“Historic moment”. Italy creates project to save children from families linked to the mafia

The “Free to Choose” project was created in 2012 with the aim of preventing minors in risky situations from being integrated into the schemes of the most powerful mafia in Italy, the ‘Ndrangheta, which operates in the Calabria region. Now, the Government has announced that the program has been expanded, in order to save children who are integrated into families linked to organized crime in other regions.

“This is a historic moment in the fight against the mafia”, declared the Italian Minister of Justice, Carlo Nordio, this Tuesday, while presenting, in Rome, the protocol signed by five other ministers and the Conference of Italian Bishops of the Catholic Church .

The extension of the project to the regions of Naples, where the Camorra operates, and Sicily, the headquarters of Cosa Nostra, aims to prevent children from following in their parents’ footsteps when it comes to a life of crime, encouraging a break in the cycle by which the Power is transmitted from generation to generation through blood ties and genealogical loyalty. “There are children who are taught to shoot guns at the age of eight. Others traffic crack”, warned Chiara Colosimo, director of the Parliament’s Anti-Mafia Commission, cited by AFP, referring to one of the main problems in this context: early school leaving.

The support program arose from an idea by judge Roberto Di Bella, specialized in issues related to minors, who, throughout his career, said he had seen cases of children who were forced to murder their own mothers to defend the family’s honor.

Since the initiative began, twelve years ago, around 150 children have been removed from their families of origin and placed in foster homes, where they learn to live in society and are far from the routines of the clans in which they grew up.

The juvenile judge detailed that, in recent years, at least 30 mothers have tried to track their children, but there are also those who thank him for saving their children. Di Bella revealed that she received letters from parents welcoming the initiative and for giving an opportunity for a fresh start to children who did not choose to be involved in a criminal life.

“The fundamental thing is to give these children the opportunity for redemption, to show them that a different life is possible”, highlighted Giorgio De Checchi, national coordinator of the project, speaking to the BBC, in September 2023.

According to Italian law, a child can be separated from the family whenever there is evidence that the parents do not meet the legal requirements for providing adequate care and education. Inducing a child to commit criminal acts is one example.