| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
Adventurer
Joined: 28 Jan 2006
|
 Posted: Thu Apr 17, 2008 7:52 am Post subject: Sicilians grow defiant of Mafia |
 |
|
Page last updated at 08:56 GMT, Friday, 11 April 2008 09:56 UK
E-mail this to a friend Printable version
Sicilians grow defiant of Mafia
By Stephanie Holmes
BBC News, Palermo
Cecile Lambert wants to rid Sicily of its Mafia connotations
In the Cosa Nostra's stronghold of Palermo, Sicily's sprawling port capital, the Mafia have ways and means of knowing if you are turning a profit. And inevitably they want a cut.
"It starts with them glueing over your keyhole," explains Cecile Lambert, a young member of an association, Addiopizzo, that aims to free the city's shopkeepers from the tyranny of extortion payments. "That's a clear signal that they are looking for the pizzo."
The pizzo - or protection money - is paid monthly and the sum is even negotiable. If you are unable, or unwilling, to interpret the Cosa Nostra's symbolic language then they are usually more than happy to make it clearer.
"You might find your shop window smashed, or even your car set on fire," she explains. But at last the old ways are being challenged.
Cosa Nostra is the name of the Sicilian Mafia - one of several mafias operating in southern Italy.
Italian government figures suggest that 70% of all Sicilian businesses - from the scruffiest tobacconist on the street corner to a multinational exporter - pay some money into the Mafia's racket.
It has taken years for politicians and business leaders even to openly acknowledge that what locals call "the system" even exists.
LACOSANOSTRA |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
Leslie Cheswyck
Joined: 31 May 2003
Location: University of Western Chile
|
| Posted: Thu Apr 17, 2008 3:06 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Fugeddaboutit! |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Julius
Joined: 27 Jul 2006
|
| Posted: Thu Apr 17, 2008 4:58 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Every creature has a parasite, I believe. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
OneWayTraffic
Joined: 14 Mar 2005
|
| Posted: Sun Apr 20, 2008 12:55 am Post subject: |
|
|
| Julius wrote: |
| Every creature has a parasite, I believe. |
The mafia only exist because they're allowed to. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Julius
Joined: 27 Jul 2006
|
| Posted: Sun Apr 20, 2008 4:51 am Post subject: |
|
|
| OneWayTraffic wrote: |
| Julius wrote: |
| Every creature has a parasite, I believe. |
The mafia only exist because they're allowed to. |
True- in a strange way I think southerners are vaguely proud of the mafia, they see it as some sort of cultural identity. No such feeling in the North though. Different mindset. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Adventurer
Joined: 28 Jan 2006
|
| Posted: Sun Apr 20, 2008 8:31 am Post subject: |
|
|
| Yes, but many in the South are willing to stand up to the Mafia. However, it is not easy to stand up to such an entrenched organization. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
