It's a weekend like any other in Piazza Dante, Naples, but one that can no longer be called "normal." The constant presence of scooters whizzing through the pedestrian zone has become almost routine, but no less alarming. The youth gangs, numerous and omnipresent, seem to have control of the area, creating panic and disorder as they whizz by on their two-wheelers.
The situation, so out of the ordinary, has even become a sort of tourist attraction: visitors film the reckless stunts of the young bikers, who often don't even touch the ground with their feet.
"If only the problem were just one of image, which is already serious enough," declared Francesco Emilio Borrelli, MP for the Green-Left alliance. "There's a public order and security emergency here. The murder of 15-year-old Emanuele Tufano demonstrates, once again, how child gangs and the wars they wage against each other are cause for enormous concern.
It is the Camorra scene that has been changing for several years now, and that is increasingly incorporating very young people, those from 'difficult realities'. And even when they are not real clan soldiers, they are kids who imitate the habits and customs of the underworld. Re-education and new opportunities for this youth adrift? Yes, but this does not solve the problem immediately and does not stop the deaths and the shootings, total repression is needed.”
Chronicles of Campania
Naples' Piazza Mercato is at the mercy of gangs who speed by on scooters and challenge the Army.
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