with the justice, are able to organize a car-bomb to destroy their enemy, and not avoid to commit massacre to kill just one person while he/she is in the middle of 10 or 100 others. Mafia and camorra have the same behaviour of a “terrorist group”, just that, we can say, they want to achieve an “economic” issue and not a politic one.

So mafia is an organization that play a “one shot game”, not leaving space to the communication and the development on the community in which it acts.
The structure of mafia (camorra, etc.) is similar to one of a state, that's why many historic and specialist say that it is a form of “state in the state”, it means that in Italy we have a Democratic government elected by citizens and ...the mafia's government, not elected and “hidden”.

Of course you cannot find that in the newspapers, or in the TV's, and the governmental will says “no!!it is not true!, but when a part of the country is “governed” from some power that is different from the “official” one what can we say? That there is a second power, locally established, that control the “land” and manage it. Oh my god, so there is a mafia's government in Sicily? No, not officially, but if to get a job, to build an house, to obtain an authorization, to keep on with your business you have to pay a “tax" to someone that is part of a criminal organization...you are not free and you are not obeying to the “official laws” but to a local power that is able to decide and make you following its decisions, if not you are sanctioned.
So it is a power in a power! A sort of small internal state.

It is difficult to explain how this organization are formed, from where they born and why.

It is a social behaviour linked with a big historical mistake, the one's coming from the unity of Italy, and maybe also before, when the savoy's kingdom unified the country without being able to change the situation of poverty and non development in the south, and also being able to have a real control on it.
The south was “ungoverned” as before and the situation let space to local “representatives” to take power and establish a sort of order, starting to collaborate with the National Government and doing, in the same time, it own business.

A basic idea of what could lead to mafia and camorra existence is a theory of a sociologist, Edward C. Banfield, that in his book Moral Basis of a Backward Society (1958) explain the idea of “amoral familism” (Familismo amorale) , analysing a rural community in the south of Italy.
The theory explain how in some parts of the world(as in the south of Italy) the community are not linked by political and national issues but by “blood stream”. In this theory the family acts looking at her own interest, before that at the communitarian interest-benefit. The sense of family is “non-moral” (without moral) because the family acts not related to the public aims and the community, as the opposite of the idea of family as base of the “national family”. So the categories of “good” and “bad” have sense inside the family, between their members, but not in the relationship family-outside world. In that way the community is unable to develop itself because it is blocked by its internal nucleus, the family. It is linked to the natural state of Hobbes, the one in which persons are as “homo homini lupus”. Instead of an individual man the Banfield's theory is linked to nuclear family acting for their immediate and material interest, and , in this way, acting also against the others.
In this form it appears difficult to build a society interested in the general development and benefits, and it seems easier to develop a form of criminal organization that it is based on the idea of family, not any more “nuclear” (mum,dad,sons) but bigger and more articulated. The mafia is a “family”, organized and ruled by internal laws of respects and hierarchy, that take care of its member when they are “respectful” of it and support them also in the moment of difficulties (ex. The family of a person affiliate to mafia that goes to jail, is supported by the organization with a monthly salary).


(./. to be continued)

Women

It looks like if we are stepping in the past.
Many times I had discussions about the role of the women in the Occidental and Oriental culture, I was trying to explain to some friends which is the role of the woman in the Muslim society, following my knowledges and my small experience of that world, and any time i was making a comparative with what we consider, or many consider, a good achievement of the Occident, it means the dress code and behaving code.
Explaining that for me the possibility of going in the street, or in Television, almost “naked” is not a step forward in the woman freedom but a step back in the stereotype of the female body as sexual object I,often, passed as a “reactionary”.

Now it looks as my opinion is not just mine, i found an article and from there a video and,following, a lot of articles and blogs talking about the role of the women in our modern society.
It looks like if the Italian society is allowing herself to push back the woman in a role of eternal beauty-sex toys.
The video “Il corpo delle donne” ("The women bodies"-english version-, by Lorella Zanardo), explains in a simple way how now the woman is pushed to use the body, before the brain, to achieve an aim, to mantein a position and work in some fields,as the TV's.
The idea of becoming old seems to be something unnatural, instead of a normal evolution process that affect all the human being in the world.
The faces, says the journalist, are not anymore the mirror of their life but just masks to cover a personality, the time passing and the “defects”.
The woman became so a “frame”, a “table's leg”, or just a mute presence in a TV transmission.

I don't know where is the mistake,or which is the social origin and explanation of these behaviors...what i can say is how I'm feeling in seeing that. I feel bad, and sorry because i can see from one side the participation of the women,many women, in this “way to be”. Women focalised on the body, on the beauty instead of the development of the brain and the culture.
In an old book (and movie) a mother said to her daughter I can understand that you want to be beautiful but think also that your beauty will pass with the time,your mind will remain (Small Women, by L.M. Alcott).It seems that we, the women, forget that the time pass and bring effect and, even more, we are not just for what we can appear.
For the other side i see a “structure” that build this idea of female beauty, i don't know if it is the TV and the business starting the process and the people following or if the “structure” is just an answer to people's demand. Anyway the result is a generation of young girls living for became a Velina (a kind of showgirl with a mute role in the TV).
Women take on sexist image in Italian Media, International Hereald Tribune

Indifference and Hope

I was making fund raising in the street these days, waiting with a poster, with african pictures, that someone stops to buy the magazine.

Strange feelings i had.
Looking for hours at the world that moves near me, people passing at any time, with any weather. fast, slowly, in hurry or just enjoying the walk.

I was there, standing, smiling.

I learned a lot, i thought a lot.

I learned how is to make a job like this. How difficult is to smile all the time for hours.
I saw the people and i discovered that someone is not able to smile me back but many yes and, also if they don't stop, it is nice.
I discovered how people can show indifference, passing in front of me 3, 4 times in the same day without looking around, without looking at me.
They just pass by....

Sometimes you start to hate them, to hate the people, their indifference, their inattention.

I discovered what it is indifference meaning...and i asked myself how many times i was showing the same behavior to someone, standing in the street, asking for something, screaming in silence that the world is not going in the right direction, or just their life is not going in the right one...

I discover how easy can be to pass by and how difficult is to smile also if this happens so many times.

I discover also how nice people can be.
In the first day, early in the morning, a boy (11-12 years old) was passing in front of me, going to school, he looked fast at the images and the writes of my poster, he stopped and he gave money. I think it was almost nothing but in the cold of the morning, standing there hopeless, for me was more than anybody else.
I can say that the most part of the adult that pass in front of me shows indifference, instead, this young boy, demonstrated how things can change.
I think he could represent the hope.

I discovered how you can lose your aim, and your faith, or, if you want, how you can make it stronger. People can help you in it.
I was just showing "Africa issues" and many stopped to support me, to ask, to give or just to say "good luck".

I appreciate everyone that was able to smile me back, that was able to support me in any way..the woman that stop to talk and gave to me money also if she had already supported one of my team-mate in another street, the man in the wheelchair that gave 10£ saying that i can understand how things are, the other young boy that stop fast to gave some coins.

I discovered how it is not important how much someone gives, but most it is to stop, to ask, why you are here, standing like this? for what? where are you going? why are you going?

Important it is to smile. I never smiled so much in my life.
You can say that I'm not smiling honestly but it is not true. I discovered that i can smile longer when I see people passing and smiling at me, curious baby looking at me, funny dogs passing smelling the air...

I discovered many things ab about myself and about the others.

I would never do a job like this, I think that normally I could think, seeing another person doing that, “which fucking job” (che lavoro di merda!!). Now it is not anymore.
It is easy that another worker smile and support you in some way, a postman, a man that clean the street.

There is a sort of "supporting behavior" between persons that have "low qualify" jobs.

How many times did I pass in front a someone that clean the street? How many times i smiled to him/her? There is a world of unknown persons that work for our cities, streets and services that we don't consider.

I asked myself how many times, how many times I was indifferent to something happening around me.

I felt guilty, because I know that I should say many times.

I felt sorry for a world that is not paying attention.

I felt happy because I found wonderful persons, that I will never see again but that were able to make me feel god with the job that I'm doing and the aim that I'm trying to achieve.

I felt that if there are still persons like this something good should be also in our society, and the indifference could decrease if we try to do it.

I felt that my brother was right saying me to don't be scared in leaving for Africa, because if you are willing to help someone will help you.

I felt good because I learned to smile more, and to smile looking in the eyes of person unknown just for the joy of receive a smile back.

Rosa Chiara

Saudade

Muito tempo atrás, antes que eu começasse a aprender a língua portuguesa , antes que eu conhecesse muitas pessoas do Brasil, uma cara amiga minha falou sobre a palavra SAUDADE.

Ela falou que é a palavra que mais ama, porque pode expressar uma sensação particular que é muito difícil expressar em os outros idiomas.
Eu não acreditai por muito tempo, eu pensei..."Não não pode ser", tem nostalgia, melancolia e muitas outras palavras, em francês , em italiano, que podem bem falar sobre isto.

Mais que é isto?

E' o sentimento de sentir falta, quando você sente falta de uma pessoa, de um lugar, de sua casa, de seu Pais. E' o sentimento que fala sobra a falta de qualquer coisa.
Como si você sente que dentro, na alma, no coração, falta um pouquinho de uma coisa,você tem esta coisa dentro mais não tem insta coisa perto de você mesmo.
A coisa, a pessoa está longe.
Ao ou falando assim não parece muito diferente de outras palavras em outras línguas, mais você tem que conher os brasileiros para entender como saudade é diferente.
Saudade é um canto, uma canção muito triste que começa e dura muito tempo.

Muita vez eu troquei de lugar, da casa, de caras que você vê cada amanha.
Cada vez o momento de trocar para mim estava bom, porque estiva cansada do lugar, das coisas.
Cada vez que tinha que despedir dos amigos, novos ou velhos, mais eu sabia que o tempo que ia chegar podia ser mais novo, mais legal.
Com o passar do tempo, pode ser porque vou ser mais velha, pode ser porque troquei muitas casas, as despedidas são mais difíceis.
Agora cada vez que tenho que despedir de um amigo vai ser muito difícil.
Claro, não é parecido para cada nova pessoa.
Eu sé que tenho muita sorte porque no mundo encontro pessoas que depois no podo saudar sem chorar, mais também talvez penso que cada vez ,como neste momento, vou perder uma parte de minha felicidade.

Por isso eu posso falar agora de saudade, porque começo a conhecer este idioma e porque isto sentir falta, que vou sentir de amanha, pode ser explicado exclusivamente com saudade.
Não tem outra palavra para explicar quanto uma pessoa falta, também si não é o sentir falta de uma pessoa que mori

Como pode você falar sobra uma sensação de sufocamento, de tristeza, de ovo que para na gula que não quer ir embora no estômago?

Podo falar solo de saudade, como de uma chuva pequena que todo molha, que todo cobre, que dura oras e não parece acabar jamais.
Parece, a saudade, uma chuva da Inglaterra, quando o céu não é visível, o sol parece desaparecido no rabo de não se quem, e a chuva cai, sozinha e silenciosa.

Rosa Chiara

(Foto de Betuca :) )

Who am i?

After many times that i was thinking about it here it is my blog.
It is, i think, a way to keep in fast contact with many friends everywhere in the world.
Difficult was to chose the language to use, maybe French maybe Italian, I'd like Portuguese...but to make easier the access to everyone i chose the English, also if sometimes will be other languages.
Hmmm..let's say that maybe it is better to explain that I'll try to use my own "Esperanto", just to try to mix all the sensation that all the different languages and persons gave me and still gave....
I apologise for my bad English and for all my grammar mistakes but my aim is to communicate.


I think that sometimes too many worlds are worst than few, sometimes,of course, i think completely the opposite!!

If you ask who i am...i cannot answer.
You should ask my friends, to my family..and still will be not enough.
As an Italian writer said we are "one, no one and one hundred" ("Uno nessuno e centomila", Pirandello), a puzzle of many ideas that others have about us and we have about our self.
But if you still keep asking who i am, i can answer that i hope, i want, I'd like, to be like this:

Not knowing when the Dawn will come,
I open every Door,
Or has it Feathers, like a Bird,
Or Billows, like a Shore -

E. Dickinson

Rosa Chiara