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Are we all mafiosi? Periodico degli italo-australiani
by Franco Baldi Often in our country, Australia, the words Mafia and 'Ndrangheta pop up in the media, not so much to fight organised crime but to denigrate and stereotype the Italian Australian community. A certain Mr Miranda, Senior Correspondent for News Australia - who judging by his last name could even be a descendant of Sicilian migrants - makes the fight against organised crime his forte in a recently published news piece. "The Italian Mafia remains “entrenched” in Australia'' writes Miranda - referring to a 2002 report produced by the Italian police that dubbed Australia as the Mafia's "sixth state" in order to persuade the Australian Federal Police not to shut its Rome-based office. The report also suggested that the Mafia considered Australia “an autonomous Italian state,” with its own godfather taking orders from Calabria. Certainly, Mr Miranda seems to know a lot more about this topic than I do, but his assumptions are circulated to the public without a mention of names, places, events or at least the most basic details that would give readers a level of accuracy expected from the reporters of our times. Mr Miranda appears to suggest with confidence, however, that these criminals are Italian. If that’s the case, he may be better suited to be an informant instead of a journalist. His rather hazy story leaves much room for the sort of unacceptPrint Post Approved PP100018756
Anno V - Numero 13 - 1 Luglio 2021
able stereotypical remarks against the entire community. “Italian? Oh, Mafia!” Branded as ‘Mafiosi’, some Italian Australians may have tried to imitate the legendary trilogy of "The Godfather" but at least here, downunder, they seem to just be a group of wannabes - or as Italians call them ‘quaquaraqua’ - compared to the original film character by Mario Puzo. The columnist adds that "Interpol noted the Mafia had used the Covid-19 period to flourish, particularly laundering money.
The review flagged six designated ‘Ndrangheta “locales” in Australia with family-linked people having “penetrated” all three tiers of government." So, according to Mr Miranda and the Interpol, Australia is in the hands of the Mafia and the 'Ndrangheta: "They have engaged local communities through social connections and sporting groups of their kids and used clan contacts in key industries of transport and shipping ports and law enforcement to further their crimes." According to Italian police,
shortly before Covid-19 hit, the 'Ndrangheta "dispatched two cells of four clans to Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide and Western Australia to sanction the structure and drug trafficking alliances [...] with Lebanese and Chinese." The Mafia criminal syndicate exposed by Mr Miranda is concerning, so if we are to take his reporting seriously, why don't we know what their names are, how they operate, where they are located, what local communities they have infiltrated, what sport groups they belong to, what transport or shipping companies they control and finally the names of local police officers they have bribed? If Mr Miranda's statements are to be trusted, our community is in a pretty bad shape. Could you imagine Australia becoming an Italian colony under the joint direction of Mafia and 'Ndrangheta? Not even Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini went this far, contenting himself only with the colonies of Libya, Eritrea and Somalia. Opposing Mafia, ‘Ndrangheta and other organised crime is necessary for the peace and health of our society, however it cannot come at the expense of throwing the baby out with the bath water.
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A ricordo di Padre Nevio Capra
Sono trascorsi 5 anni da quanto Padre Nevio Capra (2 ottobre 1934-5 luglio 2016) ci ha lasciati e per onorare la memoria di un grande italiano, che nel silenzio e nell’indifferenza rischia di essere dimenticato, ecco che prontamente si pensa a mobilitare le forze sociali e di
volontariato e lanciare nuove attività. Desideriamo augurarci che, in uno spirito di piena armonia, l’annuale anniversario della sua dipartita rappresenti un degno ricordo di Padre Nevio, con gli amici e le famiglie da lui assistite che possano onorarlo nel focolare delle loro case. A causa del lockdown, la Santa Messa annuale in programma per domenica 4 luglio presso la Parrocchia San Giuseppe a Moorebank sarà celebrata, nella medesima chiesa, domenica 3 ottobre alle ore 10.45, il giorno dopo l'anniversario della nascita di Padre Nevio. A seguire, sempre a ottobre, ci sarà il lancio della “Padre Nevio Foundation” per la promozione della ricerca sulle malattie mentali e un BBQ gratuito per tutti i partecipanti; tutto ciò sempre per poter ricordare dignitosamente Padre Nevio, il sacerdote e l’uomo. Non vogliamo assolutamen-
te che la figura di Padre Nevio generi divisioni o vada a finire nel dimenticatoio ma, a distanza di un quinquennio, siamo desiderosi di ricordarlo per quello che è stato realmente: un pilastro per tutti, dai personaggi più illustri agli ultimi migranti che si affidavano a lui per un supporto spirituale, per una stanza al Villaggio o per un'opportunità di lavoro che sarebbe servita a sfamare una famiglia numerosa. Pochi hanno conosciuto Padre Nevio intimamente, soprattutto dopo le sue dimissioni dalla guida dei Villaggi Scalabrini e l’aggravarsi della malattia, e chi si sta adoperando per ricordarlo in modo pubblico lo fa, senz’altro, non per fini propagandistici ma perché egli, con il suo operato da buon pastore, ha segnato per sempre una parte importante della propria e dell’altrui esistenza.
LOCKDOWN Stay-at-home orders are now in place for swathes of Sydney as COVID cases continue to soar. Strict lockdown orders now apply to all people in the Greater Sydney including Blue Mountains, Central Coast, Wollongong and Shellharbour until Friday July 9. Premier Gladys Berejiklian promptly pleaded with Sydneysiders not to panic buy in the wake of the lockdown, because all shops will be open every day of the week. “There is no curfew, you can leave your home at any stage to purchase any essential goods that you need to,” she said. Servizio in italiano a pagina 2