Naples - Naples's Chief Prosecutor, Nicola Gratteri, is right when he says that "we see more and more young people dying or committing crimes."
In a year and a half, 7 young people have been murdered: three innocent victims (all killed by the hands of young people linked to the clans) and four killed in the Camorra war of the young recruits. All under 20 years old except the last one killed on Saturday evening, Emanuele Durante who turned 20 on March XNUMXst.
The list begins with Giovan Battista Cutolo, killed in August 2023 in Piazza Municipio on a seemingly ordinary motorcycle parked outside a pub. Then, in March, Francesco Pio Maimone , a young pizza chef from Pianura, was killed in Mergellina last March in a fight between gangs from the Traiano and Barra neighborhoods over a dirty shoe, in which he was not involved.
A similar scenario unfolded a few months later, in November of last year, in Sant'Anastasia, where 19-year-old soccer player Santo Romano was killed . Again, it was a dirty shoe and a tragic twist of fate: a minor, a friend and acquaintance of Francesco Pio Maimone's murderer, killed him.
In August, a gruesome murder occurred: that of Gennaro Ramondino , killed at 19 and set on fire in the countryside between Pianiura and Marano. He was killed in the Camorra feud over the new Pianura children's group by a 16-year-old who confessed to the crime and was also his childhood friend.
At the end of October, a 15-year-old boy was killed in a Wild West-style chase, but on a scooter rather than a horse, along the road that connects Piazza Mercato to Corso Umberto. His name was Emanuele Tufano , the son of a pizza chef from the Sanità district.
The bloody ordeal bears the name of another young victim: that of 18-year-old Arcangelo Correra, killed in a macrabre game on the night of November 9th in Vai dei Tribunali by his friend Renato Caiafa.
And then on Saturday evening the sixth young victim: Emanuele Durante , just turned 20, killed in via Santa Teresa degli Scalzi in front of his girlfriend.
To this must be added a dozen injured minors always related to ambushes linked to the Camorra in the last 18 months.
Gratteri: “We see more and more young people dying or committing crimes”
“As time goes by we see more and more young people dying or committing crimes or even leading criminal organizations. It is a trend that concerns the Western world, Italy, Campania and Naples”.
Naples prosecutor Nicola Gratteri said yesterday , on the sidelines of the Ecomafia Report, responding to journalists about the murder of 20-year-old Emanuele Durante last Saturday. And who could blame him?
Father Antonio Loffredo , director of the Diocesan Museum of Naples, also weighed in on the matter yesterday. "Like every time, it seems as if the flowers that are growing are being cut off. And each time, starting over is more difficult. We're in the same situation: we must recover and move forward without ever giving up the greatest gift, which is hope."
"We are sure that our city is on a journey, a long journey. But, it is clear - he continued - we would like more and more for everyone to work as a team so that these things do not happen again".
Father Loffredo: “Raising new generations before it’s too late”
What to do? “Start raising new generations from kindergarten, not when it's too late” and regarding the gang war that sees very young people at the center he underlines that “they are screaming, they have needs and suffering and we older ones should be close and ready to know how to listen to these needs that are expressed in such a dramatic way for all of us”.
“The Municipality needs to provide the goods more quickly, it is not possible that for twenty years we have been asking for a municipal property and we cannot find a legal form to have it and I am referring to the begging house in via Cristallini”, he added.
“In these days I have felt the pain of the educators who have touched these kids and feel all the impotence of having to work on the streets with these kids,” he concluded.
(from top left, the chief prosecutor of Naples, Nicola Gratteri with the three innocent victims: Giovanbattista Cutolo, Francesco Pio Maimone and Santo Romano. Bottom left, the four young men killed by the Camorra: Gennaro Ramondino, Emanuele Tufano, Arcangelo Correra and Emanuele Durante)
It is sad to see that there are so many young people dying and the prosecutor is right to say so. We need to intervene more effectively to stop this spiral of violence, we cannot remain indifferent to these events.
It is truly sad to see how so many young people die or are involved in violent acts. The data provided by Prosecutor Gratteri are alarming and we should reflect on how we can prevent this situation for the future of new generations.