Fight against the mafia and culture of legality at school. But a free and autonomous school
The intervention of Sister Anna Monia Alfieri
The mafia is an anti-state organization that always attracts new followers because it is considered more effective than the state; therefore, it becomes the task of the school, the place where citizens are trained, to overturn this perverse process, training young people in the culture of the state and institutions, exactly as judge Paolo Borsellino said. In fact, it is no coincidence that, in Italy, education to legality was introduced as a subject of study in schools following the massacres in Capaci and via D'Amelio, the bombings in Milan, Florence, Rome, events tragic events that shocked the country and made the perception of a threat to the democratic system strong. In those dramatic situations, the need was fully felt to give new impetus to the promotion of democratic culture, as a tool to combat mafia associations. Consequently it was introduced by the Ministry of Public Education, with circular letter no. 302 of 25 October 1993, Education to Legality, in order to enhance the role of the school for the good of the civil community, through initiatives to enhance historical memory, knowledge of the principles of legality, human rights, the Italian Constitution.
It is clear that May 23, like all the other anniversaries of our civil calendar, takes on a true meaning only if the memory determines a change of direction in our lives and in our way of thinking. Otherwise it is not a question of memory but of empty rhetoric. Judge Falcone, as his sister Maria said, was a different person who tried to change the system, he did not adapt to the prevailing corruption. The mafia is a reality that must and can be won; today, however, we need to ask ourselves a question: with the high rate of early school leaving in the south, with an educational poverty that makes our children easy prey to the mafia and the Camorra, what alternative are we able to give them. The only possible alternative against the spread of crime is school, because the war against the mafia begins with the guarantee of the right to education: the book snatches the picciotti from the mafia.
The school, in fact, favors that knowledge that allows many children, once they become adults, to dedicate their lives to legality, to live a good life, for themselves and for others. But, if the school abdicates its duty, the efforts to counter the phenomenon of the mafias will be in vain. The deaths of the judges Falcone and Borsellino and of the other servants of the state barbarously killed will be in vain. Culture of legality means instilling in the minds of young people the rejection of any mafia behavior that feeds on shortcuts and recommendations. How often we adults let ourselves be taken by the system of recommendation, the easy way, the prevarication … When we allow ourselves to be seized by these attitudes, even in the banalities of our daily lives, voluntarily or involuntarily, we endorse the mafia mentality that denies the flat way of legality. Then it becomes essential to educate young people to keep their backs straight, to seek confrontation and dialogue, respect and openness, never the destruction and annihilation of the other. If this were not the case, the memory would be in vain.
Thinking about it, nothing has changed, from ancient times to today: Ettore, aware that he will be killed, abandons his wife, son, old father, to meet his heroic destiny. His memory is dear to everyone, perhaps even more than that of the strong Achilles, who was also a victim of his own destiny. The memory of those who fight for an ideal of good is eternal, because man enriches his own humanity and promotes a message that goes beyond the centuries. And you, honor of tears, Hector, will have / where blood is holy and tears / shed for the homeland, and until the Sun / shines on human disasters.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/mondo/lotta-alla-mafia-e-cultura-della-legalita-a-scuola-ma-una-scuola-libera-e-autonoma/ on Sat, 21 May 2022 09:03:09 +0000.