Free to choose, around 200 minors have already been stolen from mafias

There are around 200 young people who have benefited from the Free to choose project, born years ago on the idea of ​​the current president of the Juvenile Court of Catania, Roberto Di Bella, and which has now become state law.

The data emerged at a meeting with the students of the Antonio Bruno institute promoted by the Municipality of Biancavilla in which the magistrate and the president of the Anti-Mafia, Chiara Colosimo, participated. According to an initial estimate, the new law could take around 400 minors away from the mafias.

"This - explained President Colosimo - means 400 possible levers of organized crime that return to the loving hands of the State. It means first of all telling territories like this, and even territories far from here, such as Campania or Calabria, that the State exists and that beating organized crime is possible. We are already working - added the President of the Anti-Mafia - on the first lists, compared to the provisions already issued by the Courts that dealt with it before it became law, and we are receiving the first requests from the courts which have instead begun to deal with it".

"In Catania - confirmed President Di Bella - a top level boss regretted our intervention on his grandchildren, but those at 41 bis are also encouraging the project. I must say that at this moment there is an important sharing, we offer these people the opportunity of salvation for their children, we touch what is perhaps the most authentic feeling of humanity which is filial love. We don't push everyone away - underlined the magistrate - we move a lot in the territory, bringing children back to school, involving them in legality education courses.

The removals are residual, only in extreme situations. If the children are small - Di Bella observed - we always co-opt the mother in these paths and then we support the entire family unit with educators, psychologists, psychotherapists. It is a detailed and complex project, I must say that the results are very, very important."