Cash for Trash

Naples and suburbs are buried under mountains of garbage again, like in 2008. The legal garbage dumps have reached their capacity, garbage is simply not collected anymore and waste is spreading quickly around the city and especially the suburbs of Naples, home to the Camorra, the Neapolitan Mafia. The Neapolitan people pay higher fees to get their garbage collected, as the average Neapolitan produces more garbage than any other Italian. They don’t separate the garbage, unlike the people in the rest of the region (this became mandatory after the crisis of 2008, but a Neapolitan ‘doesn’t do laws’). The household garbage in Naples and suburbs includes plastics, glass, refrigerators, broken car parts and mattresses that are ripped apart. You can find the trash anywhere along the road.

For decades the Camorra is in control of the waste management. In the agricultural Campania region with its beautiful lush countryside this mostly consists of household garbage. The real lucrative business for the Camorra however is collecting waste from the industrial north of Italy. Including toxic waste. The rich industrial companies can cut major costs by selling their poison to the Camorra, who will then dump or burn it illegally in the countryside of Campania. Of course the north of Italy will always deny having any part in this 'typical problem of the South'. Pieces of land (bought of intimidated landowners) are being trashed, underground holes and quarries are filled with waste like heavy metals and asbestos. The toxic waste is also sold cheaply to ignorant farmers who use it as compost for their beautiful lemon orchards, olive groves, nut trees and crops…

Local politicians are either corrupted or intimidated and therefore not taking any action. Garbage men are sitting around playing cards and smoking. The lobby of the industrialists is too strong. The Neapolitan keeps producing lots of trash. The stench of Naples is becoming more famous than the precious monuments in the city. Cancer rates are higher in this area than in the rest of Italy. Laboratory tests are being falsified. And in the meantime the Camorra laundries money this way, benefits more from the waste ‘management’ than from drugs or human trafficking and gains more and more power. Money definitely stinks in this case. The Lancet already called this area the ‘Triangle of Death’. What ever happened to ‘Terra Felix’? It makes me sad… Love, M.

Forces of Nature and Mafia

Italy was in the news this week. A mayor was brutally murdered with nine shots in broad daylight, from a short distance. Most likely an act of the Camorra, the Neapolitan mafia. It is sad to hear that another good person has lost its life in his battle to fight the organized crime in Italy. It is even more sad to know that the Italian people in that area cry, not only because they have lost a loved one, but also out of desperation.

Desperation because Angelo Vassallo, the mayor of a small town called Pollica, brought them hope and is now taken from them. Hope that one man, coming from a humble background was able to change something in a climate of corruption. Who was brave enough to put his life and the lives of his loved ones on the line. Who was standing up for all those common Italian people that are totally fed up with all the crime in their beautiful region of Campania. The average Italian person does not want Italy to be associated with the mafia. There is nothing 'romantic' about mafia, like TV series and movies like 'The Godfather' would like to make you believe. Mafia is terror. Even though good results are being booked sometimes, fighting the mafia is like taking one step forward and ten steps back. You have to be willing to sacrifice everything and everybody that you love. Hopefully another courageous person will stand up again soon, but it is almost seems too much to ask for...

Another disaster struck the region of Campania as well last week. A big mudslide swept over the picturesque town of Atrani, on the famous Amalfi Coast. Destroying everything in its way, the mud stream blew out a door of a bar and took a 25-year girl that was working there. Police and army are still looking for the girl on land and in the sea. Being a mother myself, I cannot imagine what the parents of the girl must go through right now; I can just wish them all the strength they obviously need.

Forces of nature and mafia... in this modern world we seem to be doing miracles sometimes, but apparently there are still things that are beyond our control.

Yes, this is the exact same region that I am taking off to today and I am looking forward to it. Because I found people there that are pure, honest and very hospitable. It is the region of Caruso, Sophia Loren, Bernini, Scarlatti, Roberto Saviano and Pulcinella! It is a very complex region, a 'crazy' region and it has an absolute stunning beauty... I will post as much as I can this coming week, depending on Internet access, the weather and the ENEL (the Italian Electricity Provider :-)). Love, M.